So much about the holidays is rooted in nostalgia. These are ritualistic celebrations, and the most popular holiday songs are usually ones that have accumulated memories over the years. H.O.T’s Candy is not a holiday song, but it makes a weird sort of sense in this context. It’s an oft-covered classic with a ton of tradition behind it. And as a bonus, its iconic gloves and oversized costuming are practical additions to your winter wardrobe!
More importantly, Candy pulls NCT Dream back to the bright, poppy days of Chewing Gum and Dunk Shot (another 90’s cover). It’s a relatively straightforward re-creation of the original track, though no member attempts H.O.T’s faux-reggae rapping style (a bizarre facet of late-90’s K-pop, tbh). This is probably for the best. Dream bring more polish to the vocals and the instrumental is stuffed with extra flourishes. As regifts go, they put some effort in. But, is this version really necessary?
Without the quirks of the original, 2022’s Candy plays as a fun trifle – the CD version of a crowd-pleasing special stage. I appreciate the producers’ “do no harm” mentality, replicating and accentuating the charms of the original song while nodding back to specific 90’s hip-hop sounds. They throw in a muted bridge/breakdown for new gen listeners and a sing-along finale for added festive cheer, but overall there’s nothing here that would pull me away from the 1996 H.O.T classic.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
Grade: B-
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
the album is good! not anything approaching a 9/10 rating but stlll very solid, perfect for the wintertime
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I wonder how many newer fans think this is an original NCT song…
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its a solid remake for all I know. the chorus will probably be the biggest grower on me though…
I agree with this grade.
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They are just so stinking cute. I approve.
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And I actually have problems with this. This version of ‘Candy’ feels like a children’s song title track, even if this is supposedly a remake. I was only at the first verse and felt like my ears were beginning to be pierced.
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I mean, it’s an NCT DREAM cover. What did you expect-
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I prefer this version over the original, I think I just fuck with Dream’s vocals more than HOT’s.
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Damn what a throwback. I like this series of idols covering older songs. I wasn’t sure if this was going to do justice to the original but I think it did.
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I really like how they sound, sm artists always sound like sm artists if you know what I mean. I think that benefits them when they cover past performers. Honestly I would down for this if it wasn’t for the extra flourishes, I felt like there were so many of those sharp stabs I found it grating. Luckily there’s no reggae part, as a Jamaican it’s so cringe seeing Korean artists try to emulate that. There’s a reason why different sorts of music originated in different places and kpop usually starts and ends with “this sounds cool”
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Ikr I like hearing sounds originating from us as long as the group isn’t trying to imitate us
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I fell stupidly for their mischievous act, this made them gain access into my blockchain wallet. 89,000USD Worth of BITCOIN was stolen from my wallet in total. I was in a Dilemma this was all my savings I Invested in bitcoin. Then I made a research online and found a recovery expert, with the contact address kevinmitnickcyber @ GMAIL COM.I wrote directly to the specialist explaining my loss. He helped me recover my BITCOIN in just 5 days, and the culprits were identified as well, all thanks to his expertise.
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Great review Sandra
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Can these 4th gen groups keep covering these old artists to keep me interested since I dont like most of the stuff they’re original material they’re putting out these days
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Did I have a stroke writing the second half of that?? Girl what
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