The Chuseok-related K-pop drought ends today with the first solo debut from popular group TXT. Over the years, Yeonjun has become a sort of ‘it boy’ within his generation, so it’s no surprise that he’s given the chance to showcase his skills as a soloist. As always, I’m most interested to see what his music borrows from TXT and where it differs. With GGUM, he finds a blend between hip-hop and quirky electro-pop, resulting in a track that’s sure to polarize opinion.
Whatever your thoughts on the song’s quality, GGUM certainly can’t be accused of playing things safe. It’s a weird little track, often warping Yeonjun’s vocals into a high-pitched alter ego. This unfolds over a dynamic beat that mixes EDM bombast with more typical hip-hop swagger. This blend reminded me immediately of late-2000’s Black Eyed Peas. Whether that’s a compliment or not, I’ll leave up to you. Even I’m not sure at this moment! Whatever it is, GGUM is a catchy novelty. Like its titular reference, it will stick in your brain whether you like it or not.
While GGUM‘s novelty is ear-catching on first listen, I have my doubts about its longevity. Apart from its many sonic tricks, there’s really not much happening within the song itself. The hook is repetitive and uninteresting and the verses are standard idol rap dressed in a fancy package. More than anything, the track feels like a showcase for Yeonjun’s obvious charisma. I’d challenge him to meld that charisma to an equally-compelling song next time around.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This is NOT better than See That? By NMIXX! 7.25(7,8,7,7)
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dont think that was ever even implied lol. The only different rating is the “bias” segment of the score which is a point higher than “See That?”
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Ya I get that but NMIXX was done dirty….
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I like it a lot but I feel like this is gonna be a track where people either like it a lot or don’t
8/10 for me (7, 8, 8, 9)
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I’m sorry but the song is absolute garbage. I’m disappointed because I was expecting something better than this. The bad boy vibes of the MV came off more as rudeness and not afraid of being cancelled for my comment: it’s the worst release of the year.
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For me, G Dragon achieved the best concept as far as bad boy is concerned with this.
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its ok. Like I said, you either like this song or don’t. It’s perfectly fine if you didn’t like it, and I respect you for this
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Oh sorry, I didn’t notice I had replied to you. I wanted to leave a general comment so I apologize for the inconvenience but I get confused on how to leave comments here. It’s great that you liked the song. 🙂
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Im a HUGE Txt fan so here are my thoughts:
I dont love the song because it does too much of the same throughout. It gets quite repetitive by the end. I like the chorus and I think its one of the more unique parts of the song.
This is a performance song, which is fine but I cant say I didnt expect more. Yeonjun can sell this song for sure, but its missing so much. The pre-chorus is cut too short, some progression was needed throughout the song’s production? and it needed a climax. Some major dance break at the end would have been the cherry on top but whatever.
Yeah this isnt a song made for listening on the casual but more something you need to watch with the performance itself to appreciate the charm. Also, LOVED the verses.
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With such a strong persona like Yeonjun, they could have given him some thing better than that EDM drop.
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I think this is a really weird choice for a solo debut. If you wanted to make a personal statement about yourself as an artist, why would you choose something that simultaneously feels like it panders to TikTok trends but also sounds a bit dated? However, TXT’s most recent releases leave me feeling nothing and this one makes me feel something, even if it’s nothing good.
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Yeah, I clearly don’t like it. The beat drop’s kinda funny, like in an oddly amusing way, but that’s pretty much it.
6.5 (6, 7, 7, 6) for me. I considered giving hooks a 5, cause the high-pitched chorus after the beat drop grinds my gears a lot, but well.
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Really? more than/same as DASH, Baddie and See That?
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Just so you know, Nick thinks Dash is an 8.75 now.
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Anyway, kudos to the marketing management: I wasn’t able to listen to the full song even once, but nevertheless I’ve ordered the cd (which is almost sold-out everywhere yet) only for the keyring. It’s just KPop, indeed.
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Mmmhh no this really is cringe borderline ridiculous. Really HYBE this is the best you can do with that talent you have? I was expecting something of the level of Jungkook or Jimin – but maybe this is just a taster (hence a mixtape). First of all I wanna leave all the Gum chomp chomp concepts to age 16 or under. Let’s not be lazy, there’s enough rum pum pum going around since 2016 to recycle it into ggum chomp chomp. The production is quite interesting, but without a SONG, it just isn’t enough to keep me there listening. Please don’t compared it to “DASH”- that song is in a different league at least hook wise. My 2 cents.
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Catchy as all hell, in a catchy ad / Tik Tok sort of way. I mean, if I heard it in 20 second increments as the youtube ad interstitial, I would not be mad. But would I want to go and listen to the song deliberately, much less buy it. No, no I would not.
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This is garbage.
In the low 5s.
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Such a great beat and they massacred it.
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I personally find it very addicting and fun to listen to, although I do agree with your concerns about longevity. I guess I’ll find out soon enough if I feel compelled to listen to it again in a week or so.
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Yeah I’m disappointed. For a solo debut, where an idol has a chance to define themselves as an individual artist, I’m surprised at how little Yeonjun’s unaltered voice is actually showcased.
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