I understand the appeal of Billlie, but so far their singles run has been hit or miss for me. They’re at their best when pushing against current tropes to indulge in more unique sounds. New single Eunoia doesn’t exactly do that, but it’s a solid example of the Monotree-esque quirky dance music favored by peers like TripleS and Loona. (This is not a Monotree production, by the way)
There’s a real bounce to Eunoia, and when it lets its hair down during its funky outro we get a glimpse of how addicting its groove can be. Even before that, the synth beat is thick and focused. There’s a bit too much fiddling around with the core melody for my taste, but I appreciate the power notes and brushes of harmony that buttress the track. I wouldn’t call Eunoia a slam dunk, but I could see it growing quite addictive with time. Bonus points for the hint of early-Lovelyz quirkiness in its offbeat hook!
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This is great. Gingamingayo has competition
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It’s fine, a pleasant vibe to vibe along with. There is just not enough melody for me.
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Kinda mixed on this one. What I am pretty sure is that everyone seems to be on the New Jeans bandwagon with a radio-friendly sound and a high teen concept.
This sounded like what Billie will do tripleS’s ‘Generation’. Kinda disappointed for not working with their concept, but I guess this is what the mass wants. It’s still a decent 8.5 though, just not a potential soty.
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This is the exact type of songs I tend to enjoy, but…over and over again, this time I don’t. I suppose I appreciate Eunoia more than I vibe with it. Yes, I can see the song growing on me, however, the lack of actual melody kills me. The central hook crisis faced by the industry went too far! 😦
Rating is a bit too high. Maybe…I’ll put it into the low-8’s.
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I agree that the chorus could be stronger but I like this a lot! The groovy backbone of this song holds it all together. I especially love the high note > strong rap verses > dreamy sung chords > dance break. Love the outro too.
The concept of the MV feels slightly derivative of NewJeans “Ditto”, but it distinguishes itself enough. I’m excited to hear more of their B-sides, hoping to find more gems!
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not everything resembles new jeans. there were many groups who did the school concept before they debuted
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I liked Snowy Night so I appreciate the laid-back approach to this song. It’s pleasant, it reminds me of Red Velvet, but I’m not sure if I’d come back to it. It seems almost everyone’s interested in doing groovy retro-y chic tunes now, with MVs filmed in schools and concepts focusing on youths being youths. It’s not a bad thing, but you can definitely tell much influence New Jeans/TripleS had over the last year and I can’t help but think whether Billie is doing something that matches their discography/image or they’re following trends. Probably a mix of both.
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Not related to this, but I just wanted to bring your attention to serri’s spotlight (dal shabet) I don’t know if you heard it. It isn’t good (particularly the mix and chorus delivery) but for some reason I find it noteworthy that she released anything at all. Probably cause I like dal shabet
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Great review. I the more I listen to it the better it gets. And hot damn, the rest of the album is so good. ‘Nevertheless” Really stands out for me.
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I remember how I felt about all of their title songs. I loved RING X RING, Lee Minsu and Kim Ina are my favourite producers in KPOP, and the song was delightfully odd. SNOWY NIGHT was a bit underwhelming, but it grew to me. GINGAMINGAYO was fresh to me, a instant like. Honestly, I never saw anyone use the phrase “긴가민가(gingaminga)”, except for older people or me in Korea. RING MA BELL was an instant like because, being in a band, I always loved rock-influenced songs, and the punk-rock-like RING MA BELL was my favourite release of BILLLIE.
EUNOIA is a bit underwhelming. My hopes were too high after listening to RING MA BELL, I guess. This song actually does sound like a MONOTREE production though. I felt a bit indifferent with the song’s verses and chorus, but the rap was great. I think it was one of the high-calibre raps within 4th Gen KPOP. I also loved the harmonising after the rap. I also liked the instrumental break after the final chorus, because it made feel like I want to dance to the beat.
To me, it feels like a SNOWY NIGHT Ver 2, but I see that this song is a grower to me. It’s easy to listen, kinda feels safe too. So, umm, 8 for me.
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Hey Nick! Unrelated and this isn’t kpop, but I think you *might* like the sound of this. It has that heft in its chorus and bridge that you might wanna sink your teeth into, plus it has nice melodies, nice groove, pulsating synths, and epic drum beats and wood blocks that give it an oddly exotic feel. It’s not all bombast, and instead more on the smoother/alluring side, but I think it’s a little up your alley.
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So funny! This was suggested to me on YouTube and it caught my eye so I watched it and did indeed enjoy. It’s got a great groove, and like you said the fullness of the production is a highlight.
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I’m glad my judgment of your musical perspective is not that way off lol. It was recommended to my Youtube feed as well, never knew them, they seem talented. Hope their producers wouldn’t just upend this sound and opt for something like shouty bad boy sound.
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Ah, Ppop! Filling the void for solid pop begin left vacant by kpop this season. I have been getting a few Ppop recommendations on my youtube feed the past few weeks.
This one Yes My Love one here is a solid all around pop song.
Also in ppop, Jeff Satur “Dum Dum” popped up for me a week or two ago, and I did go actually buy this one. It is of the “sultry bass drop chorus” variety, but all good. This guy is hella talented. Also I really appreciate hearing a vocal with minimal processing peeking through.
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Thanks for the recommendation! The guitar strumming at the beginning made me feel like it’s gonna go the “Shaun – way back home” route. The bass drop was nice, though I loved the grittiness more in the latter half of the chorus. I enjoyed it, though the song’s a little too subtle for my taste. Overall I like it.
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Personally, P-pop seems to be following the kpop sound, what with all the shouty boy groups and the cloying high-pitched female rap voice in girl crush sounds, and lack of melody. However, there were a few standouts in my book, like Alamat doing their smooth r&b thing and more recently fused smooth with funk in their track “Gayuma.” BGYO’s kinda good too, especially in the poppy “Tumitigil ang mundo” or when they go full EXO with “Magnet.” And then there’s BINI, who made my favorite p-pop song of all time, “Lagi.”
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Our algorithm overlords must be sparing me the ppop Shouty McShoutyson girl crush examples in my suggested feed, knowing that I prefer the more mature grown up fare.
The girl one you link “Lagi” is a solid all round girl group pop song, in any era, in any language.
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Love the song! Waiting for a performance video. The first half of this one is to close to NJ/SSS for me. The concept isn’t owned by them, but Billlie’s videos up until now have been very unique.
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Really enjoyed this, the chorus was giving me goosebumps and the rap was a standout. Besides the rap, I wouldn’t be able to tell that was the same group that did “ring x ring. Billlie is probably doing the biggest genre shifts out of the newer girl groups. I wonder if they’ll settle down at one point, not that I mind a jack of all trades kpop group approach (it guarantees some misses but also gives you (reasonable) hope for a hit!
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I pretty much agree with this. I’d rather see a group fail (Eunoia does not) trying once in a while then staying with the same formula over and over again. This is why Billlie is a standout amongst 4th gen girl groups for me, even compared to, say, well… NewJeans
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Something of a grower, as opposed to the immediately likeable ring ma bell.
The song is good, but what happened to the more “experimental” feel of Ring X Ring, Patbingsu and Ring Ma Bell?
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