Rookie group CLASS:y aren’t wasting any time. They’ve divided their debut mini album in two parts, releasing both within weeks of each other. Shut Down was unveiled only a month ago and it’s already time for their first comeback. I know the K-pop industry moves fast, but this feels like a new record!
Shut Down came and went on my playlist, its noisy chorus undercutting the potential of its verses. For follow-up Classy (they’re really drilling their group name into our heads, aren’t they?), they’ve leaned further into the chant-heavy parts of that previous song. You’re all probably sick of hearing me describe K-pop tracks as “post-ITZY,” but it’s astonishing how much influence that sound still has over the girl group landscape. Songs like Classy are well-produced from a technical standpoint, but I find it difficult to gain an entry point into their charms. To me, they just sound like commercials for Bratz Dollz. That’s fine in small doses, but it’s also a pretty limiting idea of what female-fronted pop music can be.
On the plus side, Classy is undeniably catchy. I may not care for the chorus, but it’s already stuck in my head. From a pure marketing perspective, that’s a win. My favorite part of the track happens immediately after that hook, when the instrumental gets a moment to shine during a brief breakdown. The percussion here is quite addictive, and I wish we got to hear more of that drum pattern. Instead, Classy swerves through an assembly line of modern girl group tropes. It pulls them off to a decent degree, buoyed by the group’s youth. But, there’s only so much more you can wring from this style.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Honest question: When do the kids these days listen to a song like this, also their earlier “Shut Down” and the GOT the Beat debut “Step Back” from a few weeks ago? They are all so noisy and brash that they don’t sound good on my computer speaker, far too noisy for my earbuds, and doesn’t even sound good in the car?
To me its all just bam bam bam like a construction site nail gun alongside a jackhammer digging up the sidewalk.
Maybe below all the drilling there is a good song, but I am not listening more than twice to figure it out.
As far as the repeated Classy’s: In my circle, we use the term classy always in an ironic tone with eyeroll, as in “That latest Kardashian wedding was so classy”.
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i feel like i could listen to stuff like this while gaming lol
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no matter what’s released, this will always be the most iconic song of the 21st century and the greatest kpoop song ever made
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im just easily sold to songs like this i have nothing to say other than oonts oonts bop tbh
8.25/10
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I hope I can find this on the jukebox at my favorite watering hole! Somebody’s about to get FINITE-rolled!
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Sorry. That was a reply to the post above.
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Here you go!
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I liked “Shut Down” because it was just an extension of Loona’s “Paint the Town.” But you can sure tell the company blew their budget on the “Shut Down” video!
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I LOVE this song surprisingly
I really like this group’s vocals
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