In a K-pop year that’s been less than stellar, Golden Child arrive like a deus ex machina just weeks before we turn the page to 2024. It’s been an agonizing fifteen month wait for new music, but no other group of their generation has such a solid batting average on this blog. Since their debut, they’ve placed eight (!) songs in my year-end top ten, hitting number one just last year. New single Feel Me is likely to extend that streak.
Whatever gripes I may have with Woollim Entertainment (and there are many!), when it comes to song selection their A&R team continues to be the best in the business. While Feel Me is unlike anything they’ve released so far, its propulsive rock energy fits Golden Child like a glove. It draws upon the natural emotion in their voices and places melody right at the forefront. That’s a rare approach to find in 2023’s K-pop, making Feel Me all the more refreshing and vital.
The song’s first seconds remind me of NCT U’s 2016 standout Without You, pulsing with atmospheric synth before the percussion comes in. The first verse is strong, immediately developing a sense of tension before the chorus crashes in. This hook is the song’s bread and butter, driven by an instantly memorable melody as the production amps to full force. We pull back for verse two, but rather than shove a requisite rap breakdown into the mix, Feel Me continues develop its core elements. This approach turns rappers Tag and Jangjun into vocalists, twisting their talents to fit the song rather than the other way around.
If anything, I wish Feel Me lasted about thirty seconds longer. At three and a half minutes, it’s still on the longer side of K-pop title tracks, but extra space for its dynamic finale might have given the guys more opportunity to let their vocals rip. Even so, Feel Me is a taut, emotive comeback with classic melodic appeal. That alone is a minor miracle, and should be celebrated as such.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 10 |
| RATING | 9.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I like this. I’m glad you mentioned NCT U’s Without You, because the start of Feel Me’s chorus is so similar to the pre-chorus of that song. For me, that dulled Feel Me’s impact a little bit, because I had the feeling of hearing parts of it before.
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I think it is a good++ song, maybe high 8’s for me.
I was hearing Got7’s “If you do”, as both chorus’s hit the same notes G F Eb C in almost the same pattern. But yes, NCT U’s “Without You” is also really close in flavor.
The songwriting is a bit conventional, and could have been more expansive given the vocal talent. The lower sections in the verses are too low to have any color in their voices. The song then keeps the chorus melodies close clustered, even though there is no reason to – it doesn’t create tension or relieve tension, just sort of cycles on a conventional downward twirl which is reflective of more than one song already in kpop.
For example, the third line essentially repeats the 1st and 2nd, but it just as easily could have broken upwards. Instead of Eb4 Eb4 Bb4 F4, how about a Eb4 Eb4 Eb5 Bb4? Just punch that high note up an octave. At least in a high recorded harmony, if not possible to do live cleanly.
What gets the song at least to third base for me is the production, which is flawless. They knew exactly where to quiet it down, where to add a shed load of white noise fill in the chorus, where to increase and diminish the volume. Good work, production crew.
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Also, if you like this song, as well as NCT U’s and Got7’s, may I suggest this old classic from Super Junior D&E “Growing Pains” which shares a similar flavor.
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I don’t want to sound dramatic but I’ve been listening to this song all morning and it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions.
From happiness to see them come back, to relief that they gave us another great song, to melancholy and sadness because they are coming back less frequently (and I think I know what that means).
The song is everything I needed and more! Loved it…extremely biased ranking 10/10
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Interesting that Golden Child and Nine.i both had comebacks today. This song reminded me a little of Nine.i’s Young Boy, especially the melody in the chorus.
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“Feel Me” was co-written by NINE.i member Vahn, so no surprise there! 🙂
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Oooh nice. I really enjoys Vahn’s work and its cool that he kind of has a “signature sound” already.
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Vahn from Nine.i is one of the composers under the name Sero
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hmm I want to like this more than I do. I appreciate the songwriting and production but it feels a bit… familiar? i wouldn’t complain if it came on but don’t see myself putting it on a playlist, so maybe 8.25 for me
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This is definitely my pick for best song of the year. I am so glad the song is good, I was worried that I was going to be disappointed after waiting so long, but they gave us something amazing.
I really need them to release more music in the next year, I need constant Golden Child in my life.
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Another hit for Golden Child!
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Golden Child just don’t make bad songs.
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well except for that one japanese song that we’ll pretend doesn’t exist
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wait what? Never heard of it.
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Exactly. They don’t make bad songs.
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yeah, i guess a false memory slipped in
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I can’t not like it, it’s golcha — but tbh i found the verses a bit dull. i just keep waiting for that insane chorus each time. also Y would have fit so well in this ;-; i can practically hear his voice
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I miss Y so much.
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Sounds just like the pre-chorus of Without U by NCT – I’m not complaining because it sounds great (so long as writers get their royalties lol)
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I haven’t given a fuck about K-Pop in a while (have fallen back into one of my midwest emo phases) but this is pulling me back in. That chorus is ❤
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Yessssssss finally!
Sometimes a song just comes along and immediately meets your expectations.
Thank god Golcha is back.
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Are you alright nick?
Just wanted to check up on you as KPOPALYPSE was worried you might be somewhere asphyxiating in a pool of your own cum with this banger of a song.
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I just read this review and the opening literally made me wanna cry. My golcha…. They should have been one of the biggest kpop groups if kpop stans actually appreciate top tier discog and performance + woolim isn’t one of the worst agencies in the world….
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in fact, i cried…
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