A K-pop group’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. 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.
For me, ITZY’s music has suffered a precipitous fall. The more I hear, the less interested I become. Their debut year was pretty much perfect, but at that point they’d only released five original songs. Statistically, striking gold was a lot more likely. 2020’s IT’z Me stands as their strongest album, but everything that followed has a real mixed bag. I think Crazy In Love is a slight improvement over this spring’s Guess Who, but I still find it mostly irritating when it should be exuberant fun.
The album’s one big exception is Sooo Lucky, which strikes a satisfying balance. The girls aren’t powerhouse singers, and this is fine. They never pretend to be. But, their material often emphasizes their weaknesses rather than find comfortable arrangements that allow their personality to shine. Sooo Lucky doesn’t force them to shout incessantly, which results in a more melodic through line than most of their material.
At its heart, this is simple teen pop, unfettered and unambitious. But, it follows the tenets of the genre well, finding a huge, singalong chorus and repeating it often. ITZY’s vocals are layered in a way that suits them, bringing out their natural charm. Sooo Lucky is supported by playful rhythm guitar during the verses and a thumping injection of celebratory brass when we reach the chorus. It’s bright and bouncy, but never cloying. Take this formula, twist it just a bit, and you’d have a great sense of where to go with future title tracks.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
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The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
completely unrelated, sorry Nick, but will you review to new BTS X Coldplay single?
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I’m not planning on it, since it’s not really a K-pop song. Maybe when the mv comes out…
I do like the track, though!
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just curious about what score you would give it, because it’s not an upbeat track, but its generically sweet enough for it to get stuck in my head.
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This was the track I was most excited for after the album teaser, and I’m glad I ended up liking the full song! 🙂
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Fine track, off a quite underwhelming album. I am really afraid of JYP’s idol formula, giving them a unique, trendsetting material, and then giving them trendy material no longer living up to their debut day stuff.
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I playlisted this, along with “Loco” and “Mirror”, but I think my favorite b-side is “B[OO]M-BOXX (wow, that sucked to type with an iPad). I think someone in the title review compared it to “Ting ting ting”, which I really love. I don’t love this, or anything on this album unfortunately, but I like that middle-deep steady beat of the chorus. Overall, I prefer “GUESS WHO” though – “In the Morning” grew on me, and I loved “Sorry Not Sorry,” “KIDDING ME”, and “Tennis” right out of the box. As someone who hasn’t been around long enough to see the bigger trend patterns, I don’t have overly much to complain about with ITZY’s output. I suppose I liked their earlier titles better than the last couple, but they’ve kept putting out really solid b-sides, so as long as the titles are driving sales I don’t mind skipping them.
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