Hyoyeon’s solo reinvention as “HYO” (DJ HYO, if you’re nasty) has been an uneven ride so far. She’s delivered a few stellar tracks (Punk Right Now, Badster), while others have relied more of guest collaborators. Second pairs her with buzzy soloist BIBI and opts for a percussive sound targeted at summer. While many of the song’s rhythmic elements leave their mark, the overall packages fizzles.
I appreciate the percussion within this track. It’s a bit plonky for my taste (pick up the beat, girls!), but there’s a nice variety of sounds within the arrangement. An insistent rumble of synthy bass lends the song weight, but threatens to steamroll over the rest of the production. Second is at its best when the instrumental breathes during BIBI’s rap verse. A more stripped-back arrangement would have done wonders for this song. I really want to dive into that percussive backdrop, but too many competing elements steal attention from the core groove.
An incredible hook could have cut through this noise, but Second’s chanted post-chorus ruins much of the fun. I enjoy the fast-paced refrain that precedes it. Hyoyeon’s vocal compliments the rhythm and increases the song’s energy. However, that goodwill is undone by the cloying nature of the “it’s gonna take a second” hook. It’s like the pop song version of a meme – short and snappy but hollow and flimsy. Second has so many enticing ingredients, but tries to be too many things, all at once.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
The song sounds like a basic girl group song.
The chanted post-chorus “wait a second, it’ll take a second” is my favorite part.
But the part I hate is how at 2:22 it teases a key change and then Nope! no key change. Just Bibi emerging to do her part. It might have been gimmicky, but the song could have thrown a key change in there at 2:22, and then few times more like Beyonce’s “Love on Top”.
As a side note “You know what I deserve, Dessert.” is the still a sticky hook stuck in my head even though I haven’t heard the Dessert song since it first came out. It would be great in an ad, and I can easily picture my brother-in-law saying the phrase.
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Lol a key change makes every song better imo- definitely could have made this song more interesting!
I agree about Dessert too, I probably heard that song all the way through maybe 3 times when it came out and can still remember that hook. I don’t think Second has that same stickiness but we’ll see!
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There are some parts of this that have potential, overall it feels to me like it was slapped together last minute. The phrasing in that chanted post-chorus is distractingly awkward imo. I’ll say the same thing I commented about Weekend by Taeyeon, which is that I would much rather have gotten a SNSD/Oh!GG comeback than this.
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I hate when they raise the edm synth So high. It’s the instrumental equivalent to a singer straining their voice and singing shrill. The post chorus should’ve been changed to be more anthemic, and the verses were too repetitive. I think a minimal start to the track would’ve been a good choice.
I like this better than dessert but I think it’s because the song kinda sounds like hello future by NCT dream
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I liked the lyrics of BiBi’s verse (at least through the translation) – it’s a good message and gives the song a bit more thematic heft than a summer song ordinarily would.
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Why do type song like this always get 7 score? Tbh Many new release who i though good so much always only get 7 or 6 score while song who i though good but not “superior” always get high score like 8,9,10
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Define “song like this,” because that description is too vague for us to have a discussion.
But, I suspect it’s a matter of musical preferences. Mine may not match yours, and that’s fine. It doesn’t mean either of is right or wrong.
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For me this is the best Hyoyeon song
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