Prior to the release of their new mini album next month, the members of Seventeen have embarked upon several offshoot projects. In April, Hoshi and The8 each delivered a solo track. Now, members Wonwoo and Mingyu have teamed up with Lee Hi for the release of Bittersweet. But while the song boasts a powerhouse line-up, its ambitions are relatively small.
In my mind, I consider a track like this to be a ‘minor’ release. This doesn’t have anything to do with minor versus major key. I just use this word to describe the level at which a song is targeting. Bittersweet isn’t meant to be a big, bombastic comeback, so when I rate it on the lower side, that doesn’t mean it’s “bad” or fails to obtain its objective. For me, there’s just a limit to how high I could score a song of this nature.
So, forgive me if my review is as subdued as Bittersweet itself. This is a lovely song that reinvents two of Seventeen’s rappers as vocalists. Bringing Lee Hi in for guest vocals gives the track added indie cred, but it’s a testament to Wonwoo and Mingyu’s skills that she doesn’t overshadow them. All three performers operate in moody territory, imbuing Bittersweet with plenty of atmosphere. Much of the melody is phrased like you’d expect from a rap song, but I love that they chose to sing it instead. The various textures of their voices blend well with the simple, guitar-led instrumental. And at just under three minutes, the track fades out before becoming too monotonous. I rarely choose to listen to songs of this style on their own, but there’s no doubt that Bittersweet is a successful effort.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
this is such a pleasant surprise. they’re two of my biases in SVT, but I had very low expectations for this because I didn’t like the snippet in the teasers. I’m so pleased to hear them actually sing AND sound good. and I have no words for Lee Hi, she’s always amazing.
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I really like this! For a song of this kind it’s definitely one of the better ones this year.
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This completely exceeded my expectations. I wasn’t sure how they’ll go about it as both of them are rappers and I assumed Lee Hi would get all the vocal parts. But I’m so pleasantly surprised. I prefer this over any rap-only track or a track like ‘Falling for you’ which is incredibly monotonous. The melody in this has enough variation to keep me engaged and I have a feeling it’ll age really well for me as well. 8.5 for me.
Super excited for the upcoming EP and multiple solo and unit projects. Before Al1 project part 2 coming soon?!
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This is a very pleasant song, i would give it like an 8 cause it’s just so good. i was nervous earlier that u might rate it low 7s or below but i’ll accept what ur 7.5
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After 2 years, I finally had one prediction right about the rating! I thought, Nick would rate it somewhere between 7 and 8. It’s produced well so definitely not lower than 7 but not his particular style either so not more than 8. I feel a little proud.
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As far as these kinds of songs go, this one is quite good. It’s monotonous without being boring. I already expected you to rate this low since it’s not your type of song, but I would rate it around 8-8.5, love the vocals here.
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I love how they seamlessly beautifully incorporated lee hi here. The vocals go wonderfully together. Hearing it twice or thrice reveals its charms more. It’s such a pleasant song.
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I was going to call it “pleasant” too, but some others beat me to it. Pleasant in a pleasing way.
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i liked this better than the8’s solo this year which i thought was kinda bad.. spider still remains superior tho
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Yes! This song is pleasant, short, and sweet. Perfect for a rainy day. I think it succeeds in what it set out to do.
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