Though I wouldn’t have predicted it when they debuted three years ago, Cosmic Girls have slowly become one of my favorite girl groups of their generation. In many ways, they’re filling the same niche that GFriend did during their first two years. Their music is neither cutesy nor “hard.” It hits that sweet spot right in the middle. It’s lushly produced, melodically compelling and crisply performed. Cosmic Girls have already had a great 2019. As You Wish (이루리) may just be their most satisfying title track yet.
The group has switched up producers for this song, but retain their trademark cosmic sound. As You Wish is stuffed with exciting moments, kicking off immediately with the chirpy synth loop that will go on to form the backbone of its chorus. The opening verse doesn’t hold back, hitting listeners with enormous synth percussion before slowing to a brief ebb that culminates in a breathless EDM build.
As You Wish’s chorus isn’t the strongest we’ve heard from Cosmic Girls, but it’s arranged in such a big, confident manner that the lack of inventive melody doesn’t really matter. I love how the tempo speeds up for this segment, pounding with the kind of dancefloor fervor that makes for a great centerpiece. However, As You Wish truly thrills during its final moments, as the girls sing in unison for an unexpected bonus refrain that takes the track out on a high note. I’m a sucker for this particular song structure, which pulls the melody in new directions right before a song’s conclusion. The climactic moments of ATEEZ’s Wave are still 2019’s best example of how powerful this approach can be, but As You Wish is right on its heels.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 10 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 9 |
Be sure to add your own rating by participating in the poll below!
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
“and crispy performed” sorry I hate being that guy that points out little typos but this one had me dying imagining fried chicken drumsticks dressed in equestrian outfits doing the choreography. forgive me.
ANYWAY, this song is pretty solid. I feel like WJSN’s last four or five title tracks including this have been just a couple production/songwriting choices away from being perfect, so I’m still waiting for that one that just nails it on every level. But it’s solid!
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Oh my god, damn spellcheck! Thanks for catching this. Not what I meant at all! 🙂
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To be honest, I found this song very boring and monotonous, especially the chorus. I didn’t hear their trademark cosmic sound, it just sounded like every tropical inspired girl group song this year. I miss their songs’ usually sense of grandeur and emotion.
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November was suppose to be a redemption month for girl groups with drops from Elris, Nature, Rainbow, mamamoo, WJSN, etc.. I’ve been eagerly waiting for the girls to heat things up, but so far it’s been less blaze/more blasé.
This WJSN release? …it’s.. ..fine.
There’s only been two songs that have raised my eyebrows in November (so far) and both haven’t been reviewed here, so that should probably be an indicator for me that I’m probably one among only a few.
Anywho.. ..here’s the two:
ORLY – Crush on You (Dropped: November 17, 2019)
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ihhZBr0HwU
Why I like? – It’s an uncomplicated toe-tapper.
SKY GIRLS – Because of You (Dropped: November 14, 2019)
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSNoQGq1Mso
Why I like? – Has a really great 2010 vibe to it.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m just in a funk.
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Very thankful you recommended Sky Girls’ song, I checked it out and thoroughly enjoyed it!
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There are times this year when I feel that the creativity of kpop has ossified into a set structure of what goes into a kpop song and routine, and what doesn’t I say that not because the Sky Girls song isn’t good – it is as you say perfectly 2010 – but because the choreography lead me to wonder if kpop would could should ever do a kick line … no, they probably would not.
For a while just a couple years ago, kpop was hella inventive. Throw a key change in! Two! Half-time! These days we are lucky if we get subtleties.
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Closest to a bona fide Chorus Line/kick line that K-Pop has approached (to my knowledge) is at the 2:36 mark:
Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6XLNsJ9YrA
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Sky Girls one was pretty nice, Orly was kinda boring to me though.
Nevertheless, it’s good that we don’t have the same tastes. Hopefully we can all get some new songs before the year ends.
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I like it! I like that it’s not necessarily very cutesy or very girl crush, just a really nice song. That final refrain is amazing. Is it weird that the song’ s theme/ concept reminds me of Genie?
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Not my thing. Its very mainstream kpop girl group, which is fine. Personally I tend to go for the quirky or kitsch or exceptionally well sung.
I had to listen to it again to get to the coda, because to be perfectly honest the first listen or two I didn’t make it past the two minute mark. The coda is nice.
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Hmm.. ..quirky? ..eh. kitsch? ..maybe. well-sung? ..yeah.
Try this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0_1odmqmCM
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Hah! Yes! Perfect!
You are an encyclopedia of kpop girl groups.
The other one above (Sistar) reminded me of Kpop meets Chicago the musical.
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Yeah, Give It To Me is definitely drenched in Fossi’esque charm.
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This was their weakest title track for me since Happy. The production is great, but the song itself is monotonous with nothing that sticks with me. I can’t remember a single refrain or melody as soon as it ends. My first thought was that the song was a leftover choice from their summer album before they decided to go with more standard summer girl group fare without their “cosmic” sound. And, personal preference, the ending is a bit more cheesy and overdone to me than some momentous build. It reminds me of a K-Pop version of those millennial whoop refrains that were so common in Western music in the early 2010s. Given the strength of their discography, I can’t see me ever recommending this to someone over any of their
post-Yeonjung title tracks sans Happy.
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Well, I clearly am liking this track more than most of my readers!
To be fair, I was perhaps a little over-enthusiastic yesterday. As I’ve listened more, I’d dip my final rating closer to 8.75 (not a huge distinction, but for me a “9” or above is very meaningful and hard to earn).
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From following your blog for a while, I had a feeling that was the case! 🤔 The jump between 8.75 and 9 seems more critical than others. A bit along the lines of an 8.75 being a great song for a given year, but it seems like you reserve the 9+ ratings for songs that have the potential to become classics and/or really embody that aspect of K-Pop where you can experimentally throw in everything AND the kitchen sink and still somehow come out with a fantastic song that goes beyond typical genres or trends.
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It’s ridiculous how much weight I give this subtle distinction. Too much, probably.
If I give a song a 9 but it ends up settling at an 8 after a few more listens, it drives me crazy. Same thing from an 8 to a 9. It’s like K-Pop OCD! But, at least I have my end-of-year lists to sort everything out 🙂
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Before giving my opinion on any song, I “try” to listen to it 3 times. Once with the video, once with my eyes closed, and again with the video. May seem silly, but I’m a very visual person and I’ve no doubt the eye candy messes with the ear candy. Additionally, while I try to avoid mood creep, it will find a way into the final score depending on the day I’m having. The only difference is a song that rings every bell on the first listen; those rarely change in value.
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It was just fine for me but I really enjoyed Luckitty-cat from the album, although I was already anticipating liking it from the album highlight reel. For some reason Luckitty-cat reminds me of another song but I can’t really pinpoint which one… Can somebody lend a hand?
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You’re right, Luckitty-cat is great song (I’d argue title track worthy) and it does have a several familiar elements. The chorus gives me a very slight KARA “Cupid” vibe, but I think most of the parts that seem familiar are from WJSN’s own back catalog. For example, the opening vocals remind me a bit of “You You You” off of the “WJ Please?” mini-album. There’s a few melodic parts that remind me of “I-YAH” (also from WJ Please?). So, they could just be borrowing from their own toolbox.
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You are most definitely right and I also really liked that mini. And with you mentioning KARA, I noticed that instrumentally it reminds me a lot of KARA’s Mamma Mia, with due differences.
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It’s funny. My first inkling was Mamma Mia, but I thought that was a stretch for some reason and went with Cupid. Always go with your gut, I guess. 🙂
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Instant bop!
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Not related but, are you planning to make an EOD list of kpop songs? (Sorry for my english)
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I don’t know what an EOD list is? I’m curious.
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I mean, making a top 50 k-pop songs of the decade.
I’m sorry for the long delay for the response.
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