Limelight’s Starlight is one of those weird “pre-debuts” the K-pop industry occasionally churns out. It’s part of an actual mini album, which makes it feel more like a proper debut to me. But, what do I know? With members hailing from Girls Planet 999 and My Teenage Girl, the group has some built-in fans already. And, Starlight was co-composed by Sweetune’s Kim Seungsoo. You know that has my ears perked up!
The problem is, I find most of Seungsoo’s non-Sweetune work to be pretty uninspired. It’s weird how he can create such insta-classics with songwriting partner Han Jaeho and then come up with something as bland as Starlight when working with others. Starlight isn’t a bad track, but it lacks the compelling melodic flourishes I’d expect from someone of Seungsoo’s caliber. Its blueprint seems to be WJSN. Starlight feels very much like part of their oeuvre. But, it’s stuck in a single gear and plays more like homage than highlight.
My big problem with Starlight is how clipped every melody is. WJSN have perfected this style of vocalization, but employ it strategically within music that’s more fluid and varied overall. Starlight’s verses and chorus move at such speed that you can barely find a foothold. This melodic structure quickly becomes exhausting because there aren’t any peaks or valleys. This makes it hard to get a sense of Limelight’s personality. The production is polished and the track is performed well, but some weird choices keep it from soaring.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Relentlessly chirpy. Pray, tell, on what speakers does this mix sound good? A barrage of mid-range cacophony. Maybe there is a good song underneath it all, but I just cannot tell.
Last weekend I helped out with darling daughter’s marching band. A small army of parents are needed to support this, and as I find the actual game interminable, I volunteered for everything. During, I had the thrill of playing all the percussion little doo dads, various bells and whistles, the whoosh tinkly faerie bells, the tin pans, wobbly thunder, wood clam shell wing dings. I was truly a kid at play. This song sounds like that, all at once, for three minutes straight.
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a chirpy sound that reminded me of e.one. And damn, an e.one piece indeed.
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Some friends and I did some digging awhile back, and from what we could tell, there are two guys named Kim Seungsoo out there making music! I can’t remember what all we found, but this site tends to be reputable and has separate profiles for them:
https://www.nautiljon.com/people/kim+seung+su+-sweetune-.html
https://www.nautiljon.com/people/kim+seung+soo+(compositeur).html
There’s a chance we’re still wrong, but it seems like this Seungsoo (who works extensively with Choi Hyunjoon) is a different guy altogether.
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That’s what I thought too, but Melon and Genius have him as the same guy. I’m super confused, and want to believe they’re two separate composers.
Sweetune’s internet presence as a whole is pretty much… nonexistent.
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There is definitely a decent song buried somewhere in here. However, as Nick has stated in the review, both verses and chorus are moving so fast that it quickly becomes cloying. As a result, I made it up to the final part of the chorus and then turned off. Rating is way too high, 6.75 at best.
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I agree, there’s definitely something to work with in the song, but no part of it really stood out to me. I’ll need to give it another listen, but where was the hook?
On an unrelated note, will you be reviewing Animal Farm by BIBI?
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Not planning on it. The style and goals of her music aren’t really aligned with what I write about, so I don’t feel I’d have much to say. That’s quite a music video, though!
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got it 🙂
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I wonder what this would sound like if it were sung an octave (or two) lower…
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I found it very similar to GWSN’s early releases, though not as good. I’ll put it on the playlist for now.
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There’s something in the chorus that sounds exactly like IZ*ONE’s Fiesta? I really like their other release, Eye to Eye, which sounds like early Loona and also reminds me of Seori. I had to double check to make sure these songs were by the same group.
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This was a nice song, and after reading the lyrics i liked it twice
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Dear : THE BIAS LIST , a.k.a. , Nick
My name is Clinton. I am very new to the k-pop scene. Being a causal listener for just a few months I have zero experience to base any opinion. I am absolutely not a critic but I know what I like.
As a long time metalhead many of my friends would question my mental health if I confessed to enjoying listening to a group such as DREAMCATCHER.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect when the ” Intro ” from their most recent album release started to play. That ” Intro ” caught my attention immediately. Admittedly the next couple of tracks are a little weak when compared to the second half of the album. ( which seems to be a running theme on their albums ) That second half is amazingly well polished. Kudos to the production team.
As I said I am a newbie so I am hoping you’ll take a moment to educate this aging (65yr) metalhead. After listening to most ( not all ) debuts this past summer I’m not super impressed. That is until DREAMCATCHER caught my attention. They don’t sound like the typical k-pop group. They sound much more seasoned/experienced , well polished/produced than most of the k-pop groups out there.
Is it my inexperience showing if I said this group doesn’t seem to be promoted very well???
Lastly, can you give me your opinion on music videos in general. For example back before ” hair bands ” were called hair bands I really liked the music being recorded by those bands. Then MTV came along and although those videos were very popular I feel they actually destroyed the genre. The videos made the bands look foolish at best.
From what I can see many/some k-pop videos are following the same path. ( there’s always exceptions ) When comparing concert/fan footage to music videos — there is no comparison. Seeing any group live shines a much brighter light on the talents of the group.
So as a somewhat virgin to k-pop any comments you’d like to share would be awesome.
Thanks
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