Review

Song Review: Billlie – Ring Ma Bell (What A Wonderful World)

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Billlie - Ring Ma BellRather than develop a signature sound, Billlie seem to have developed a signature mantra: “keep things quirky and unpredictable.” From their verbose song titles to their genre-hopping sound, they’re proving to be one of the most interesting girl groups of this era. With such a wide variety of influences, listeners may not connect with every song. I wasn’t a fan of February’s GingaMingaYo, for example. But, new track Ring Ma Bell has won me back.

K-pop’s “rock” trend has been slowly building for years now, ushered in by pioneers like Dreamcatcher. Billlie have taken the baton in a big way, building Ring Ma Bell around a blustery stadium rock sound. To be honest, I think I’m more excited by the energy than the song itself, but it’s nice to hear idol groups trying on different styles and fully committing to the concepts.

Ring Ma Bell delivers a snotty teen rock attitude, though it’s definitely sanitized for a K-pop audience. Built around its titular refrain, the song pounces right out of the gate and never loses focus. It’s bolstered by omnipresent guitar and stomping percussion, both of which give Ring Ma Bell a larger-than-life energy. The guitar really gets going during the climax, unleashing a fiery solo as the girls shout the final chorus. Comparatively, the melodic hooks feel a little throwaway. The song is catchy from first listen, but a dynamic switch-up (maybe a stronger bridge?) might have broken the repetition. Still, Ring Ma Bell is a welcome surprise, showcasing Billlie’s versatility and power. Its music show performances are bound to be a ton of fun.

Hooks 8
 Production 9
 Longevity 8
 Bias 9
 RATING 8.5

32 thoughts on “Song Review: Billlie – Ring Ma Bell (What A Wonderful World)”

  1. I really wanted to stan Billlie. However, their music just didn’t appeal to me. Ring & Ring felt a bit undercooked, while GingaMingaYo and Patbingsu were way too nursery rhyme. However, this time I’m saying yes, as the girls won me over. Gosh, this rock sound suits them so fucking well, and I’m a big fan of it, too. High-8’s for me (7,10,9,9).

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    • their creative team clearly has a Vision… i like that even though their mv & lyrics are still very ~lore~ based, the switch up in their sound still makes me excited. tho to be fair unlike the title tracks their bsides are far more cohesive

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  3. This isn’t so much a song as it is a catch phrase chanted early and often with enough conviction and connective tissue to make it sound like a song. It does it well enough with all the rock guitars going on for enough ear candy to satisfy most of us most of the time.
    Low 8’s for me.

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  7. The teasers had hyped me up so much over the last few days lol and I was praying so hard that all that guitar was going to be real and not a trap. I’m happy to say the instrumentals are a solid 10/10! ❤ I loved that it was there throughout and I have this small feeling I’m gonna be downloading the instrumentals alone to listen lol.

    They all really showed tbe energy in the song! The vocals, rap and power were all amazing! The shows definitely are gonna be more fun.

    On a single listen, I kinda relate to the energy over the song remark 😉 but would take a few more listens I guess to completely make up my mind. And funnily enough the Pretti G song of today I would say the music over the energy which means together I just may have a perfect package for the day! 😀

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  8. I actually feel the opposite. I agree that ring x ring would’ve definitely been a cool signature sound, I listen to math rock so anything that confuses me is normally right up my alley. But I still loved gingamingayo, The novelty and personality they perform it with definitely made the nursery rhyme template work in my opinion. This song feels a little too generic in every aspect to measure up to the other comebacks. It’s definitely their most melodically simple title track so far, and I’ve listened to enough pop rock in my life that it doesn’t exactly offer anything new to me. I’d say my favorite song on the album was mcguffins which was actually my least favorite teaser. I thought I was going to like my B way more but it kinda ended up with the same issue as ring ma bell. I still really like the creative vision that they have for the group though, and I’m excited to see what they do next.

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  13. I recommend Billlie’s “A Sign,” “Snowy Night,” and “B’rave.” They’re jazzy and different. They feel like sophisticated pop songs.

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