Though they debuted with little hype, Secret Number caught my attention with strong vocals and a song that took advantage of that skill. I haven’t played Who Dis? all that often since its release in May, but I still have a soft spot for its straightforward arrangement and hearty delivery. New single Got That Boom embraces many of these strengths, though it opts for a more dynamic structure.
This can cut both ways, as constant musical diversions often dull momentum. Got That Boom is guilty of this in places, especially if you’re hoping for it to become the style of song its bombastic chorus suggests. Count me among that crowd, because I absolutely love the euphoric brass and propulsive beat that underlines Boom’s hook. I wish the melody was just as robust, but beggars can’t be choosers.
The rest of Got That Boom moves between the attitude-infused girl crush posturing that’s so popular this year, and a catchy (if repetitive) chant that somehow incorporates the lyrics “tic tac toe” without sounding completely ridiculous. In the end, there are too many diversions to make Got That Boom a definitive standout, but by the time everything comes together for the finale, the track harnesses its full potential and transforms into something quite grand and thrilling. I’d call this a definite win for a rookie group without big-agency backing. It manages to bring together so many of 2020’s girl group trends while sounding relatively coherent. I’ll be interested to see where Secret Number go next.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This song is more than a bit of a hot mess. I’m a little punchy this morning, so I can’t really tell if it more hot or less mess, more or less, but I am intrigued.
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We’re all a bit punchy. Take that into consideration when reading anything I write for the next few days…
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I liked this better than ‘Who Dis’, I agree with most of your points. I get some 9muses (Figaro or something) vibes in the chorus, but WTH is the tic tac toe for?!
Also, are MVs in K-Pop recently been getting weaker over the last two months or so (with a few exceptions like Bon Voyage), or is it just me?
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this is because of covid, i assume – perhaps they don’t have a full team or can’t use specific sets?
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I do not think it is a budget issue. We are getting conceptless MVs which do not showcase the song properly, tell a story, or even make sense. Sometimes it is just random CGI scenes (I can’t stop me, Why not?). I have seen some brilliant MVs with low-budgets before, yet I think new K-Pop has the budget, but not the directors to succeed the way that a lore/story MV (I Need U – BTS), or a successfully shot performance based MV (Baby Don’t Stop – NCT U) could. Though I guess COVID restrictions may have something to do with it.
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LOONA is a lore group, so Why Not? was definitely not random scenes put together
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Seoulbeats noted in their MV review they could not find any plot, and it seemed to be random scenes. I enjoy some LOONA tracks (especially So What, Voice, Why Not, Butterfly amongst their post debut material), but I really could not find anything that seemed lore-related in Why Not?. If there was some lore, could someone explain to me what it is, cuz I obviously then missed it.
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I agree that it’s not a budget or covid issues in its entirety. I mean look at A.C.E. Favorite Boys-that was an incredible music video and A.C.E are known for having a pretty low budget. It’s clearly higher than their other mvs but probably a drop in the bucket to SM or JYP’s budgets yet Favorite Boys was one of my favorite MVs of the year (I’d recommend looking into the DKDKTV video explaining the mythology behind it). I mean the fashion(GODDAMN THE FASHION WAS INCREDIBLE), the set design, the lighting all seemed really carefully set. Talking about SM-I can’t be the only one who has been really let down by NCT’s most recent MVs. Like Make a Wish looked so empty. I mean compare it to other NCT U videos like Boss or I’ll even say SUper Human(though I wasn’t a fan) and it just does not hold up. Also budget means jack squat if you don’t have the creativity to bolster it. Another example would be Dreamcatcher’s MVs. They aren’t very high budget but they have the storyline and the goddamn set design to make it intriguing and engaging for viewers(I’m mostly referring to the trilogy and then Piri). I mean I’m all for glamour shots but you gotta have a bit more substance to a MV than pretty people (in my opinion-other fans may disagree). MVs that are just people dancing against an LD screen just aren’t cutting it for me. Also on the topic what on earth was the I Can’t Stop Me mv? Like it made no sense and was hella jarring I could barely focus on the song.
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ACE Goblin-Make a Wish is an awesome song and awesome video, and everyone should go watch that DKDK News special video about it which makes it even more interesting.
‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_k34MZsL7g&t=4s
dum dum walla walla dum dum hit me
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(whelp, by “Goblin/Make a wish” I meant of course “Goblin/Favorite Boys”.)
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There’s a few parts that I really like, but overall it doesn’t really grab me by the collar.
For a rookie group this is pretty good though- it sounds unique enough to set them apart in my opinion. Their vocals are quite nice as well.
‘Gimme dat dough, tic tac toe’ is another great contender for weirdest English lyrics in kpop ( but I don’t think anything will ever beat ‘shut your tongue’).
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I have a soft spot for “your love… plus my love… supa luv”.
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Ah yes! That one’s definitely up there,haha! The delivery makes it even better.
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I’m impressed by them. Good song for rookie from nugu company. Also have good talent. I wish Vine won’t waste this potential. But something wrong with MV budget.
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I like some parts of the song (I really love the pre chorus + first part of the chorus) but all of them put together just don’t do anything for me? Looking back to the whole thing it feels sort of messy
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Nah secret number is big in Indonesia cause theres one member from there, they gotta booked for Tokopedia event (like Amazon) and Dita got booked for korean make up for Indonesian Market ( Chanyeol is also their BA) so atau least they gotta money here and there
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Nah secret number is big in Indonesia cause theres one member from there, they gotta booked for Tokopedia event (like Amazon) and Dita got booked for korean make up for Indonesian Market ( Chanyeol is also their BA) so atau least they gotta money here and there
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I actually really like this song… it’s more of a yes than a mess for me. For some reason, it reminds me somewhat of Little Mix, with an ITZY influence? I think it might be the chanting post-chorus.
One of the members co-wrote the lyrics as well, so that helped. But I feel like lead vocalist needs more lines.
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is it me or there’s something off with mixing and mastering of their track since their debut track. It’s a nice song btw reminds me of EXID idk why
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I’m all for the “Tic tac toe” since TINY-G https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19VgRyl8edo
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This song slaps, this song Slaps, this song SLAPS. It needed to be said 3 times to describe the prechorus, chorus, and post chorus. I have no complaints except I wish that first chorus gets repeated again at the end. 9.5/10
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