The title of new boy group Tempest’s debut proved to be prophetic, as the guys delivered bad Covid news that delayed the release of their first album. Now that all the members have recovered, we can finally sink our teeth into their own Bad News. Tempest score bonus points for debuting with bright, rollicking energy where most of their peers opt for dark and aggressive sounds. But, Bad News struggles to find a hook worth raving over.
Hailing from Yuehua Entertainment, I predict Tempest will follow a similar path to label-mates Everglow. In other words, their title tracks will likely waffle between genres and concepts. I’d love for the guys to stick with Bad New’s funky sound, but the current reality of the K-pop industry makes that an unlikely proposition. This song does a good job proving that brighter fare can still be a nice showcase for engaging rap verses. Bad News is quite intense in places, but it’s never angsty or brooding. Tempest spark plenty of energy, bringing personality to the track. The verses offer the best showcase for this potential.
I wish Bad News would have built itself around a stronger chorus. Like so many melody-averse boy group tracks, the central hook is a series of shouts and exclamations rather than a tightly-structured refrain. It feels a little empty, even if the energy remains spirited throughout. And without a dynamic chorus to look forward to, the track fails to live up to its full potential. Luckily, its swaggering energy still makes for a strong debut.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
If Block B were debuting today, they might sound like this. So its a good start. Let’s see where they go from here.
… y’all don’t probably remember early Block B, but it was happy clappy, very earnest, very eager kpop. Bright theme boy group sans bright colors. The debut song itself was something called “Freeze” which was meh, but the real debut came a few months later with Zico’s self-composed song “Tell Them” aka “Let them know”. If it were possible to wear out a file on the ipod, then I have worn this one out. Live live really live version ‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybl8dgpUfL4 Let them know that kids can dance and sing =at the same time!=
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I will give them 8/10 their because the vocals are amazing I am looking forward to it
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I really like this one.
It’s happy without being obnoxious, and energetic without being tiring. And for once in forever, though there was a mood change in the second verse, it kept the same tempo! Extra points for that.
Quite honestly, I don’t even care that the chorus is a slightly messy mix of synth squiggles, sung lines and chants. It was disappointing at first, but after many listens, it’s definitely stuck in my head, mainly because it seems like they’re actually having fun for once. 8.75 for me.
Also, I did NOT know they came from the sand company as Everglow….
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*same
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Also, I only just noticed it……but does anyone hear Hyojin (ONF) a lot in that high note?
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fun and cute, I’m here for it.
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I love this. I was very excited for their debut already, and I’m so happy it lived up to my expectations! But, I gotta agree that the chorus was quite the let down, but I can’t really say I dislike it. It’s silly fun but it isn’t nonsensical or disgustingly happy, very enjoyable!
Also, I gotta say I’m SO happy to not see a single ounce of storyline or concept things in this. Even if Yuehua has never been famous for it, when they released those member teasers where there seemed to be “two parts” of the members, I was already going “Oh no, they’re going to pull a clone concept out of nowhere”. Glad it was just me being anxious over nonsensical concepts.
Now, let’s just hope they don’t pull an unnecessary concept switch…
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I was so excited for this debut! After seeing the highlight reel, I was ecstatic for the sound of the album as a whole. Once the album is released to Spotify or Apple Music (I have free trial for Spotify and I’ll soon decide whether I’ll make the transition over)- I’m gonna listen to the whole album.
It was nice to see a brighter concept~ For some reason this game me earlier golden child vibes? Either way, I love it 🥰
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As a bright boy group enthusiast this debut is right up my alley, I’m loving this! It’s nice to see some familiar faces here – it’s been so long since Produce, and I almost didn’t recognise Euiwoong and Hyungseop, but it’s great to see them again finally, and it’s nice to see Hanbin finally debuting. This isn’t a song that absolutely blew me away, but it makes me curious to know more about the group and stands out among the newer boy groups these days I feel because there’s something very classic about its hooks IMO. This is just fun and I appreciate that. Whoever at Yuehua has been working on the fun art direction for Yena’s Smiley and now this (and also Woodz’ excellent Bump Bump from a while ago) – I’m intrigued.
Side note: the irony of Tempest debuting on the week of the Bad News about Nu’est is sad, hopefully this group will do well and Nu’est’s last album is an absolute banger, they deserve a proper send-off for sure.
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I really liked this!! They remind me of MCND a lot – the whole gungho energy and chillness of the song!! And maybe a little bit of Ciipher – because of the two rappers mostly. The song’s pretty catchy and I enjoyed both the vocals and rap. Stages will determine longevity. They are young and look like they have a lot of energy to make this song even more fun! For now I think it’s an excellent debut especially since bright concepts are pretty much a niche for bg 🙂
I’m so glad I won’t have to pull out any of the “bad news” memes because this song turned out to be pretty good news! ❤️
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it has that whisper of 50s/60s rock n roll in it that makes it a winner for me. Love the harmony singing too.
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80s funk, too. Love how great Kpop plunders the eras.
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Oh, I like this a lot – solid four stars out of the gate. Yeah, it could have a stronger hook, but I can live with it. I kept waiting for a weird tempo shift or for the instrumental to drop out or something, but no! I’m getting MCND meets DONGKIZ vibes between the solid rapping and lighter vibe, because mostly this is FUN and I’m here for it. Some of the b-sides are fun too – “Find Me” and “Bat At Love” have similar fun vibes and “Next to YOU” shows off some promising vocals.
That said, Tempest is not a good name from an SEO perspective, especially since 1) there are already multiple groups with that name, and 2) one of them released an album last month that also has a track called “Bad News”. Couldn’t they have added an extra P or made the S a 5 or something?
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A 4th gen debut with a bright sound and a normal group name? Yuehua doing the impossible here
(I am most definitely reminded of that tumblr post Nick shared on his twitter a week ago)
Anyways, I like it! Fun and cute but not annoyingly so.
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*meant to say 4th gen boy group debut in particular
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I would say that this is the release I’ve enjoyed the most this year. It’s such a great debut. If only I knew for sure whether they’re going to keep this kind sound or not…
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This reminds me of Block B “HER” its a sound not many groups do these days which is refreshing!
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This is fun in a way that makes me look forward to how they grow and develop. It’s bright and snappy.
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I don’t know what it is but they kind of remind me of mcnd and block B
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