The Rose have been mostly absent from the K-pop industry for a few years now, completing their military service and moving to a new label after filing a lawsuit against their former agency. They managed to release a couple one-off singles during that time and frontman Woosung continued to grow his solo discography. But in a few week’s time, we’ll have a brand new album. Childhood acts as its pre-release teaser.
Over the years, I’ve probably developed a reputation for disliking ballads. But, give me just the right one and the music pierces this jaded soul. Childhood is absolutely gorgeous — the kind of sparsely-produced song where every moment matters. I’m heavily biased toward pop tracks that center around the idea of youth and childhood. Music has always been nostalgia for me, and the theme lends itself so well to melody and performance. It helps that Childhood is accompanied by a beautiful music video, as simple but impactful as the song itself.
You can count me among those who never clicked with Woosung’s vibato-heavy performance style. He’s got such a great, powerful voice, but that technique often came off as distracting ornamentation. He dials this way back for Childhood and the song is so much stronger for it. We get a gradual build, making the eventual power notes all the more striking. His vocal has a penetrating quality, made even more resonant by the simple arrangement underpinning it. Childhood feels almost like something you’d sing around the campfire before having a good cry. Rather than succeed purely on amazing melody or dynamic production, it burrows right down to your soul and hooks you from the inside out.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
FINALLY !! I’ve waited for them to comeback. The MV was…interesting…but the song was pretty good. It’s much more minimal and feels more empty than their previous tracks but it works. Also I really enjoyed their previous release ‘Beauty and the Beast’ which was definitely one of my favourite songs of 2021.
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so gorgeous and so cry-able
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This was really lovely! Pair this with Play from Lucy’s album Childhood for a good cry-fest.
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Same as Nick, I usually dislike ballads pretty much. However, this song became a proof how strong they can be. The hooks don’t just sound beautiful, but you also get captured by the gorgeous aura the song offers. As a result, I can confirm that this one is the best example of this genre, along with Joji’s Glimpse of Us.
Rating is about right.
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*examples
I was typing too fast again😂😂😂
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Glimpse of us was exactly the song I thought of when I heard this! The sparse arrangement of both songs is just gorgeous. It’s one of my favourite songs of the year and I wouldn’t be surprised if Childhood quickly follows in its footsteps.
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i have an idea for your open discussion. you should ask if there’s any songs that us readers have disagreed with the ranking for, and you can answer yourself what songs you regret ranking so low or so high
for example i will never agree with the fact u rated secret by wjsn a 7.5 when i think it’s the best song in kpop and probably a 10/10 for me.
please respond to this if you think your gonna do this as an open discussion or if you regret ranking secret so low and have changed ur mind
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It feels like you’re putting me on trial! lol
I’ve mentioned this rating before and how it’s completely inaccurate. It’s not quite a 10/10 for me, but it’s definitely not a 7.5. That song came early on in The Bias List’s history. It’s probably best to treat my first few months of reviews with a huge grain of salt. I was still figuring things out.
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oh that’s understandable. would it be in the mid 8s for you?
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It’s on the line between 8.75 and 9 for me, but I haven’t listened to it in awhile so it’s probably due for a re-evaluation.
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This song is gorgeous. I am glad their legal troubles are behind them and they are having another comeback. I remember writing about them somewhere on your blog and someone in the Universe clearly heard our collective wishes (haha).
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When it comes to the Woosung vocal divide, I… love his voice. It is so good in this song, and speaking of which, this song is easily the best in a sleepy month. I wish the finale added a few ad-libs, but the song is still strong.
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