Thus far, IVE have been three-for-three for me, with most recent single After Like standing as one of my favorite songs of 2022. With a full album on the horizon, the group has an opportunity to expand the scope of their music. A pre-release track is the perfect excuse for a new sound, and Kitsch dutifully swerves in a different direction.
I’m not sure how to feel about this song. Given its noisy, repetitive chorus I assumed I’d outright hate it. In reality, my feelings aren’t that negative. Kitsch doesn’t hold a candle to any of the group’s singles so far, but it delivers this (admittedly annoying) sound better than most. It’s not remotely kitschy, but I guess that word makes for an appealing catchphrase?
I’ll make a polarizing statement and say I wish the entirety of Kitsch sounded like its chorus. This doesn’t mean I want the song to become non-stop chanting, but I enjoy the percussive stomp of that segment. The verses feel too close to a BLACKPINK solo single for me – very western pop in a bad way. I’m not a fan of how the tempo pulls back here, which only serves to highlight some of the more annoying aspects of the production. Kitsch is at its best during its final thirty seconds when it finds a happy balance between its competing elements. Remove the irritating slide-whistle (?) loop and we’d be set.
With that said, I’m unlikely to return to this in the same way I have with pretty much every other IVE song so far. Hopefully it’s just a blip on their road, preceding a title track that will enhance their already-impressive legacy.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
Grade: C+
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Great pre-chorus ruined by a terrible chorus but I still have high hopes for the actual title. Did you hear the highlight medley for CSR btw Nick? The title sounds fantastic. https://youtu.be/su0IvTKP97s
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I was literally listening to Loveticon while reading your comment, very excited for their comeback, title track sounds great so far.
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I have listened to both Pop Pop and Loveticon way too much….and the new title feels like another continuation of just outstanding titles! Feels great to see this kind of consistency out the gate from a new group.
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Glad I read this, I didn’t know it came out
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It sounds promising, but still not up their with their debut. (Maybe the full song will change that, though).
I’m just obsessed with the fact they called this album sampler an “audio scrap.” That sounds so dismissive! Haha
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Just from the preview I’m thinking the same, but their debut EP is probably hard to top. Still, excited for the release and looking forward to what the full tracks sound like.
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i was just terribly confused as to why the verses sounded predictable and familiar, then i was like “wait, it sounds just like I don’t care by ed sheeran”. not a great feeling to go for after sampling Gloria Gaynor.
It’s just fine. I don’t hate it and I don’t love it.
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Both copy Stand By Me. That’s why it sounds so familiar to you, probably. It’s a 62 year old song after all ㅋㅋ
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I saw the drop coming from a mile away… unlike LOVE DIVE which surprised me when I first heard it. I do still like it because it’s IVE, but it’s their worst track by far. I guess this was inevitable, and I hope the upcoming title track is a lot better. Starship better not mess this one up.
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As a girl group pop song, it is fine. Meets expectations. Perhaps mid 7’s for me.
What I really want to know is what the hell is nineties or nineteen’s kitsch? I did not know that kitsch has ages, unless it is the style of kitsch from a certain era, viz Hummels from the 60’s or Lladro from the 90’s. In a decade or three looking back, it could be all the anime tchotchkes. For me, for the 1990’s, having lived through them the first time through, I can’t think of anything particularly 90’s kitsch that wasn’t a revival of 60’s kitsch (eg troll dolls, grunge as an extension of Woodstock hippie culture, chia pets, pet rocks). Or is this a thing that I am missing, a cultural moment of the kids these days?
Also, since I did look up a lyric vid, apparently one girl gets one line. Why do agencies still do this?
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Actually you’re right, what the kids call 90’s kitsch is just that revival of 60’s kitsch in 90’s. Troll dolls, floral/hippie things, it’s all the same.
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And the one that got one line is their main vocalist!!!
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I felt like I didn’t see liz a lot in the music video… I would assume that they wanted to propel so young and yujin still but the rest of the girls get a decent amount of lines. I’ve never been bothered by line distribution since snsd in my early kpop years, but I really do wonder what the thought process was behind that. Liz has a nice voice
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Absolutely criminal. My jaw was on the floor that the MAIN vocal got ONE line! The MAIN VOCAL! Literally HOW????
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How is that even possible..??
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Someone’s gonna do a mash-up with Antifragile any moment now, if they haven’t already. I suspect the influence extends to appropriating critical theories as well.
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In my mind, I was hearing Kitsch + Pink Venom mashup. Why not both? Or more!
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I didn’t think Pink Venom. (In my mind, I kind of place NewJeans, Le Sserafim, and IVE together, since they debuted around the same time and seem to be carrying the torch for this newer generation.) Now I want to hear all three tunes mashed together, lol.
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never been disappointed in starship until now. The verses are cool but the chorus is not good. 8/10
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I don’t know how I feel about this one. Honestly, it’s an effortless bump on the girls’ path, as it seems to me, especially comparing to their first three title tracks. Though this song is just a pre-release, so I hope the actual comeback won’t be a disappointment. Rating is about right.
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I really like the production on this – the low bass synths, the flute, the background vocals. The song might sound a bit slight, but put it on great speakers (which I don’t have) and I bet it sounds massive. They’re 4 for 4 for me at this point. I’m going to go ahead and call it: It’s my #1 song of the month 😉
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Good song, definitely another banger.
Maybe not up there with the other 3, but definitely a solid pre-release.
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Honestly, this is their first song that doesn’t really work for me. I don’t not like it, its just the least of their songs for me. I’m gonna add it to my playlist anyways and hope it grows on me. If it doesn’t, its fine. I’m sure the title track will be great.
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I have a gut feeling that this is would be more of a sleeper hit, the more I play it the more interesting things I find in the song. It probably won’t beat the last three promoted tracks but I’m perfectly satisfied. For some reason while I didn’t like the chorus the first time it came by the final chorus I was really feeling it. Perhaps around an 8 ish for me.
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I’m gonna have to agree with Nick’s rating on this track. The MV is only slightly better. Definitely not their best. The saying “can’t hit a grand slam every time” certainly applies here. So I’m not gonna judge harshly.
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My wife went out to walk the dog, so I cranked up the speakers, and this sounds so great played loud. I think it’s another big hit for them, personally.
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IVE songs were usually growers to me. I hated ELEVEN and LOVE DIVE, but now I appreciate those songs. AFTER LIKE was a instant like though. However, I don’t think I would ever, and I emphasise this, EVER listen to KITSCH again.
The good part of the song was everything except the chorus. I loved the verses, and I thought it’s pre-chorus and bridge is the best within IVE’s discography. Also the choreography was outstanding, especially the choreography of the last chorus. I also think that KITSCH really portrayed the popular cool girl aesthetic IVE seems to have, very well. The meaning of the lyrics (though very cliché, being about how cool and great IVE is,and IVE being a trend-setter) is very IVE-like and empowering to its listeners.
But the chorus was god awful. First of all, I don’t understand what a 19’s kitsch even mean. Second of all, I feel that the chanting chorus really destroyed the hype the pre-chorus was building. The chorus was just plain boring, just repeating the same lyric again and again. And finally, the frequent use of vocal fry. Vocal fry is a common technique in singing, but it becomes really irksome when it is repeated over and over. Every time the girls sing ‘kitsch’ in the chorus, they use vocal fry. Those repetitive vocal fries was very annoying to listen. I just wish they had a better chorus.
I agree with Nick’s rating,though I would give them a C. I don’t like this song, but I’m still having great expectations for their new title track because, well, they’re IVE.
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I put it on my playlist before listening to it. While listening, I took it off.
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LOL
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I really like this track. Not as much as their other material but I like the contrast between the chorus and verses. To me, there’s not a big difference between the verses of this song and something newjeans would do. Straightforward pleasant vocals. My biggest gripe with the song is the rap. you can totally do worse, but I find myself thinking “ok the rap’s here…. Almost done… Alrighty let’s get to that chorus”.
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Pre-chorus is great, verses are alright, not great lyrically, chorus is irritating and the rap is plain bad. This one’s not for me
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Had such potential to be another incredible song but was completely ruined by that chorus. So sad…
I can see the chorus going viral on TikTok for some trend though.
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They lost me so fast when they hit the chorus. I was really liking the verse and prechorus they were building and then the chorus went all Blackpink in your areaaaaa, and it wasn’t what I expected or wanted to happen at all. Moving past the initial shock of that, I don’t hate it overall. But I don’t think I like it either. Still pretty darn excited for the full album to drop!
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Now the question is, will it actually be a full album or will it be all their old songs plus a couple new ones? We’ve been burned by agencies too often! (especially with girl groups)
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Wonyoung spoiled that it would be 11 songs so there’s definitely going to be more than a “couple new ones” 🙂
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It’s so funny because literally this week on r/unpopularkpopopinions there was a thread about how IVE is the next BlackPink and it’s like they took that as a challenge.
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When I saw the title was gonna be Kitsch, I got pretty excited. “Hey, maybe it’s inspired by actual Kitsch style? Some 90’s Almodovar thingamajig?”
And then the song started and I thought “huh, a laidback song from IVE”.
Then the chorus hit. And I got confused. In the end, I expected more. But the chorus does hit you pretty well.
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I thought rei said ” these angel eyes” but she said “this ain’t your life” lol
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It’s interesting that you actually liked the chorus over the versus! 😀 I found this very Anti-fragile like… yet I think Anti-fragile sounded and worked better. I low-key did vibe to the chorus – especially in the end where it did seem to feel better. Though it was the pre-chorus that was the best part for me.
As I was discussing with my sis, the main thing that interested us about Ive’s music was that it didn’t really have any gimmicks… like even that weird pre-chorus part of Eleven or the unexpected drop in Love Dive – they were unique but not gimmicky – they didn’t feel like parts made simply to be catchy – but Kitsch seems more gimmicky than the rest lol. It may not have the same long-lasting effect like the other three did. Still it was pretty cool and they sounded good and I can only hope main vocalist Liz gets a full chorus or two on their upcoming track.
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I’m at sea on what defines IVE when it comes to music. They might have good songs but I don’t know what ties them all in in terms of concept.
Kitsch amplified that confusion. It sounds too spot on to not be a Blackpink song. Even the songwriting sounded sort of lazy to me, a lot of unneeded repetitions here and there. I hope the title track is better than this, but I don’t know what sound to expect, too, to be honest.
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no but did u see that poor liz (their main vocal btw) got only a SINGLE line in the whole song?
and ive seen ppl saying its bc starship is starting to favor her less bc of her weight (she hardly had any screen time in the mv and starship sadly has a VERY long history of forcing their female idols on diets where they can barely eat anything) and i just rlly hope thats not the case
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I thought the first promo vid for Kitsch was another concept teasers for their album like the Have What We Want and Dear Cupid videos. I thought the beat fit right in with what they did before, fit right in with their concept of chic rich high-teen cool girls. So, imagine my sheer surprising finding out it was an ACTUAL song and honestly… it should’ve just been another concept teaser song. The chorus is fine, it’s catchy-ish, but it just doesn’t fit in at all with the rest of the song which sounds very childish and cliche and basic. It doesn’t work for me because it’s not tongue-in-cheek, takes itself too seriously, laughable cringe lyrics take me out of the experience (the OOTD line specifically).
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it’s always so frustrating when songs sacrifice melody for the attitude 😦 had potential in the beginning
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I really like how heavy the beat is, with a lot of reverb. As I’m listening on Youtube it even sounds a little bit like one of those ‘3D Empty Stadium’ versions. Love the prechorus. I’m not sure about the drop chorus, but it’s not as bad as I expected from reading the review and comments!
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I’ve been enjoying this track since the first listen. A pretty good pre-release. Sounded good throughout, didn’t feel familiar, felt a bit fresh in fact. Willing to be suggested songs that this one sounds familiar to. Added to my playlist. 8.5/10.
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