The lines between music and advertisement have always been blurred in K-pop, making the industry’s CF track worth watching out for. In fact, I think last week’s Gatorade jingle was actually stronger than most official comebacks! The Pepsi/Starship collaboration continues with Blue & Black, bringing together Hyojung and Arin from Oh My Girl, Wonyoung and Leeseo from IVE, and Serim and Jungmo from CRAVITY. That’s quite a powerhouse team!
Unfortunately, the song itself is a miss for me. It feels like several songs slammed together, and none of them amount to much. The pounding beat has promise, bringing an almost industrial groove to the track. But, Blue & Black is lacking in memorable melody. It’s very sing-talky all the way through, with vocal lines that come and go with little impact. The chorus feels exactly like an advertisement for a soft drink (duh!), making it more obnoxious than enjoyable. I’m already eager for the “oh, it’s pretty cool” hook to leave my memory.
But although Blue & Black is an advertisement through and through, it still manages to make room for one of those awful tempo-shifting rap breaks during verse two. I suppose they had to give the CRAVITY guys something to do, but they’re relegated to casting off shots of blustery attitude while the ladies drive most of the track. The combination of these talents is potentially exciting, but musically speaking, I think I’ll be drinking more Gatorade than Pepsi this month.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
There was no blurred line here. This song is firmly on the paid advertisement side of the divide. The kids do their very best to look like they are having actual fun despite the song, but no real fun was had at all beyond admiring the paycheck (if they get any).
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I do wonder if they see any money from these things. I can see the OMG girls and Wonyoung getting a cut at least
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A fine advertisement song. No more than that. It lacks memorable melody, and I doubt that I’d be coming back to this track. Rating is about right.
P.s. sorry for coming to the party so late
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The chorus was catchy and all the performers sound great. The music video was very pretty and more cohesive then the entire track. Due to the mix and match nature of the song it feels longer than it actually is. It’s on par with most of the other pepsi CF tracks
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What’s funny about kpop (among other things) is that collaboration tracks like these, where you’d normally expect to see the performers interacting with each other as that’s part of the draw, are constantly haunted by the deathly fear of allowing these young men and women to actually be seen looking at each other for more than a fraction of a second. So most of the MV is filmed as if the Cravity boys are literally on another planet. Only at 2:47 (I think) do we see them appear briefly on the same stage together and (presumably) making eye contact, and even when that happens they stand at opposite sides of the stage and then the choreo has them step towards each other momentarily before taking SEVERAL quick steps back, like they are saying “OH GOD that was too close I almost thought something was going to happen there.” And then the lyrics say, “don’t be afraid.” Hahaha. I love heterosexuality, it’s fun!
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Take a drink (but not of pepsi) every time one of the girls wink.
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