Longtime readers will not be surprised to hear that I’ve had trouble getting into GOT7’s music these past few years. Ever since they started writing more of their own material, their sound changed in a way that just wasn’t for me. However, their May mini album offered hope. I wasn’t overly enamored by the title track, but the b-sides were quite potent. And now we have You Calling My Name (니가 부르는 나의 이름), which is easily my favorite GOT7 title track in years.
Composed by a quartet of Western songwriters (including Scandinavian pop star Benjamin Ingrosso), the track finds the group in funkier territory than we’re used to. You Calling My Name opens with plenty of atmosphere, placing JB’s vocals over a bed of haunting synths before moving onto a catchy rap segment buttressed by spare vocal adlibs. From here, the song bursts into its rhythmic, staccato chorus – a taste of things to come.
The second verse is a little too rap-heavy for me, but by the time the next chorus materializes — with its fully fleshed out instrumental — I’m sold. The melody here is excellent, recalling a classic JYP sound with modern flare. The addition of rhythm guitar and subtle brass gives the hook needed warmth and power, and the guys offer a restrained performance that perfectly suits the mood. I complain often about 2019-era K-pop tracks collapsing into half-time breakdowns right when they need to fuel momentum, but You Calling My Name knows how to use dynamics to its advantage. It has its slower moments, but they’re portioned out in the right places. The song always feels like it’s moving forward organically, and the end result is very satisfying and refreshingly timeless.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.75 |
Be sure to add your own rating by participating in the poll below!
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Definitely my favourite Got7 title track in years.
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I not quite as big a fan of this one. To me it tries to do a spare arrangement thing, but doesn’t have any point or counterpoint to be spare around. There isn’t a strong melody, and there isn’t a strong hook from any instrument. So to me it sounds like an ordinary kpop song minus all the exciting instrumentals and beats and all the other production hype bling bling they add to amp it all up.
This is where I usually quote Vince Clarke. Since I quote him so much, instead I will quote a chill song from OMD “Secret”. The whole verse: one vocal, one synth line, one contrasting synth bass, one drum. Chorus adds all of one more synth line. This is all, this is all.
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I think where you’re hearing monotony I’m hearing cohesion, which is something I’ve been missing from GOT7’s music for some time.
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I see your point. I suppose I am revealing my bias since I haven’t admired a Got7 song since “Just Right” and “If you do” 2015 era.
Related: can anyone tell me what the korean letter b with kinda sorta english letter capital D symbol mean in the video?
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This is a super late reply, but I only just found this site. It’s the oracle bone script for the Chinese character 名, which means ‘name’.
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Thank you!
And since we are both commenting late, I will add that the song has grown on me a lot since Nov2019 when I first posted.
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I hear what you’re saying, but sometimes it’s less about bombast and more about staying in a specific lane. I think they were going for a “mood” with this song without trying to alter your mood. In other words, if you listen to this when your in a calm and tranquil state, you’ll love it. If you’re looking to party, less so. The song won’t take you there, you have to meet it half way.
As far as your OMD comparison.. ..no fair bringing a gun to a knife fight. ’nuff said.
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Alright! Alright!
Its growing on me.
a bit.
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Ha! We’re beating you into submission.
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The 2nd and last chorus are pretty nice actually. The rest is pretty meh and mark’s part is awful.
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The bridge part when Mark talking sounds strange to my ear and I think that part is unnecessary. But overall, this song is really nice. Even the rap parts in this song is also good and flow with the beat, unlike some of got7 title songs.
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Finally you’re not grumpy 😂
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Trust me, I’m as relieved as you are! 🙂
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I had to watch this twice. On the first listen, I was focused on the song. On the second, I was focused on everything else.
The song, itself:
If I were to rate just the song, I’d give it an 8, but only because of some clever writing. I know it is customary to include a rap segment in virtually every K-Pop song, but it isn’t always slotted well. This song is one of the best examples of adding a rap verse while maintaining overall fluidity.
The video, itself:
If I were to rate the video, with the volume turned down, I’d also give it an 8. A lot of different departments really brought their “A” game to the table on this one. The overall theme is minimalist without appearing low-budget. The spartan surroundings allow you to focus on the performers. The hair/stylists/wardrobe people nailed it. The guys look chic and timeless (I love those suits). The choreographer fused creativity and masculinity while maintaining restraint. The video direction, camera work, and editing were, again, about focusing on the performers.
The song & video, combined:
Adding both elements, I’d give this a 9. There’s a symbiotic relation between the audio and video presentation that elevates each part into a sum that is greater than its parts. I wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate one without the other.
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For me, it’s their best title track since “Fly”~
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I’m so late to the party, but finally someone who agreed with me 🙂
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I had a few listens to this during the release before it grew on me and I can say it could be on my top 3 of all he sings I like about them. I am curious to know if you made reviews for their Japanese releases because I like many songs on their Japanese albums like I won’t let you go, Loveloop and Karma.
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Nick has only done GOT7
Japanese
title
track
song
reviews (you can click each word in that phrase to access) that came out/released since he started the blog in 2016. No Buried Treasure for any b-sides though. A shame in my opinion – there’re some gems in their Japanese discography, making the disparity of their titles track vs. b-sides more prominent.
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Oh no, that entire thing was linked wrongly, oof. I tried 🤷♀️ anyways, by JPN title tracks, he’s reviewed from Hey Ya onwards.
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