Saturday feel like a group in search of a novelty hit. I mean, any act who debuts with something called “MMook JJi BBa” is not looking to forge the next Stairway To Heaven. No, Saturday are in it for the short term, drawing attention with the most garishly upbeat fare they can muster. This approach has resulted in some fun tracks, but little staying power. Gangnam Styles and Bar Bar Bars are rare to come by, and none of Saturday’s candy-coated material has yet made waves with the general public.
New single BByong (뿅) keeps the group’s onomatopoeia tradition alive, but takes the easy route rather than tackle the kind of engaging pop playfulness that can make a novelty hit really land. Its structure is pure K-pop template, from the incessantly aegyo vocals to the repetitive brass loop that powers the instrumental. BByong feels like reheated Momoland, two nights too late for the resulting product to retain much flavor.
The girls are certainly up for the concept. Their constant asides and bratty sing-talk are full of life, even if the arrangement forces them into the most familiar of K-pop tropes. The song’s chorus is catchy, but its reliance on expressive speech over full-fledged melody makes it feel too throwaway. As if checking off a “K-pop 101” rubric, BByong forces itself into an awkward trap breakdown during its eye-rolling bridge. It’s these moments that restrain Saturday’s ability to find their own voice. The song gets by on exuberance, all the while eliciting pangs of longing for groups like Orange Caramel and Crayon Pop, who were able to harness this same goofy energy into something wholly original and weirdly transcendent.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 6 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7 |
Be sure to add your own rating by participating in the poll below!
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
They somehow managed to take a sound that I have a massive weakness for in all its forms and turn it into something I dislike? In a time when I am desperately wishing for something like it to break the monotony of kpop releases? Should I be impressed?
Random unrelated question, Nick, but I’m curious as to how many people vote in the polls on average. Or does it vary greatly between groups of different popularity levels?
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It varies wildly depending on the review… could be anywhere from the low 10’s to high 100’s.
Compared to a post’s actual views, the poll votes are still a very small fraction. I’d say average is maybe between 50-100 for song reviews? Popular acts easily climb into the 100’s. The numbers are much smaller for Buried Treasure reviews, which makes sense.
We’ll see how it grows or fades in the long run. The polls are very easy for me to tack on to the end of a post, and at the very least it’s interesting to see how readers’ opinions match or diverge from my own.
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BTW the poll doesn’t remember if you have already voted, so in theory someone could vote multiple times by refreshing the page (unless you can pick out the duplicates behind the scenes.) I don’t think the typical visitor here is of the type to stuff the voting box, but I know on occasion I have forgotten if I voted already or not.
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It’s set to “block by cookie” for a week, so presumably the polls should let you vote once a week if you wanted (unless you’re logging in from multiple devices?). I haven’t actually tested this in reality, though.
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Ah, I see! The cookie thing may be working – I refresh and think I am re-voting and just tried that several times in a row, but the votes didn’t move the meter!
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I have a special place in my heart for this kind of style (Crayon Pop, Orange Caramel, Momoland) so Saturday always attracts my attention but their songs have never stuck with me for long.
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I really appreciate kitsch in kpop. Despite all the aegyo, it is a fun kind of aegyo, and it knows exactly what it is doing kind of aegyo. Saturday only begins to fill the void in my heart left by Orange Caramel.
This song is OK – it is not as insistent as Wifi, which itself was not as insistent and persistent as Mmok jji bba was.
One related note: for those of us oversees with a name like “Saturday” they are hard to find – you have to know the name of the song to add to the search line. Otherwise my feed is filled with Saturday Night Live, Saturday night fever, the Bay City Rollers, and a dozen or three more popular songs with the word Saturday.
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