Girl group Fifty Fifty are set to officially debut at the end of the month, but they’ve pre-released Lovin’ Me today. I was struck by its teaser, which seemed to promise a more refined, mature sound than many of K-pop’s current girl groups are offering. The full song more-or-less delivers on this promise and points toward a bright future for Fifty Fifty’s music.
As a debut, Lovin’ Me lacks a bit of punch. This makes me wonder if there might be another track arriving before their debut. But as a piece of music, the song is quite satisfying. It doesn’t hit you over the head with gimmicks or shout at you incessantly. Instead, Lovin’ Me unfolds gradually. Its synth backbone forms a through-line that becomes more majestic as we hit the full brunt of the chorus. The melodies are pretty if subdued, but the sparkling arrangement makes up for the familiarity of the songwriting.
Fifty Fifty’s performance is refreshingly devoid of typical K-pop affectations, opting for a straightforward vocalization that lets the song shine. This approach hearkens back to past generations, but Lovin’ Me’s synth-pop sheen is pure 2022. It remains to be seen how this all plays in the long run. For today, I think it’s safe to say these unknown rookies eclipsed three title tracks by K-pop acts with a lot more money and attention behind them. I’m excited to hear what comes next.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
this song really reminds me of 2010s synthpop and edm, something like zedd and carly rae jepsen
and that vocoder pre-chorus is perfection
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Agreed. As a die-hard fan of Imogen Heap, vocoder can be done right. This song is further proof of that.
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Especially that ticking clock sound in the background! That gave me major nostalgia alongside that vocoder
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Just gotta say, I love their group name. Groups names have been struggling a little bit, but their name is SOLID.
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The song is great if you love the note B flat! There it is B flat in the verse, oh and again B flat in the chorus, and again in the verse B flat, and repeat. The vocoder effect or Melodyne is the main cool thing about the track.
But what I really think is going on is that this is the pre-release for 1 of the 4 girls, as we see four girls but only hear one. And I think we should expect to hear pre-releases from the others. Unless of course, all four are here but their voices are so smashed up as to sound like one, or maybe that was the point.
In any case, more like a mid-7 for me.
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Omg is it just one voice? I didn’t even notice 😅
At least it’s a nice voice!
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OP’s comment is incorrect: The whole group recorded this song, it’s just lead principally by two of the members, with the third doing harmonization and the fourth contributing the english lines in the bridge
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This is a lot like Eye to Eye by Limelight for me, pleasantly different from everything else out there if not particularly original. I wouldn’t mind if more ggs took on this sound, especially as a prerelease.
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I’ll just echo what I commented on YouTube:
What a wonderful little journey this song took me on. Thank you very much for that. 🥰 /headbow
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Oooh. I really enjoyed this. Methinks this song would play very nicely next to “Killing Me” by Chung Ha in a playlist.
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Lovin’ it! That pre-chorus portion reminds me of OMG’s seriously underappreciated “My Doll.” Looking forward to what they offer next.
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I came here because I heard a small clip of this song from my friend’s phone and fell in love with this song. This is INCREDIBLE. This is an insanely good release. I love her voice so much. The ticking sound during the build up was so captivating and carried so much suspense. I love the minimal instrumental / mellow sound girl groups have been taking this year. I love this so much but if the talking at 2:38 is included in the official audio of the song, it’s gonna ruin it for me kinda like some of CIX’s releases.
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The group name makes sense (at least to me), and that alone is a plus point already. The vocoder in pre-chorus is just too good! Looking forward to hear more from the other members~
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Oddly enough, the song reminded me a bit of Chung Ha’s Killing Me, which bumpbs the score up. Really enjoyed this compared to their other song which was a complete miss
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Damn fine song.
Together with CSR and Mimiirose I’d say we’re getting some good nugus this year
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The chorus…it sounded familar. Yes, it was like Zedd and Alessia Cara’s Stay. That click clocking sound with a vocoder-sounding pre-chorus before a repeating hook. Familar yet pleasant to hear at first time.
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