Oh, The Boyz. There isn’t a current K-pop act that frustrates me more. I love this group. They have so much potential and heaps of global popularity. Yet ever since the brilliant The Stealer, they’ve been stuck in the opposite of an “imperial phase.” It feels all-but impossible for them to release a killer title track. Songs like Thrill Ride and Maverick were forgettable, NCT-lite amalgams of catchphrasey posturing. But even worse: they didn’t showcase the group’s most prized skills.
Sadly, we can add new single Whisper to the list. It’s not an awful track – just generic and threadbare. This time, the soundalike target is NCT Dream in their post-My First And Last swagger. We’ve got the plonky playground percussion, a tempo-shifting hook with a few disconnected harmonic lines thrown over the top, and plenty of attitude-fueled sing-talk. Some of these elements may be enjoyable on their own, but Whisper doesn’t hang together. There isn’t much meat on its bones, even when we arrive at the chorus. The vocals here are pleasant, but the melody feels more like a string of ad-libs than a satisfying centerpiece.
In fact, Whisper’s most robust segment comes during its pre-chorus. It doesn’t do anything different from all the other boy group pre-choruses, but adds forward momentum to a song that desperately needs it. This oasis is surrounded by verses that are more obnoxious than thrilling. In fact, Whisper itself is an earworm in the worst way. It’s catchy, but I want it out of my head. TO1’s recent Drummin’ harnessed a similarly playful energy to much better results.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
ok to be fair i dont blame this song for being mid i mean they DID just get off their tour and didnt have much time to plan this….but ykw honestly id take anything over maverick atp
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Yeah but the agency has had almost a year to plan this…
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they kind of didnt actually lmao like if u read the guys pms they talk abt how they had to record this album/film the mv/do concept shoots all while on a super busy tour so….
and also if u followed their tour updates ud know their new agency (ist) is complete and utter ASSCHEEKS at planning anything
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also unrelated but what did u think of the album bsides bc theyre WAY better….survive the night might be one of my new faves from them. AND THOSE VOCALS????? GET IT CHANHEE THATS MY BABYGIRL
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Imo, this sounds exactly like Thrill Ride, but its cheaper version. That’s all I’ve got.
Speaking of rating, I gotta disagree with Nick. Mid-6’s for me.
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by the time they said the line “stuff stuff” I busted out laughing… just a bunch of random English words thrown in
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I agree this song is not even close to their best but the album as a whole is definitely their best one since Chase. I love love love C.O.D.E and Levitating, and I predict you may do buried treasure on C.O.D.E.
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I made it to 1:20 and then just turned it off.
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“Oh, Blackpink”, “Oh, Yuju”, “Oh, The Boyz”. Nick, you okay there?
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LOL
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It’s the English-language equivalent to this emoji: 😩
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It does sound like NCT Dream trying to do Thrill Ride. Not my fav title but one of their strongest albums imo. Levitate, C.O.D.E, Survive the night… all great.
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I find some of their b sides FAR more interesting. Bump & Love and Levitating were the stand outs to me. Like them far more than the title track.
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Hey, that’s my line! Oh Boyz. Boyz Boyz Boyz.
What to do about dem boyz. Will they ever grow up II Men?
That’s all I got today, one bad joke.
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You don’t know how much I resonate with the mood of that first paragraph!! 😩
If there’s any group I have a love hate relationship with its the Boyz 💀 They have the talents to put out really amazing songs and their performance style is so good too… but it’s really like they keep straying further and further away from their strengths 😭
And honestly… I think RTK and Kingdom really affected them a lot. Almost like the competitive pressure of that kinda changed their approach to their music as a whole 😦
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The song isn’t bad but it’s definitely their weakest title track. The album is pretty good though. The b-sides are definitely much better. They were all solid 8s for me but I gotta agree with your rating for ‘Whisper’
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Meh. Hey, were they singing about a truffle there at the beginning?
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If The Boyz are going to continue to imitate SM groups, can they take on WayV next because who knows when WayV will come back? I like a couple of the b-sides, C.O.D.E reminds me of a more upbeat version of No Air. Survive the Night is my vote for Buried Treasure.
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This really does sound like a dream rip off (and not the dream I prefer). When the Boyz are good they’re really good though, so I’m keen to check out the b-sides.
In the meantime I’ll be listening to this:
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yess i love this one!
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I adore Thrill Ride, and the pop confection Prism. Drink It was probably the only really listenable Universe single. But I haven’t heard anything since those records that really interests me.
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Why do we have to link a particular sound or style of music to one group or artists tho??? When Maverick was released I heard people saying “oh it’s an NCT copy/sound”. How??? Does NCT own a particular genre now? Totally unrelated but I just had to point this out. That’s not how the music industry works. It’s like Beyonce releasing a song with heavy piano sounds and violins or whatnot, and then someone saying “oh it’s an Adele sound”. It’s ridiculous tbh.
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😦 The first paragraph resonates with me. I definitely feel the NCT Dream influence in this, but it’s nowhere near as hook-y or strong as what they’re trying to emulate.
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the song is alright overall, but the autotune they sprinkled in the rap parts bothered me… not sure why 🤔 the whispering sections also weirdly don’t fit the song even if it’s titled “whisper”? thankfully the album is great! i can’t put my finger on why code is so familiar to me… it sound like i was transported back into that time i was deep diving into tbz or svt.
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