Review

Song Review: NCT 127 – Sticker

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While BTS may be the most globally known K-pop act, I’d argue that NCT has had greater influence on the sound of this generation’s boy groups. During the first few years of their existence – with various units tackling distinct styles – this influence was surely a boon for the industry. But, now we’ve reached a point where the music is starting to feel like a dog chasing its own tail. Once lauded for their experimentation, the whole NCT project has become – in its own way – predictable. These thoughts color my expectations as I approach new single Sticker. I always hope to be impressed, but I’m fatigued by the direction SM Entertainment is steering this ship.

Sticker cobbles together a who’s who of SM’s favorite producers. We’ve got the agency’s godfather Yoo Young-Jin, paired with familiar collaborators Ryan Jhun and Dem Jointz. Each has contributed their own standout NCT material in the past. Forged together, their talents should be unstoppable. Right?

Look, I appreciate what they’re trying to do here. This is a weird little song, and that in itself is great. I’m all for pushing music forward. The instrumental is daring, from that warped, seesawing bass to shrill flute. Vocals are twisted and chopped to create an interesting playground of percussion, and it’s all tied to a minimalist atmosphere that carves plenty of space to experience every eccentricity. Yeah, the producers had fun with this one. But do I enjoy listening to it? Not particularly.

This polarizing approach puts a heavy burden on Sticker’s melodies. NCT’s vocals sound fantastic, and I’m happy to hear them more prominently engaged with the track. But, the hook feels like a limp echo of 2018’s Regular, and lacks a knockout punch. Making matters worse, it’s all peppered with that damn screechy flute. Because the song is so quiet and subdued, these grating elements stick out all the more. That’s a benefit when talking about the vocals, but a huge drawback when trying to wrestle that flute from whoever’s fingers refuse to let it go.

There may be a lot of fascinating things hidden inside Sticker, but the end result feels oddly lifeless. It’s as if the creators got lost in the details of the track but forgot to take a step back and evaluate the overall listening experience. It’s fun to appreciate individual elements in a pop song, but before you can indulge in that, the music needs to grip you in a more primordial way. Sadly, this just isn’t gripping.

 Hooks 6
 Production 8
 Longevity 7
 Bias 7
 RATING 7

113 thoughts on “Song Review: NCT 127 – Sticker”

  3. This was experimental but immensely grating. I’m expecting next week’s Coldplay X BTS to be incredibly conventional and conservative but crowdpleasing. In conclusion, Kpop is a land of contrasts.

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    • “Experimental” is – by definition – something aiming and daring to be somehow different, original, unique, and/or unexperienced before. This is actually the same old “conventional and conservative” NCT sound to crowdplease their own fanbase over and over again.
      But even according to that, at least Lemonade is barely listenable – Sticker is not.
      I wouldn’t be surprised if SM published a repacked album in 2 months with a much better title track. As usual (and everything but “experimental”).

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  4. First thing I must say is the vocal line sounds utterly incredible in this. I love hearing them add more growl and stylistic flair to their delivery. They killed it.

    As for “Sticker” as a whole, I think this could’ve been great if they bolstered the chorus with a more meaty instrumental. It feels a little bare and unfinished, despite the strong melody.

    The whistle got a little annoying near the end of the song, and the “roll up to the party” breakdown doesn’t really work for me.

    Agh I don’t know! There’s some aspects of the song I really like but some drawbacks that don’t seem like they’ll grow on me.
    “It’s as if the creators got lost in the details of the but forgot to take a step back and evaluate the overall listening experience.” Sums it up real well.

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  6. I am still trying to process this song tbh. Honestly, I don’t even think this is a song, but more like an unfinished demo. I love when artists experiment but has to mesh well, it has to sound good. The producers seemed to be too stuck into the detail, and forgot that music should create itself.

    I was waiting for the song to START, only to realize I’m half way in! I barely heard a melody, and the chorus missed me as it went by. “Lemonade” would have been a much better choice! The whole album is pretty good actually, while I usually don’t like NCT 127 albums.

    Just a real disappointment!

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  8. This flute sound so similar to what I used to hear in our smalltown when balloon seller played their flutes to lure kids out to buy some. Sadly this is just grating noise to my grownup ears and I was so excited for their return.:(

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  9. I can’t…I can’t. The entire thing just sounds so cheap and tinned, not something that I would expect from an SM production at all. Usually NCT noise has some kind of rhyme and reason to it that makes it enjoyable (or ironically enjoyable), this just sounds like they pasted together a melody and then stole a flute sample from someone’s soundcloud and put it on repeat for the whole song. The whole thing sounds like a parody of NCT. Fourth gen nugu boy group trying to be NCT.

    Usually when I hear bad releases I just kind of nod and forget they exist, but I’m actually kind of upset right now. I spent this year getting deeply invested in NCT after years of ignoring them and this feels like a huge letdown. Probably time to log off and hydrate or something.

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    • +Slightly more rational and coherent thought: listening through the album makes the decision to promote this one even more of a headscratcher. Breakfast and Far are much better songs and even if they wanted to keep a certain kind of sound and image, I don’t see why Lemonade wasn’t the automatic choice. And as a general vocal line fan, songs like Magic Carpet Ride (despite the obvious y/n pandering here) really give them a chance to shine. It makes Sticker even more of a bummer. Goddamn.

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  10. Omg yes! you post something early, I wanted to rant so much.
    Ok, so what is this really? I’m a huge nct fan, but if I weren’t I would not have listen after the first 20 seconds. This is so bad, in my opinion. The flute sound pretty much like a shittyflute parody (if you don’t know this old trend, the 21th century fox shittyflute is still one of the best video on youtube, check it out), and the first line of rap AND singing are so cringe I let out a laugh.
    But as I listen to the song more I could appreciate some part of it, the bridge especially. I like when the instrumental get fuller, in the prechorus for example, and the harmonizations of course. Vocals and harmonization are really SM forte. The piano is welcome, I like the sound of it, of the rythm behind it, except that it only made me think of regular which is superior in pretty much everything except boldness.
    In the end, it’s very not enjoyable to listen to. What is going on? And they have songs like Breakfast on the album, SM still know how to make great songs. With Hot sauce, it seems like, this year, SM producer made a bet on how good can be a song with a straight awful drop. (Hot sauce won, the drop still feel weird but the rest of the song doesn’t rely on it at all and I like it a lot). I hope that the youtube success of hot sauce didn’t influence their choice in title track, but well.

    Have you listen to the album yet?

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  11. i had a feeling you wouldn’t the instrumentals lol. i’d love to know your thoughts on breakfast and far from the new album. of course i would like to know your thoughts on all the songs but i think these two might stand out to you the most.

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    • Fam…what the fuck is this. I’m not gonna act like I’m the hugest NCT fan but I definitely expected more from them than this. I didn’t check out any of the teasers so I didn’t really know what to expect going in but WOW…this is really bad. BTW is there a filter on the vocals or something. I haven’t listened to it on headphones yet but the vocals sounded slightly muffled. VERY disappointing release, hopefully the album has something worthwhile on it.

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    • Yan Zaman, your response is perfect. I love it (I’m serious)!

      And I agree, “Breakfast” indeed is a good way to energise you in the morning!
      (I remember seeing this bside get brought up the most in conversations and I can see why. The song is kind of like the chill brother of “Superhuman”. Like Statickaa has said, it’s as if all the nice trends are merged into one. The bside sounds really nice!)

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  13. Ahhhh. I’m sorry. The I instrumental is just…really not it for me. I want to like it so bad but…It’s hard. Ah, maybe it will grow on me. Maybe. I’ll appreciate the good vocals though. I’ll take that as a win.

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  14. I adore the members of NCT and I respect that they are trying to be experimental, but if I’m going to be honest, this is one of the most unsatisfying songs I’ve heard in a long time. So much of it must feels so off-beat and off-key and it just feels very uncomfortable. The verses were forgettable –all I remember was how unsettling and underwhelming it was. The chorus was slightly better, but it couldn’t save the song. For a group that is sooooooo talented in every area, I can’t help but feel bad for them. The boys deserve so much better. I will try to listen to the song and see how it grows. I’ll try to watch a performance and hopefully it gets better.

    4/10

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  16. You know what, I prefer my kpop songs to have swings for the fences and this is a swing for the fence. After the first listen I totally got this song and I’m not sure if I love it but I definitely like it.

    The vocals are doing a lot of heavy lifting, I’ve said before that I wish that the NCT knockoffs would take some of their vocal talent too and this song is a prime example why.

    I think it’s more a contrast to how I’ve been feeling about kpop recently that we’re in a blandly component/incompetent phase right now and the fact I’ve been listening to some hyperpop so it doesn’t seem as jarring or annoying as it should but yeah I’m into it. Will expect my opinions to change though if it gets annoying to me or what have you. No one really does it like NCT

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    • Yes, I appreciate that SM swung for the fences too. Which other agency besides SM would have the ability and cojones to pick this as the lead single? SM knows its going to sell anyway, so why bury it as a b-side? Who listens to b-sides anyway – only the already converted stans and the obsessive commentating devotees like us. If an agency wants to continue to be influential in the mainstream, they have to make bold choices like this. As the Brits would say, SM didn’t do this by halves.

      On the other hand, I fully expect the forthcoming collaboration song by another group to be so straight ahead contemporary sounding that there may as well be a pumpkin spice latte remix.

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      • I agree, but I don’t think this is even as bold as we’re making it out to be. Yes, the instrumental is weird but otherwise this just follows the NCT 127 formula.

        Give me something like SHINee’s One Minute Back or Hey! Say! JUMP’s I and then we’ll talk bold. This is just kind of dull.

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  17. I have never heard any song quite like this, where there are basically no ups and downs in energy, continuously off-kilter, so much that it takes quite some time to adjust to what the track is trying to do. I don’t think it is emotionless, just that this “swag” emotion has been used so much that it feels like there is no emotion to the track. The melody is really strong, and the flute sample isn’t that bad really. But this is the one song I will ask for a more streamlined arrangement. And less vocal effects.

    7.75 for me. (8,6,8,9)

    Here’s to hoping that the repackaged title track will be better.

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  19. GUYS! I THINK I MIGHT’VE FOUND THE REASON WHY THE EXECUTIVES OR YOO-YOUNG JIN COULDN’T HAVE REMOVED THE FLUTE FROM THE SONG!
    “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7gu1alK3iM”

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  20. I only have one relief in this. I so did not want to have a drop chorus after all those off kilter verses and thank goodness, we didn’t.

    I actually appreciate how experimental this is but the flute sample really wasn’t it and they added it way too much everywhere.

    I really waited for a symphonic chorus with a fuller instrumental but this just sounded bare and the melody is reminiscent of older NCT tracks. Let’s hope the repackage comes with a better title.

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  22. I don’t know what ya’ll talking about. I think this song is perfect! 10 out of 10! …for TikTok. I can already see it coming! The song reminds me of the good old days in music class when I was a kid. Happily smashing keys and hollering Circle of Life at the top of our lungs

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  23. All through the song, I was like yeah, this will get better, this will get better but no, it just didn’t happen. Also, I totally agree with you that the individual elements of the song and the vocals maybe great but it just doesn’t work put together.But also somewhere I’m a bit glad that even though it’s not great, they continued to experiment with their sounds, which I think requires mention. And yeah, I hate that flute too, it’d be annoying on a headphone for sure.

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  24. I really like it. Very different and I love the chorus. I like it’s sparse arrangement and even the flute doesn’t bother me, I don’t really get why people say it’s jarring and out of tune. It’s a good mix of NCTs hard edge with a lush chorus. Very good.

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  25. Late to the party again. I’m just on the wrong time zone this season.

    I’m going to be the contrarian. I think it is rather interesting. It sounds like EXO “Monster”, five years on, and refashioned for the NCT sound. Like Monster and Make a Wish got together and had a baby.

    To be honest, I rather listen to this weirdo funny looking kid song that makes me ponder than the nth iteration of some dark theme trappy happy clappy shit. I’d rather have something pushing the boundaries out, than something that paints within the lines.

    It’s also rather bold of SM to release a song that has a skeletal instrumental like this, because they know that even without a vocal backing track, they know their boys will be able to perform this. Its almost acapella, the vocal / rap line, as there is minimal instrumental to cue what key its in. Compare this to Lisa’s Lalalisa song which is equally skeletal. How much faith do you have that these guys will be able to this live versus Lisa? (I think the only performance out so far on James Corden is pre-recorded on those mics ‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Jf3QmsMkI but it still gives you an idea of what their live live will be like.)

    Its a yes for me. Mid 8’s.

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  26. I kind of love this. It has the right amount of crazy around the eyes, and the skeletal deconstructed ghost salsa thing really grabs me. There is a little less contrast between the parts than I’d like, but solid 8 from me.

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  27. I’m sorry but this is easily my least favourite NCT title track. I appreciate the experimentation, but this just feels all over the place. I don’t like shitting on songs but other than the brief pulsating chords that appear in the bridge, I can’t seem to enjoy anything else about this track. It honestly just feels like a meme. I like the album, though. ‘Breakfast’, ‘Far’, ‘Dreamer,’ and ‘Promise You’ are nice.

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  28. Can we have a TVXQ comeback now, please?!

    I just know that instead of a flute I wanted a piano. Dem Jointz’s sound is not for me, I guess. I think I liked Punch but I always forget how it goes so…

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  29. In a way, I don’t think of this as a song so much as an experience. And as an experience it’s great. I do wish the vocal line was given more of a melody to show off with. I still think 127 holds the title for best underutilized vocal line in kpop. The flute isn’t nearly as bad on speakers. There are two stand-out moments for me: the pre-chorus (especially the 2nd one) and the “roll up to the party” part of the bridge. I really want to hear songs based around those parts. The more I listen to the pre-chorus, the more I love it. It really has everything: great melody & performance, a cool instrumental, & a good vocal arrangement.
    (Also, I’m convinced someone at SM said “Jaehyun doesn’t have enough fans” & decided to use this comeback to fix that. Not that I’m complaining.)

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  30. This is definitely a divisive song for the discography however I want to be that one person and say that I did enjoy it. Its a far cry from a typical song even for NCT but I see unfamiliarity in the song elements as fun. Admittedly i’m on the fence about the piano coming in and I think a better flute sample could’ve been used but I otherwise like it. Maybe even just another element to give to either the chorus and/or verses would give it more body. The stripped-back nature doesn’t really work the best with such experimental and jarring sounds to me.

    That being said, the b-sides really shine in this album and the total album experience is great from the 3 total listens i’ve given it.

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  31. Um what’s is this song? I listen to superhuman after and i can feel the money gap. This just not it for me but i get the feeling that it’ll grow on me soon tho. The boys’ vocals sound pleasantly great and i’m just glad we got chorus where people is actually singing.

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  32. I’m curious if there are b sides that I should give a listen to. Any recommendations? I’ve only heard breakfast so far, which I like a lot more than the title track.

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  33. I’ve found my groove with NCT comeback. Listen to the song with no expectations, end up hating the song, after two weeks, either hate it more (gimme gimme), or become obsessed with it (Hot Sauce/Kick it).

    Time will only tell what will happen with Sticker, but I hope that that shrill squeaky flute in the background doesn’t grow on me. Maybe someone will make an edit without it? (Please somebody do that for me.)
    NCT’s sound is becoming very “recycled” I guess. It’s just that some of the recycled songs sound good, and the others…sound like Sticker. The vocals are amazing, they look amazing, and the instrumental… whatever.

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    • Its almost uncannily similar to Hot Sauce. Weird sample, offbeat verses, pre-chorus that doesn’t fit with everything else (Sticker’s pre-chorus production basically sounded like meme music), let-down chorus, best part being the bridge, breakdown, last chorus with a few extra (awkward) ad-libs.

      Yeah, yeah, I see what you mean by recycled.

      NCT are at their bets when they break out of this mold (Superhuman, Highway To Heaven, Without You, basically any song that seems made more for the 7 vocalists than the 2 rappers).

      As Nick said, they’ve become predictable in an….. unpredictable way. Sure, their songs itself are experimental, and the vocal techniques they use are always a welcome but seldom added addition. But when take a look at what NCT is as a whole, NCT 127 is hip-hop with a little pop, NCT Dream is hip-hop with some more pop (though Hello Future was a very welcome exception and has almost edged out My First And Last as my favorite Dream song), and WayV is the only project that seems unpredictable. (Really loved their Awaken The World album)

      and NCT Hollywood please no

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        • I’d have guessed two good vocalists, two okay vocalists who sometimes rap, three good rappers, two okay rappers who sometimes sing.

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          • NCT 127 has quite a lot of vocalists who don’t shine much. Not an expert or a hardcore fan, but I think it goes like this.

            5 (+1) vocalists – Haechan, Doyoung, Taeil, Yuta, Jungwoo and (previously) Winwin

            2 guys who do rapping or singing but mostly walking around shirtless – Jaehyun and Johnny

            2 Rappers – Mark and Taeyong

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            • Jaehyun has always been a main vocal – original Without You and Timeless vocal line was Taeil/Doyoung/Jaehyun. Winwin has never been in vocal (or rap) line. But yeah 127’s composition is more like an entire choir who happens to have two rappers than a more balanced rap/vocal group.

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              • Thanks for the rundown – I know I watched a “brief” (lol) guide once ages ago, but I just haven’t been interested enough in any of their releases to retain anything much other than “when does that guy Mark sleep?” They really do seem to be underusing all those vocalists – even with that terrible flute boring into my head, I could hear some good stuff in there.

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  34. I’ve found my groove with NCT comeback. Listen to the song with no expectations, end up hating the song, after two weeks, either hate it more (gimme gimme), or become obsessed with it (Hot Sauce/Kick it).
    Time will only tell what will happen with Sticker, but I hope that that shrill squeaky flute in the background doesn’t grow on me. Maybe someone will make an edit without it? (Please somebody do that for me.)
    NCT’s sound is becoming very “recycled” I guess. It’s just that some of the recycled songs sound good, and the others…sound like Sticker. The vocals are amazing, they look amazing, and the instrumental… whatever.

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  35. 🎶 Don’t care, jamming to Sticker 🎶

    The song is wacked out the wazoo but it grew on me almost instantly after 2nd listen. (hmm sounds like Next Level) The bass in the chorus brings the song together, and the flute isn’t bad

    Also, how did they make ‘cowboys’ work?

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  36. Apparently having a melodic chorus is not edgy anymore. I know NCT 127 is always innovating but the chorus of Sticker has to be one of the most jarring I’ve heard. The guys sound great but I think it would’ve been way better with a nice instrumental background. There’s part where the songs sounds great, especially when you hear hints of Yoon Young-jin. Who knows maybe it’ll grow on me, many kpop songs released this year have grown in me a lot, especially STAYC’s Stereotype and ITZY’s In the morning.

    It seems Sticker has had a good response in South Korea as it is soaring in the charts. I had to replay the song once again to see if I had missed anything. Is it as bad as I thought it was the first time? Was I too harsh or close-minded on that chorus? Seriously, what did I missed? I know charts are more an indication of popularity but I swear NCT 127 hadn’t charted this good in a while.

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    • Personally, it’s weird enough that I was not expecting it to do well. And from years being in underground music, I’m always pleased but baffled when something I like charts.

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  37. Look, I like noise music okay? I really do. I like songs that are obnoxious and loud and have random sound effects in them. So I feel like I should like “Sticker”, but instead I’m trying to remember the last time I disliked a song this intensely on first listen and I can’t think of anything, and that’s saying something because yesterday I actually listened to every song Nick had graded 3 or 4. Maybe it’s just that I like my farty instrumentals lower pitched or maybe I’ve discovered something under the low, low bar I have for “not enough music”. I have no idea and I don’t really want to find out, because I really do not want to listen to this again – I had to physically brace myself before the second listen.

    I did make it through the rest of the album and didn’t actively dislike [s]any[/s] most* of the other tracks – I added “Lemonade” to my hip-hop playlist, “Dreamer” was a pleasantly retro surprise that actually had me grooving in my chair and feels like it got lost on its way to another group’s album, and “Promise You” hits the kind of mid-tempo synth vibe I like for bgm when I’m focused on something else – but as a whole, the entire album felt meandering and pointless and I ended up skipped a lot of it after listening for a minute or so.

    *I wrote the first draft of this sentence before getting to “Bring The Noize”. Blech. I gotta go listen to that amazing MIYAVI album a few more times to clear my head.

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    • For some reason my brain decided I should give MONSTA X’s “Gambler” another shot this morning – maybe I was thinking about noisy songs Nick liked that I didn’t – and dang it if it didn’t finally click. I’ve been really into industrial-influenced k-pop recently (ITZY’s “In The Morning” finally made the playlist recently) so I decided to give aespa’s “Next Level” another go, and it’s still an ehhhh. Those tempo changes just don’t work for me. It’s got some higher-pitched synths too, so maybe that’s just a killer for me.

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      • I liked Gambler and Next Level right away, but you’d think Lalisa would be my cup of tea, and i really dislike it. And i don’t think I’ll ever warm to Thunderous. Everyone’s got the noise they like.

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        • True that. I dislike “Lalisa” as well, but “Thunderous” has grown on me a good bit, mostly due to the stages. Honestly, I’d be fine never listening to “Sticker” again – like, I think I hate it but don’t want to listen to it again to confirm – so it won’t be getting the chance to grow on me unless everyone’s raving about it here at the end of the year.

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  40. Now, the song isn’t bad overall considering it was mainly vocals but i can definitely agree that the flute was 😬. The only things I didnt like about the song is the “roll to the party” part and the flute. I think the song was an 8/10 since its not bad.

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  41. Sometimes your like or dislike of a song boils down to one comparatively tiny portion of the instrumental; and that god awful screech flute is it for me. It opens the track, assaults my ears, and then doesn’t leave for the entire duration of the song. I can’t even focus on all the other weirdness going on. I don’t think I will ever get past it, and I would like very much to never hear it again. Therefore, I might have to slot this just below what was my least favorite NCT title track: Regular.
    Part of me feels like SM is just aiming to make this the year that all their repacks surpass their initial release. 127 will inevitably get one and hopefully it will be better. Yet, as always it won’t get the appreciation it deserves simply because it’s a repack.

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    • 100% with you on never wanting to hear that flute again. I’ll defend obnoxious music sometimes, but I’ll also concede that if part of an instrumental hits your brain like an ice pick, life is too short for trying to force yourself to get past it.

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  42. The instrumental (or the lack of it) just boggles my mind 😂 I don’t know what to feel. The production felt good otherwise. They sound good. Look good. I mean that thumbnail?! Easily one of the coolest thumbnails I have seen! All their sets have such good aesthetics – the colors and everything!

    The song is… 😂 I won’t judge now. I’m the one who hated Hot Sauce and then went “I’m addicted!!” months after that. I have rewired my brain for NCT so this is pretty much what I expected!

    I would say the one thing I like about NCT as a whole is that they embrace their weirdness. I love that about them. To me they don’t look forced or awkward or screaming “Help! Get me out of here!” 😂

    I have a strange feeling after a few live stages this is gonna stick”er” 😛

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  43. I have mixed feelings about this song (I think). I like the vocal performance and the stacked harmonies (something we can always count on SM for). I honestly, didn’t mind the versus, but I think the song would be better if the chorus was different. The chorus was the part of the song that caused the mixed feelings, and I just figured out why. The instrumental for the chorus is the same as the second part of the versus (but maybe its the first half of the pre-chorus since it’s repeated?). If more going on with instrumental during the chorus, the song would only be improved. I think the variation in the vocals across the whole track is what saves it.

    Side note: I didn’t realize how much of Super Junior’s vocals are modeled after Yoo Young-Jin until now. Several times I was reminded of Super Junior with NCT’s vocal delivery. The common factor here being Yoo Young-Jin.

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  47. I can’t stop laughing at how bad it is. It is too much. I cant- 🤣🤣 i am not even disappointed with how ridiculous it is. I never expected that a song like this will be called experimenting with music. Instrumental aside, the vocals also seem very weird.

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    • I never knew rapping over four flute notes is called experimenting with music. It is called ridiculousness. I would like to know how many people composed this song. Maybe seven or ten.

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  48. Is this song really bad because it’s experimental? (It’s true that SM/NCT has become rather predictable …. BUT it’s still ‘experimental’.)

    I personally find this 100x bearable than Lalisa. Chorus is good. Harmonies are good. I just can’t stand the rapping.

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  49. I’ll be one hundred percent honest about the song. At first when it played I thought, “I’m not going to like this am I?” It continued for 40 seconds, until my brain processed wtf was happening in the song and I started to get it. It wasn’t actually bad to me, it was strange but it was a good strange that I didn’t mind. I actually did not mind the crappy flute in the back going off, the only part that I wish had more of that “ooomph” feel was when they said “roll up to the party” and there was that buildup. It would have been such a perfect opportunity to add something amazing for the drop there instead of going back to the chorus as a drop. Would have loved to see a dance break near the end. Would have given this a 7.9/10 at least, it’s not their best title track in their discography but it’s definitely not horrid and can’t listen to anymore.

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