Whenever groups make a quick comeback (less than three months in The Boyz’ case), I want to assume it’s because they found an incredible track and simply can’t wait to share it with the world. Ah, wouldn’t that be nice? Honestly, The Boyz are in need of a killer comeback. Their sales and popularity may be stronger than ever, but their 2021 music has suffered a precarious drop in quality. A single titled Maverick is sure to turn things around, right?
Sadly, Maverick forgets its namesake. There’s nothing unique or independent-minded about it, unless being shouted at for three minutes somehow counts as “inventive.” Like so many recent boy group comebacks, this is less a song than a Kingdom stage. I’m not sure agencies are even considering how these tracks fare without the accompanying visuals and choreo. It’s all about how loud and tough the groups can be, and I hope I’m not the only one exhausted by this approach.
The Boyz have never been a powerhouse vocal group, but they do have vocalists. Neither Maverick nor past single Thrill Ride have given them much to do. This song isn’t much of a rap showcase either. Instead, most of the structure is driven by blustery sing talk that goes nowhere. The verses and pre-chorus are decent, if totally generic, but as soon as Maverick plunges into its shouty hell of a chorus, I’m out. The instrumental here is obnoxious and loud for loud’s sake, vomiting sirens and clanging percussion. It buries The Boyz’ individual appeal in K-pop mush, rendering them faceless. I guess I’ll have to keep clinging onto March’s brilliant Prism – the single that never was and the kickoff for a fictional 2021 discography that could have been fresh and transformative.
| Hooks | 5 |
| Production | 6 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 6 |
| RATING | 6 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This is literally just a budget demo version of The Stealer. Like what Is this??
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This feels disrespectful to The Stealer ngl.
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This song is thiscloseto an NCT / SuperM song. That’s all I got.
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Absolutely! The Stealer reminded me of EXO, Thrill Ride of NCT Dream, and Maverick of SuperM and Jopping. The SMification of The Boyz continues…
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To be fair, Giddy Up and Right Here were sounds up on SHINee’s alley..so…
I’d want The Boyz to branch out their sounds in a more dramatic style. Prism, Kingdom Come and Drink It pointed to quite a promising direction.
…So what the hell was this?
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I remembered Jopping after I heard it. I do not remember one single note of this. To be fair, I didn’t make it through the song. And after my experience trying to remember BTS’s Film Out, I’m not going through that again.
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I LOVED Thrill Ride, I knew it would hold up but I never expected to like it so much two months later. This………..no. No thank you. This, along with Just B’s second comeback, I hope that this sound doesn’t make a comeback after its been done to death.
Thought Reveal was their low point, yep, they’ve broken expectations with this one.
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What’s with all these boy groups trying to nan apeuro jjilleo jwau new thangs
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Hey, they ballin, they fight together.
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i know the whole ‘look how badass and tough and cool we are’ thing is very In at the moment and will probably stay that way for the foreseeable future, but i just can’t get over what a weird choice it is for most k-pop groups. the typical member of one of these groups seems like a fairly goofy late teen/early twenty-something dude to whom this kind of aggressive posturing does not seem to come naturally. it just makes the whole thing come off as extra silly.
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Right? I know some fans love it (“omg the dUalITy!!”) but instead I just can’t take them seriously if I know not one hour later they’re gonna be doing aegyo on Vlive.
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Yeah I get what you’re saying.
All in all I’m okay with cool/badass concepts because I like how K-pop groups can show different versions of themselves as their group explores different concepts, like actors playing a different role. It makes me feel like I contain multitudes as well (like there’s a secret badass within me lol).
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I feel that! I’m not totally opposed to the occasional bit of in your face badassery in k-pop, but i just feel like certain groups pull it off better than others (like it’s more believable and feels less ridiculous to me coming from monsta x or bigbang than the boyz or nct dream). overall though i agree that it can be fun to watch groups try out different things!
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Oooh yes Monsta X and Big Bang definitely can sell badassery well! I think the more established a group becomes the easier it is to pull off a cool/badass concept, because they’ve earned their place over the years.
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My primary thought coming out of my second listen was that whoever got stuck with the line “I’m back in the game, son” did their best but a line like that has to be earned, not earnest.
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Wow I truly hate this song. I hate it in a way that would get me cancelled and screamed at on Twitter. As you said, the verses are passable, the chorus is just unforgivable.
Well, I’ll say they look amazing. The boyszzzzz look great. Their styling is impeccable. The heist concept is fun if a little played out at this point. I like it when they look at each other homoerotically. Yeah, the visual elements are all here. Unfortunately that can be said of most groups at this point. I mean, TBZ are remarkably handsome even amongst stars, but they have so much more to bring to the table musically, and I liked basically all of their releases prior to this year, it’s really sad to have to sigh and say again, great gowns, beautiful gowns.
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PS– no fault of theirs, but it probably doesn’t help that for me, the word ‘maverick’ still brings to mind John McCain’s presidential run.
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Or Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun, for the old people here.
I believe there is a new one coming out next year.
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It’s not just you. John McCain ruined that word for me.
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It reminds me of logan paul….
So yeah…
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Everything was okay-ishh until the chorus hits. I though I heard EPEX’s Lock Down for a sec.
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Is ‘moduga pay pay pay, only for fame fame fame, dadeul obey bey bey’ the part you’re referring to? Because same
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Yup, that part lmao. Back in the game…. Modu ga pay…..
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“Honestly, The Boyz are in need of a killer comeback.” They really do. I’m one of those who were intrigued by TBZ after their growth in popularity from RtK and Kingdom, and I’ve just been very disappointed thus far. It sucks because I wanted to like them, but I’m already on the way out.
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I’m in the same boat. Their RtK stages were stunning and creative and interesting. Their KINGDOM stages, and subsequent comebacks, have been none of those things.
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It makes me sad that a group that has so much potential is steered into a copy of NCT 127. That particular brand of noise often seems to be too challenging even for SM boys to comfortably inhabit and now The Boyz. I felt so bad for Taeil and Doyoung when I saw them looking miserable while performing Sticker and even though TBZ are all very performance-focused, I still believe that their vocal line deserves a comeback with a song that would let them shine.
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What is this? Like really what is this? This is literally the stealer wannabe and the chorus, it’s so horrible that I totally did not want to listen any longer. The prechorus and bridge were close to forgivable and then came the chorus again and..
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This just ain’t it. Had I not stan The Boyz, I won’t even listen to the whole thing.
Pre-ordered the album because it’s their last release under Cre.ker. I won’t say I regret it because I want to keep it as a memento or whatever, but it’s a little bitter that MAVERICK has to be ‘that important’ release.
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Oh, I didn’t hear about this. Are they switching agencies or what? Does that mean maybe we can hope their music will change directions soon lol
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Believe Creker is merging with PlayM (Apink & Weeekly’s label)
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Vroom vroom vroom vroom vroom vroom skrrrrrt
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Aah yes, that was exactly what I was reminded of.
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before you make fun of the boyz maverick song please keep in mind that the boyz isn’t supposed to be good it’s absurdist performance art please leave them alone the songs aren’t sincerely bad they’re just pretending to be bad and it’s not the boyz’ fault you don’t understand that 😦
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why cant people understand maverick is soty along with bea tea ass permission to dance, lalisalami and ai group’s i’m real, they have no taste bcuz theyir tongues were cut off >:(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
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It sucks when the idols are talented and the behind-the-camera designers are killing it, but the song is just bad.
I think the Boyz haven’t had a good title track chorus in a while.
“Maverick” feels like it’s trying to be NCT, but missing the memorable songwriting that makes the badass posturing in NCT tracks believable.
Thanks for highlighting “Prism” though! I’ll go listen to that.
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The things we could’ve had if only that chorus wasn’t disastrous… The b-sides are better.
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I so want to like the Boyz. I mean I really really do like them. Honestly I wanted them to win Kingdom though I discovered them for the first time there.🤗 Stealer, Reveal and Kingdom Come are the stuff that made me fall in love with them and now……
I held my breath through the pre-chorus which was actually sounding pretty nice. Then came the chorus. If I had a table I would have flipped it because “WHY EPEX LOCKDOWN?!!!” 😭 I do not understand. Like why waste a pre-chorus like that?!! Why do you not want to sing in your chorus?!
I did not like Thrill Ride but it did have that obnoxious instrumental which did catch on for better or worse. I really hoped Maverick would show off their mature side again with the title and all but that chorus pretty much killed it.
Overall I would even say this song is good but the Lockdown like chorus is too jarring! I am not a fan of Lockdown either but atleast that worked!!! This is…. All I can say is “Why? WHY?!”
So again I will continue with my hopes for a Kingdom Come MV and just wait…..😂❤️
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November off to a great start 😃.
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No but seriously this song is ass, back to Drink It i go.
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LOL
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Drink It is far better than whatever this crap was. Heck, even Thrill Ride was a lot more fun than this. Some companies really just put out anything these days.
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Man I really must have missed something. I think the song is pretty good. Liked it on first listen, that pre chorus was niiiice. I like NCT so the comparisons don’t bother me.
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Yeah its bad. But what do you expect fron TBZ? Their songs have never been good except for Reveal and the stealer. They are just exemplary repesentation of 4th generation who succeded in getting cometcial success from overwhelming visual and performance with cool/edge concept. Classic elements like vocal and quality song, story, lyrics are one of the most ignored elements in todays ‘globalization of kpop’era.
Thats the reason why we lost Gfriend and lovelyz.
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Agree to disagree then, ’cause my favorite tracks from TBZ are not the ones you mentioned. You are critical of their “edgy” concept but you say their only good songs are the ones with that concept. Have you not listened to Right Here? Giddy Up? Bloom Bloom? Some of the great classics of our time…. hard to believe they’re sung by the same kids who are now BACK IN THE GAME.
RIP Lovelyz though, I heard it’s official today :((((
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Edgy bg can make good songs of course. But it narrows variety of their music. No offense to you, it is just my personal opinion. I think TBZ doesnt match with this edgy concept. They are well matched with bright concept, but looks like forced to do this concept due to global appeal.
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im gonna make an entire playlist dedicated to lovelyz as a tribute
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Agreed completely. 4th gen groups are largely focused on visuals and choreography; everything else is secondary. It’s so boring.
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I’ve been disappointed by all post-kingdom comebacks (even though I know “Maverick” isn’t one), so much so, that the best single which came from these rush of comebacks was literally BTOB’s Outsider. And that’s a pretty below average song for me.
I’d say I have hopes for IKON but considering how YG works, it’ll probably take those wackjobs two years to make the post-kin comeback with *TWO* songs and indicating with where “At Ease” left us, I am not sure if it’ll offer us any quality either.
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I adore Thrill Ride and like this just fine. Y’all can go ahead and be grumpy. All you need to round out the discussion is to bellow “get off my lawn!” to the 4th gen.
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Worst, most useless and most puzzling comeback of the year (rookies included).
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As Yan pointed out on the IAMCA discord, the song can rot in hell for one line:
‘Don’t be a chaser’
This sums up the producer’s approach.
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Jokes aside, I don’t really hate it, even if it is somewhat weak.
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I don’t know what to say except that is simply too noisy and brash for anyone to enjoy. I will take omega x vamos anytime over this at least the energy was engaging compared to this one
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this group consistently puts out the worst music imaginable and i don’t even think it’s working for them like for nct and stray kids but they still continue to do it
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screaming and crying this is the song that makes me lose even more interest in tbz… i miss their old stuff so much. like someone said this is their smbgification and they don’t even have that quirkiness or signature sound that sm songs have. i like the prechorus and verses as well but the chorus threw me off completely. wtf are these lyrics. hoping they don’t go in this direction any further but it seems like they’re already dangling off the cliff. or maybe they’ve fallen already
unrelated but if you’re interested in it i’d love to hear your thoughts on the girls planet 999 songs! they’re all very fun and worthy of a listen
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I really want them to follow the Checkmate, Kingdom Come and Drink It route.
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I like the Boyz, but this song feels like doing a ‘badass’ song in all the wrong ways. I can’t get past what feels like just an awkward chorus. The constant repeating of ‘ima, ima, im a maverick’, respectfully, reminds me of blackpinks english lyrics. I enjoyed thrill ride a lot for what its worth but I can’t sit through this song
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I love the Boyz. I’ve loved them almost since their debut days so it hurts me to see their music decline like this. Their older stuff is insanely good (ex. Giddy Up, No Air, The Stealer, etc) and with their newfound popularity, I would hope they could capitalize on that. Thrill Ride was okay to me but Maverick just misses the mark completely. I could possibility even say that I hate this song. The Boyz are great artists so I hope the next comeback can be something worthy of their performances. I dont think my heart can handle another disappointing comeback by them.
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Well I guess most of the comments came from fans that has high expectations. Cant even give credit or look to the things they want to achieve as 4th gen groups or on the hardwork that the boyz have gone thru.
I can see the point that the song is not for everyone so as kpop to some listeners as a genre of music. But whats with the hate and hurtful terms tho? But this is just me as well. Im just sad that majority of the thoughts in this article are negative I cant even take it constructively because the approach is pure hate.
Still, I stan not because of just comeback musics. But the behind of each comeback that they are doing. (Not all idol groups makes a comeback in a year) some of them until know are seeking for comeback and proper promotion. Thats why I always support them because who knows when will be their last comeback. Hoping not soon tho. Peaceout
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Well I guess most of the comments came from fans that has high expectations. Cant even give credit or look to the things they want to achieve as 4th gen groups or on the hardwork that the boyz have gone thru.
I can see the point that the song is not for everyone so as kpop to some listeners as a genre of music. But whats with the hate and hurtful terms tho? But this is just me as well. Im just sad that majority of the thoughts in this article are negative I cant even take it constructively because the approach is pure hate.
Still, I stan not because of just comeback musics. But the behind of each comeback that they are doing. (Not all idol groups makes a comeback in a year) some of them until know are seeking for comeback and proper promotion. Thats why I always support them because who knows when will be their last comeback. Hoping not soon tho. Peaceout
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Fair enough, but I think it’s important to note that criticism does not equal “hate.”
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Yeah but sometimes I want to tell people to lighten up.
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Too much like NCT low budget. Wtf is going on?!
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I don’t hate it, but the chorus did make me cringe a little, and after second listen I decided not to bother playlisting it. I might have loved it if Nick had given it a five, but it’s just not quite there. I love a lot of fourth gen stuff, including stuff that is not popular here, but there’s a line between obnoxious banger (BAILA CON OX!) and obnoxious unlistenable (Sticker) and this falls just on the wrong side of that line.
Nothing for me in the b-sides either, which is too bad as I still quite like several of the b-sides from their last release. So it goes!
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I like “Drink It” more every time I listen to it though.
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Ooh. I haven’t kept up with Omega X lately (or anything K-pop, honestly), but BAILA CON OX seems to be right up my alley; thanks for mentioning it.
Now I wonder what’s the deal with that group and their passionate clobbering of the Spanish language, though.
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I feel really weird about Omega X – I like or love all seven of their obnoxious tracks (my least favorite, as perhaps expected, is the one Nick wrote a hidden gem review on), but I’ve found their performances universally boring. They’re all re-debuts so I’d expect at least a couple stand out members, but nope. Plus their choreo is really boring. Ah well. As for the Spanish thing, maybe someone figured that Kard’s output might be down while Jseph is enlisted and decided to try and go after the Hispanic market.
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As for omega x maybe i’m the only one who likes vamos 😩 baila con ox is good too but vamos makes me feel so hype and stop me from feeling sleepy 😂
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I also love “VAMOS”! I love all of their songs except “younger”, which I still like quite a lot!
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Yessss!!! I love their songs too because they’re noisy it feels different from the stuff others are doing. I like younger but i have to say they’re better when they’re doing hype songs 😂
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*even if they’re noisy
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I love Vamos and Younger. Haven’t really dug into their new one.
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I loved Thrill Ride. It had a fun, chaotic spirit that reminded me a bit of 50s R&B. I absolutely did not like this. It’s so scattered. All the elements I usually love but it just did not jell. Not enough contrast between hard and soft, dumb tag lines, just eh. I didn’t even make it all the way through the song. The Boyz make some of my favorite songs, but their discography is really patchy for me.
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Aww it seems like I’m in the tiny minority who actually enjoyed this song. I don’t like how the chorus sounds similar to the one in EPEX’s debut but I loved it. It’s just up my alley and because I loved The Stealer so much I just automaticaly loved this song as well. I LOVE IT. I had a great time listening to it 😀
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Yeah, me too. I’m surprised by the fact that on second listening I actually liked it. However, I think it’s undeniable that this is one of those songs that don’t really work without the accompanying MV.
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typo error: *automatically
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I don’t think its a bad song. Its just reminds me too much of other arguably better songs, and I just as soon go listen to those instead.
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Didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to listen to this yesterday. Seems I made the right call! In a year with its fair share of dreadful comebacks, this might be the worst one yet.
I’ll never really understand the NCT comparisons in cases like this. Even at their most chant-heavy, there’s always a nimbleness to their songs – nothing like the plodding sludge some of these younger groups are churning out.
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You are spot on about NCT. Nimble is the right word.
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Man, I love prism. Imagine this mv with prism now that’s a comeback worth enjoying
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It’s like NCT 127 yelled the chorus for one song and now everybody wants to join in the yelling.
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Yes and with 100% less Doyoung, Haechan, and Taeil to balance it out.
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To my surprise, this is really growing on me. Objectively I hear all the things that are disappointing (especially coming from this group) but it’s catchy. The pre-chorus has a nice light touch, and I enjoy the way the major ‘I’m a, I’m a, I’m a maverick’ sits over the minor chord progression. The rhythm of the phrase is fun too.
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I get some of yall to want to point out criticism, but some of these comments are just plain hate saying they consistently put out bad music. I get if their music isn’t their preference, but it doesn’t always mean it’s objectively bad:/ And yeah, I like the song. The chorus does remind me of Lockdown, and I dislike that song, but somehow, Maverick works for me; it sounds very hype. I love the pre-chorus and their vocals. I didn’t really like Thrill Ride, so I’m happy with this. However, I hope they can release songs as good as Kingdom Come, Drink it, and Prism as a title track next year. I’d like them to steer away from hip-hop—pls less short rap verses from members who don’t typically rap.
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ok this is definitely tbzs weakest tt theres no denying that but to say it doesnt have any vocal moments……chanhees high note after the bridge is right there lmao
(thats not to say the songs a good fit for the groups vocal line lol like if uve ever heard chanhees covers on vlives n shit u know he can do so much more than this and i DESPERATELY need a song where his amazing vocals get highlighted bc i love his vocal color so so so much)
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also i think im speaking for a huge part of deobi nation when i say i need a breaking dawn 2.0 like at least that one is a GOOD example of smifying ur core sound
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