Most of the time, a k-pop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve.
Up until now, my favorite Cosmic Girls song was last year’s mighty I-Yah. That’s probably still true today, but boy does WW give it a run for its money. When talking about the girls’ new album, I’m seeing a lot of hype for its second track, Luckitty-Cat. Cat is certainly an excellent track, but WW does something to me. It’s just funky as hell, bursting with tightly-constructed energy and densely layered instrumental elements.
I shouldn’t be surprised by the song’s success. It comes to us courtesy of Choi Hyunjoon from production team e.one. E.one + Cosmic Girls is pretty much a match made in heaven, and WW is yet more proof of that. The song opens with an extended build, as if neon lights are fading in on a glamorously 80’s stage, ready for the girls to bring down the house. From here, WW moves into its breathless verse, which effortlessly hits moments of blissful falsetto. The pre-chorus brings in a bit of cutesy aegyo, but not enough to derail the song’s momentum.
WW’s chorus is a thing of beauty, nimble and brisk and absolutely stuffed with hooks. The vocals mirror the breakneck pace of the instrumental, which incorporates bright rhythm guitar and synth percussion to thrilling effect. As if this wasn’t enough, the first chorus packs a bonus refrain, perched halfway between hip-hop and vocals with a splash of electric guitar thrown in for good measure. It’s like entering a dance pop tornado. So much is coming at you from so many different angles that it’s almost dizzying. I’m obsessed with WW’s aural, funk-pop assault. It’s just the kind of high-octane wallop I’m always on the lookout for.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 10 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 9.25 |
Be sure to add your own rating by participating in the poll below!
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Luckitty-Cat and WW are easily my favorites of the album and are a bunch of notches above the rest tbh. Great Choice!
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I also think that the chorus of Luckitty-Cat hits harder for me than the verses and the opposite happens in WW, where the verses hit harder than the chorus. That might just me though.
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Yeah, the scale progression being sung in the verses is where I’m getting my hooks from.
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My thoughts:
– The intro screeeeeams Hot Summer; jez sayin’.
– Choi Hyunjoon has a tell with his writing style. There are clear similarities between this song (WW) and another song from him, Favorite’s “Where Are You From?” off of their “Love Loves To Love Love” mini-album. Particularly in the way the vocals climb the scales and then drop. There are other shared elements as well. References:
Link #1 (WW): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxY91-rG8-o
Link #2 (Favorite): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WFmy9OtLGo
(𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘞 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯, 𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.)
– There’s some melodic elements from WJSN’s “Secret” scattered here and there.
– There’s “some” hints of WJSN’s “I-YAH” in there as well.
– This is definitely a song that takes a couple of listens to appreciate (for me, anyways). It was jarring on my first listen because it seemed to come out of left field. Now that I’ve heard it several times, my opinion has calcified. It is, indeed, a welcome vitamin in my current daily medicinal regimen.
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I might as well throw my opinions in for the rest of the mini-album since I’m made comments on 3 of the 7 tracks.
Reference (All seven songs): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ls_8d2iKEa23D98Qy3ure84QS-kRWHTvg
1. As You Wish: Already commented (different post).
2. Luckitty-cat: Already commented (different post).
3. LIGHTS UP: I’m a big fan of French cafe music and this scratched that itch.
4. WW: Already commented (this post).
5. BADABOOM: I don’t think many people will hear this one and it’s a shame because it shines a mature light on WJSN. There is a real polish on this song and it presents a resplendant facet of what they’re capable of. While I could easily see Red Velvet (or even (G)I-DLE, to an extent) performing this, I can clearly imagine TWICE releasing this note for note which would then have people falling all over themselves saying how wonderful it is. But.. ..since WJSN “isn’t” TWICE, this song will stay under the radar; that’s criminal.
6. Full Moon: There were some elements to this I liked, but not enough to seal the deal for me. It’s not bad, per se, just.. 😐
7. Don’t Touch: This one didn’t click with me as well as the rest of this release. Another 😐
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Luckitty-Cat is my favourite out of the two, but WW comes close! I’m not even an active follower of WJSN but I’ve downloaded both of these songs. Badaboom is also nice.
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WW – I like it! I might love it but it is too high pitched to be pleasant. Of course I said that about the Purplebeck “Crystal Ball” song, then I proceeded to listen to it all summer – but only in the car not on earbuds.
Badaboom – To be honest, it was the first Bside I clicked on, because of the name. It sounds like G-idle sans Soyeon bleating. It could also be any number of other recently debuted girl groups.
Lights up – For those … what are the Cosmic girl’s fan club called … those stans who want to hear their bias’s vocals unobscured by the louder faster song, this is the song. I can’t find a truly live version to comment more. The recorded version isn’t terrible- it sounds like they all went to the IU school of singing.
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I love WW. The hook, for me, is the bassline in the chorus. This recalls some great early 90’s dance/italo house/eurobeat and really works well with the percussion to push the pace. Its a real floor filler and it’d be wild to see these elements picked up in a remix.
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