Is it just me, or has 2022 been stuffed with K-pop debuts? They just keep coming, making me wonder if there’s a breaking point in this industry. Eventually, there just can’t be enough audience to support all these acts, right? Like many 2022 debuts, CLASS:y emerge with built-in recognition. They formed as a result of MBC’s survival series My Teenage Girl, which aired its finale only a few months ago.
True to form, their debut opts for familiar behind-the-scenes names (Ryan Jhun, anyone? Anna Timgren?) and a familiar sound. Shut Down is successful in parts, but wears out its welcome before the song can finish. I love the opening verse and pre-chorus. The resounding percussion and strong vocals remind me of Red Velvet hits like Red Flavor and Happiness. The instrumental gives off a carnival-like atmosphere that’s a lot of fun.
Shut Down’s chorus is also loud, but loses some of the verses’ appeal and focus. The rhythm becomes more intense and the melodies feel like boilerplate K-pop. In other words, there’s a ton of chanting but little substance. From here, Shut Down maintains its intensity all the way to the end. Constant momentum is a great approach, but I think the song needs some space to breathe. By the time we vault into the second chorus, it’s hard not to be exhausted. Without a bridge, the track comes to a noisy end. It’s all release but no build. On the plus side, the group seems full of potential. The vocals are dynamic and the energy is undeniable. Those are promising building blocks for more compelling material in the future.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This song and album would sound even better if it was released about a year+half ago. Now, today, it sounds like disco did in about 1982, about a year too late.
Other than that, it is actually a solid song, well-delivered, firmly in the girl crush gestalt.
High Energy in spades, on the highway going 85mph after a few bottles of those 24 hour energy bottles chugged all at once, chased by Red Bull and a giant bag of Combos on the passenger seat. Yeeeehhaaaa I’m on fyaaaahhh!!!!!
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‘tell me one more time’ on the album is so much better to me
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The percussion throughout the song is great. Unfortunately, that’s the only thing I remember after it – the melodies are lackluster….
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i largely avoided the show class:y was formed because 1; i’m extremely tired of survival shows atp and 2; why are they putting 12yos in the show? plus i heard the elimination system was godawful
as for this song, it’s alright. it kinda sounds like if loona’s paint the town was given a teen crush makeover. the music video looks excellent tho
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I think K-pop debuts come in 3 year intervals: 2016, 2019, and now 2022. Matches the number of disbandments last year 😅
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Better than the group name would suggest. I see a ton of potential. There was one vocal color in there that I found very compelling ( I’ll have to figure which one of them that was later). Also, some of these girls are young af! But I guess that makes them even more impressive.
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my teenage girl already gave off pedo vibes with its concept and the fact it had literal 12-13yos in it, so im not surprised
not helping by the fact the producer, han dong-chul, called produce 101 “wholesome p0rn,” eww
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I was thinking this sounded a bit TOO reminiscent of PTT by Loona, only to discover they have the same producers. Really disappointed that they’ve basically just recycled a song for this new group. Ryan Jhun continues to be a plague on girl groups…
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To make it worse, he probably is one of the most publicly misogynistic figures in the K-Pop industry. He has some great songs in his catalog, but recently his music is as bad as him at times. Leez and Ollunder? Score and Megatone? Is anyone ready to step up?
Also, we need more Kenzie.
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I don’t understand why his misogyny forum scandal wasn’t a bigger deal and didn’t deter some companies from working with him. I didn’t buy his excuse at all, and I’m really sick of gay men being able to get away with their misogyny. There are so many talented producers such as the one you mentioned that aren’t controversial and make great songs. I’m ready for the Ryan Jhun reign to be over.
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ryan jhun stop ruining girl groups challenge (fail)
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“Is it just me, or has 2022 been stuffed with K-pop debuts? They just keep coming, making me wonder if there’s a breaking point in this industry.” ~ Your host, Mr. Nick
10 years ago, there was the top 3 and a handful of smaller agencies. Now, anyone that can scare up enough investors for an office, a studio, a dorm, and a pack of rabid hopefuls can live the dream of becoming the next HYBE. So, I blame HYBE; yep, I said it. …FIGHT ME!
As far as the song, it is exactly what it is suppose to be; and nothing more.
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I’ve been watching Class:y from afar ever since the last few episode of the “My Teenage Girl” survival show they were on. From that, I’ve learned they’re a pretty talented bunch. Some really promising dancers and a solid batch of good vocalists. The big issue for them was obviously their ages tho. I mean MTG had literal 11 years old competing and while none of them ended up in the group, they did land 2 13 year olds and 2 15 year olds. Which is pretty young even for kpop standards. Like usual, i just hope the girls are being properly taken care of.
As for the song…it’s pretty solid. Doesn’t do much to forge a unique identity for the group but within the large batch of teen-crush tracks in recent months, it’s one of the better ones for sure. Feels like a punchier, more energetic, brighter, well-perfomed little sister to Loona’s PTT. Luckily this song has a not shitty chorus.
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Also the debut thing is true and it’s not stopping just yet. 3 (maybe 4) more HYBE groups rumored to debut, both LOUD groups, and a rumored YG gg. And that’s just the big companies.
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“Is it just me, or has 2022 been stuffed with K-pop debuts? They just keep coming, making me wonder if there’s a breaking point in this industry. Eventually, there just can’t be enough audience to support all these acts, right?”
for me, the answer to your above thoughts is a big, resounding, ‘yes.’….each year kpop debuts hundreds of groups and most of them fail with the upstart, inexperienced management agencies….the kpop industry is grossly oversaturated, and the industry just seems to keep overfeeding itself, and i believe that one day, it is going to come to a boiling point, because like you said, how much more audience is there, and how much ‘new’ can be created?
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This song is honestly not that memorable. It seems like they were going for a “high-teen” or “teen-crush” concept but it feels like any other kpop group could do the exact same thing. The prechorus was good though and I like the instrumental of the song, + i haven’t listened to the rest of the album yet but i have pretty high hopes for the quality of the rest of the songs.
I watched the survival show though so despite the fact that most of my picks didn’t get to debut i’ll probably end up being a fan of this group anyway (three of the members are under 15 though, with the maknae being 13 years old…not sure who thought that was a good idea)
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nvm. listened to it again and it’s good. last i heard their company is literally broke though, so while i’m keeping my hopes up i don’t think they’ll be managed that well.
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yeah, mbk’s been going through troubles recently
dia’s most likely gonna disband next year (somyi left the group this year to become a camgirl) and bae173 is stuck in nugudom with only one comeback a year, so i dont have much hope for classy
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*this year for dia i meant
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