Over the past year or so, I’ve found myself more disconnected with Seventeen’s music. Their once unique blend of old-school funk and killer song construction threatened to be overtaken by current musical trends. I feared that they were losing what made them special in the first place. As a group who co-writes all of their material, this slide in quality is understandable. The guys are ridiculously busy, and probably don’t have as much time to dedicate to music-making as they once did. This makes me think that Pledis Entertainment really needs to invest in some new composers. Vocal team leader (and main songwriter) Woozi is almost always paired with in-house producer Bumzu, and it kind of feels like the two have exhausted their bag of tricks. A break would probably be beneficial to both of them.
This brings me to Hit, which is actually the most exciting Seventeen comeback since 2017. The intense EDM banger shows the same wear as the group’s recent material, but its endless energy helps it stand out within an otherwise glum summer slate. At this point, a song like Hit scores major points for several simple reasons. First, it maintains its energy all the way through, never dipping into some half-time trap breakdown. Second, it goes big. The EDM drop chorus isn’t anything we haven’t heard before, but it’s stuffed to the brim with aggressive electronics that match the explosive energy Seventeen have always displayed as performers.
Ultimately, Hit’s lack of a proper chorus holds the song back from being truly transcendent, and crystallizes a particularly maddening (and lazy) trend that’s plagued global pop music for too long. With a vocal line like Seventeen’s, the guys could have crafted an amazing hook to layer on top of the song’s already-robust production. Thankfully, Hit’s verses compensate, offering a slick melody that builds momentum. I love the thundering percussion that underlines the rap breaks, and the pre-chorus is the rare moment when heavy autotune actually works. Stray Kids pulled this sound off much better with March’s Miroh, but I’m pleased to have another high-energy dance track as part of 2019’s K-pop roster.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.75 |
Be sure to add your own rating by participating in the poll below!
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I too really didn’t n’t enjoy their last singles, not that they were bad, but it just didn’t connect, even now but still the track is good though, it is clever that there is no exact chorus, but those beats, just kind of elevates this song in a good way🙆♀️👌
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I agree. Their last few title tracks have been fine, but the most recent Seventeen song (not just title track) that I’ve found myself regularly wanting to listen to is Call Call Call. I was one to sing praises for Home and Oh My and I stand by that, but longevity turned out to be an issue and neither can hold a candle to anything Clap or earlier. Maybe this is where things turn around!
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I hope so. I would’ve loved if they would have promoted Call Call Call in Korea rather than Japan. They just pull off that sound better than anyone else.
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100% agree! Call Call Call is the last track I really LOVE. They really used to be my undisputed #1 group ;
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This song seems to focus on the performance team more than the rest of of the sub-units – which is fair. Although both DK and Seungkwan have fewer lines than usual, the song still rocks. This is a good comeback, I have no complaints.
Btw, just a minor correction though: S Coups is the leader, not Woozi.
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Wow, duh! I can’t believe I made that mistake. Fixed.
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This song becomes better after every listen. And I thought it was just me, but I feel the same way as you about SVT’s latest music. I used to be such a huuuuge fan of them in 2015-2016. After DWC, I started to lose interest in them (although I still loved their albums).
Also, just an idea, but with the release of Daniel’s solo debut completing the post-Wanna One members, will you rank the
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LMAO I accidentally pressed post comment, but
will you rank the debut of Wanna One members? (although technically Seongwu’s Heart Sign wasn’t a debut)
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That’s not a bad idea, although the resulting list will be pretty depressing. I’d basically be ranking “awful” all the way up to a halfhearted “good.” I’ll give some thought to this, though!
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I mean it’s not your fault they were given mediocre songs, but I’ll take it!
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The song got better with repeated listens. I think it will make a fine addition to the work out song list, but notsomuch to listen to in ordinary listening time. Its just too noisy for that, with too much going on.
Broadly speaking, the chorus resembles Very Nice, which didn’t have a chorus either.
One other thing that is bothering me with each Seventeen release: its as if the tenor vocal line is being increasingly and persistently asked to imitate the Sammy Hagar School of screaming high notes. Its bad enough that they all have to trade off who “sings” those high notes live. I mean, Seungkwan is a fine tenor, but screaming D’s E’s and F’s is going to wreck his voice.
I also agree that Woozi and the other guy need to go off and listen to a lot of other stuff for a month or three to re-gather creative strength. (The Akmu brother went off to the military to “build diverse experiences and improve musical skills” (seriously what he said), and joined the marines, as one does. Given all that has happened with YG, I eagerly and cautiously await the Akmu comeback.)
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From what I have heard about Woozi in interviews is that he listens to every new song that’s released and also tries different genres. I simply think he isn’t “allowed” or “given the oppurtunity” to work with more producers.. Because otherwise he is very open to learning. The guy learnt 5 plus instruments from his teacher in middle-school and hence, started getting into composing and song-writing during his trainee years. I think Seventeen, as a whole, have just started to focus on their performances more than the song-production. They’re crowd pleasers and that reflects in their music (EDM-style)
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Believe, I like the kid, and I think he has talent and bright future in kpop. And I fully understand how restricting a kpop agency nearly always is.
I was thinking older pop though, like Depeche Mode OMD and New Order. And Prince, lots of Prince. For vocal polyphony, the old 60’s bands like the Beach Boys and Peter Paul and Mary, and Jackson 5. And all the old stuff from Stax and Gamble & Huff. Or whatever he is drawn to that is not exclusively kpop and jpop and cpop, and especially not contemporary American pop.
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Picking up on the similarity to Very Nice (which as far as I’m concerned is peak Seventeen), it’s interesting to compare the two songs. For me, Very Nice is arguably the best non-chorus K-pop track of the past five years — perhaps of all time. Everything surrounding its instrumental hook is so tightly structured, and the brass sample is so perfectly simple and impactful that it just works — even if it is essentially an Uptown Funk retread.
As fun as Hit is, the parts supporting its drop chorus don’t come close to the potency of Very Nice’s verses.
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I loved it even though I dislike EDM and was seriously scared that the auto-tune might be overused (from the teasers) but thank heavens!! I am seriously looking forward to their full-comeback next month (or maybe the month after?!) And see what Seventeen has in store for us.
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The autotune is actually a highlight, and I can’t believe I’m saying that!
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I really like Seventeen, but this song just didn’t click with me. I don’t think the melody or instrumental was memorable at all, and the whole song felt overstuffed with random noise. To me, it felt kinda like NCT’s Wakey Wakey, but without the melody.
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this song to me reminds me of NCT Black on Black or SK’s Side Effects: unless you’re watching it, it’s hard to just listen to
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Agree on both counts, though I think Side Effects works very well on its own. That song’s only gotten better with age — at least for me.
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This edm song have backbone to it and the drop didn’t kill the momentum at all. That’s a complete win for me
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Momentum is more important than ever to me, and that’s probably the biggest asset that Hit has going for it.
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They went big. They went loud. They went energetic.
And I loved every single second of it.
Yet again Seventeen make new sound their own, I never was a fan of edm but their songs just work for me. I keep on listening to it since it’s release and I’m so hype!
I didn’t expect it from them, and after listening to teaser I was worried it’s not gonna be my taste this time but BOI WAS I WRONG
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I liked it because it sounds like a Monsta x song. Their raps weren’t that strong but all in all I liked it ! The dace break was good.
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