If I’m being honest, I’ve never been blown away by a Victon title track. They strike me as the kind of group that can excel at a variety of concepts, but if I were asked to think of their iconic song or image, I’d come up short. This jack-of-all-trades approach isn’t unique within the idol industry. Still, after Produce X 101 boosted their popularity, I would’ve hoped they’d seek out a signature sound that might set them up well for the long-term. Instead, they’ve produced a variety of moody boy group fare, mostly playing off popular trends.
With this in mind, I think Mayday is their most successful attempt at a darker concept. Yes, there’s a fair amount of trap and needless posturing, but the instrumental has a welcome continuity, hinging on a creeping beat that adds a sinister air to the song. Whether “creeping” or “sinister” is what I’m looking for as we head into summer is another discussion entirely, but at least the track has a clear through line.
Better yet, Mayday hits us with a proper hook that draws upon the group’s vocal blend. There’s something very SM Entertainment about this arrangement – specifically early EXO. It’s a satisfying moment that offers some payoff to the murkier verses. However, I wish that the chorus had been further developed. As Mayday trudges on, it begins to feel unnecessarily repetitive – particularly since its central refrain is an echo of its main instrumental loop. It’s a nice groove, but without much modulation I’m afraid it will grow stale quickly. Still, Mayday has caught my attention – even if only momentarily.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
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The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Hmm. It seems it’s not actually as bad as my first impression of it, but my beef with this song is that the chorus actually sounds like a pre-chorus. It leaves me on my toes expecting the big climax that never comes. Even more when it comes on the heels of Howling, which was quite a lot more theatrical.
It automatically reminded me of this cover by one of the members. Interesting, but rather forgettable in the end:
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He didn’t rearrange the song so it’s not really his fault. I wish he had chosen Zayn’s Pillow Talk” instead
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This may sound harsh but I’ve only ever *really* enjoyed Victon’s debut tracks and everything since has been a bit underwhelming. Their pre-debut song What Time Is It Now still feels like one of their most fleshed-out tracks and I’m Fine was pretty great with the retro vibe and bubbly instrumental…I remember hoping they’d continue down that path but they never did.
I will agree though this is heading in the right direction even if it doesn’t quite get there! Hopefully they continue to pursue more distinct sounds.
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The chorus gets really repetitive, both the lyrics and the melody. Fire off a Mayday. … This is where I usually go on about how “Rock Me Amadeus” repeats the word “Amadeus” … how many times? … but is a much superior song.
The verses have a few nice turns of phrase here and there, but not enough to lift the clunker of a chorus for me.
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I loved it. I’ve had it on repeat since it came out.
With that being said, I hope for their next album they try something happier or more colorful, they’ve been releasing sad songs for so long. It’s time for a bright concept.
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Reminds me of Trampoline by Shaed interpreted by Kpop artists, it’s a lot better than that song
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*Checked* Victon’s comeback went successful for me , we are still far away from having a great June but everything seems to ship sail right now. Twice’s comeback was the opposite of a grower but Victon really transformed this dark concept into something really good to listen to. I mean it has a good hook , good production and I like it sooooooo I give it 8.75
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It’s good, smooth and sinister groove is always a nice selling point.
I wish the “Fire off a mayday” would have been just pre-chorus tho, this song would have been great if it have a proper chorus.
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The central hook is good, but it doesn’t do nearly enough with its runtime. Worse than ‘Nostalgic Night’, better than ‘Howling’ for me.
Also, I feel like the English:Korean ratio is especially skewed towards the former here, which… is always a risky proposition.
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The chorus is excessively repetitive, it takes more than 1/3 of the song and it’s basically just another english sentence. But I enjoy how they succeeded in taking the most boring style nowdays and tried to make it their own song with a charismatic performance.
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Has Hanse always sounded suspiciously like Jooheon or is that a recent development?
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Okay..Honestly,for me Mayday is such a great song but i hope like the chorus can be more catchy, i think like ‘howling’ chorus but i still like it tho..but i also hope that victon can stop doing sad/dark concept after ‘Time of Sorrow’..I hope they can bring back like ‘what time is it now?’,’Eyez Eyez’,’Remember Me’ concept..For Mayday,I will give 8.8..
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sorry..i will give it 9..
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YES! this gives me EXO Love Shot meets SHINHWA Sniper in many ways, must be the ryan s. jhun production but i think it’s their most attention-grabbing title yet
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I hate how this song has grown on me since the chorus is repetitively annoying.
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