In my mind, IVE are the most exciting girl group working in K-pop right now. This bore out across 2022, as they blitzed the market with a succession of addicting (and highly successful) singles. While incorporating popular trends, their music aims for the pop jugular in a way few others do. They’re not afraid of a big chorus, and that sense of panache makes their comebacks feel momentous.
After the underwhelming pre-release Kitsch two weeks ago, IVE have finally unveiled their first full album. It’s led by the commanding I Am, which functions as a good old-fashioned pop juggernaut. You won’t find much subtlety here. The tempo is high, the melodies are grand, and the girls are game for a good time.
It’s amazing how much a glistening, larger-than-life production can elevate a track. Given a different approach, I’d likely be complaining about I Am’s vaguely nursery-rhyme hook or the unnecessarily high-pitched power notes (how on earth are they going to sing this live?), but the song’s robust arrangement smooths over these concerns as the group performs in unison and the synths chug along with sparkling intensity. I could do without the micro-sized trap breakdown in verse two, but the payoff is worth it as IVE launch into a dynamic pre-chorus. Better yet, I Am’s final minute thrills in a way we don’t often hear from K-pop anymore. Its well-calibrated bombast brings the song home with the kind of confetti drop aplomb that makes pop music so satisfying.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 10 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 9 |
Grade: A-
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Ive’s best title track yet, power pop at its finest. I’ll still take After Like’s melodies but the power they bring here is fantastic. The bridge is melancholic as heck too
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i dont know how to put this but…
this is my favorite gg song of the year
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Too bad the album is so mid
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Dang, I was really excited to hear it
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Absolutely not. Hypnosis, Cherish, and Next Page are good listens.
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Nick, did u mean to tag “rating 9” instead of “rating 7”?
Anyways I expected this track to be 9.5 or 9.25 because of the power notes, vocal layering and thumping momentum that are so reminiscent of 2nd gen kpop! This is so exciting and I’m glad IVE delivered!
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Yes, I quickly revised it. I forgot to update the tags from the Kep1er review 🙂
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‘not your girl’ would have made a much better pre-release than ‘kitsch’, although it does feel more like a title track for a summer album so the timing isn’t exactly right
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They’re great. As always. I expect nothing else from them. I’m so excited to listen to the whole album. They always do so consistently well. My brain after Dynamic Meteorology class feels like it’s gonna melt. I need Ive and Kep1er’s releases.
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Having just heard IVE’s album its VERY good. I don’t know which is the buried treasure. Just put the songs on a board and throw a dart. Even Kitsch I liked a lot more in the context of the album. IVE did so well with this. They deserve all the success they’re about to get from this album.
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This is astounding. I’m so blown away by IVE and all their comebacks. I haven’t jumped from my seat by a K-Pop song since ‘Guerrilla’ and ‘Halazia’ but ‘I am’ had me from those synth stabs in the opening verse.
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Given how triumphant this song sounds, it feels like a great cap-off to their current streak of singles while ringing in their first full album and next era, while still retaining consistent vibes.
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I love this! Hands down the best kpop release of this year so far!!!
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that finale is sooo good, I got emotional listening to it. I would rate it the same.
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This. This larger-than-life full chorus is what I have been missing with 4th gen music, and now that it’s here, it really hits the spot. I love how celebratory and proud this song sounds.
Also, I like it when a group releases their very first full album and it showcases their concept to the T. It’s always fully realized and feels like a celebration and closure for the past songs. With I AM, IVE takes their chaebol-crush concept to the max. I don’t think any group can do a concept like that aside from them, they literally own it.
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By far my favourite song of the year so far, I was so glad when I listened to this song for the first time 😭 I feel like a lot of K-Pop these days doesn’t get that having a full chorus like this is what works the most, so IVE has been a breath of fresh air.
I genuinely can’t remember the last time I’ve consistently enjoyed a girl group’s comebacks every single time (girls’ generation maybe?) but if they keep this up they’re looking to become one of my favourite girl groups. I haven’t listened to the album yet, but honestly this song is enough for me 😩
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Yeah, good song! Well done IVE! Another banger.
Though noting good lord those notes are high = G3 F#3. This is So Chan Wee “Tears” territory. ‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dajQiMdCCmk
Maybe this is intentional reference to that classic which every idol ever on every variety show ever sings along with. But lord knows how Ive will hit those live. Pfft who am I kidding, they will just chant along or let the backing track take over. Listen for example “After Like” live, which is a lower and simpler song, how tenuous the grasp on pitch is for some of them ‘https://youtu.be/hOwjLLQ8ydE&t=113 In other words, to whoever Ive’s fan club is, expect a flurry of “Ive can’t sing” compilations on youtube from the crappy people who make those vids, just on these notes.
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They actually might have a better chance at singing more stabile with I Am. It’s no secret IVE isn’t exactly a vocal powerhouse of a group, but After Like was deceptively difficult since most (possibly all) of the girls sang the higher parts with falsetto. Without a good amount of training, falsetto can be very difficult to hit at all for some people, and for others, it can go off key pretty quickly. I Am is almost entirely belting, particularly during the chorus and the higher parts, and that’s generally a lot easier to pull off. I’ve noticed this a lot with Yujin. Love Dive shows how unstable her falsetto is while she does well enough at the belting. It should also help that Liz gets every single one of the high power notes too… well, help everyone but Liz lol.
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It is more likely they are using soft head voices, not falsetto.
The mixed voice is where the high belting notes come from, a blend of chest and head voice. The ringing tones of a head voice with the lungs and air support of a chest voice. For a high lyric soprano, which these ladies are, they could stay in the mixed voice in theory up to about high E or F. A belting F is usually for most sopranos “pulling the mixed voice” up. The same area is where some singers are actually shouting not singing, though both can sound like a belt due to the volume.
But at some point, even the sopranos need to shift into their head voice which sounds more like a bell tone, glassy and starry. Like a wine glass tapped with a spoon. Since these ladies aren’t well trained for that transition, they shift into their head voice lower, closer to C D so that there isn’t an audible kerlunk between the two. But they can’t control the transition very well. And because they don’t hit those tones often enough and practice them enough, that transition, it is uncontrolled and unsupported and goes off key.
To hear the shifts for a very high soprano, here is a good mix of Sohyang. ‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8eIau6dBVY Sohyang has a super high placed transition from high mixed belt to head voice, closer to F or A, and she is trained and can choose which voice she is singing up there, which is what makes her instrument so extraordinary. About 9:20-12:00 is high belt mixed voice. 12:45-end is her expansive head voice. Very different timbre. (For me, her high belt is very tinny and shouty; I much prefer her head voice sound which is gorgeous bell tone.)
Falsetto is usually higher than head voice, though there is some overlap. The head voice feels like the sound is coming from the soft palate, aka the soft part at the back of the throat, the soft tickly part. The falsetto feels like it is coming from the ridge between the soft tickly part and roof of the mouth, and is a very small area. I highly doubt that an undertrained soprano who cannot access head voice well can find, know and use falsetto.
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I kept feeling there’s something, just something about this song that screams “Eurovision”. I checked the credits, found the name of Eline Noelia and Audur Agnar, two singer songwriters from Norway. And fortunately, they did compete in Norway Melodi Grand Prix 2022 with the song “Ecstasy”.
But then, this gets me thinking, ” If Eline is competing with “Ecstasy”, I AM is probably one of their rejects for MGP 2022″.
And lo and behold, that association is also what kept me held back from liking it. This is that typical Eurovision NF dance track that would be
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a fanwank that made it to the NF final because it sounds amazing, but won’t win the overall selection. That chorus is a recipe for some fans to write “a good song ruined by a cheap and corny chorus”.
Don’t get me wrong, though, I still have a soft spot for it. If i strip the Eurovision association it’s a fine dance track. I would probably not listen to it as much, though, 3/4 time signatures oftentimes overstimulate me (I hope that’s not the case for I AM).
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100% the chorus was giving major (dated) europop vibes which threw me a bit, but I agree with Nick’s comment – the production saves it.
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I’m ashamed to admit that I’m not a girl group enthusiast, but if I had to choose a favorite GG, it would be IVE. All of their previous singles/title tracks are on my Kpop playlist (including “Kitsch”), and “I’am” was an instant like. Their songs are fun, catchy, listenable, and what I think Kpop is all about (9/10)👏🏻
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What a great song and video I hope the rest of the album will be good too
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IVE keep going forward, while the vast majority of K-pop industry has been experiencing a rapid decline in music quality, and this is indeed great! I love this. Dunno why, but something ’bout the song feels so early-2010’s Eurovision, as it seems to me. Don’t stop, girls!
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You’re the second person mentioning Eurovision. I might need to watch it
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I mean, it’s possibly a recent Norway Melodi Grand Prix reject (as I mentioned above).
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I really admire how they handled the final part of this song. First a power note then the prechorus but the production is switched from the stripped back arrangement in the verses to that of the chorus. Then we get our chorus back. This is the type of song I thought we’d never get from this generation. I hope less popular groups start copying this if they have to follow someone else’s template
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“how on earth are they going to sing this live?” they won’t lolz
Jokes aside, this is incredible — I haven’t fallen this hard for a girl group song since Antifragile (and even that one had to take a bit of time to grow on me!). Do you know how long I’ve waited for an IVE song in E MINOR?! Moreover the “vaguely nursery rhyme hook” is just a sweet, sticky melody that will be stuck in my head for a long time, and the girls honestly sound incredible, even the non-vocalists. IVE never misses.
also lol liz’s lines in kitsch were all part of the marketing scheme
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Now that I think about it, you have a point about Liz. People got annoyed that she had about 5 seconds in Kitsch, and now she has a ton of lines in I AM and everyone is happy about it. Feels like Starship is finally letting her shine as the main vocal for once.
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This sounds so good that I don’t know how to express it! Like Ive songs always hit me the same way – at first I feel “Hmm this sounds nice…” then a certain part comes and I’m like “Ok… it’s kinda unexpectedly weird?” But then by the end I’m like “How is this so perfectly cohesive? I love it!” – I absolutely love their elegant style and what sounds odd at first is simply because it’s something you didn’t think could come next.. but it did and it sounds so good!
The sing-song chorus was delivered with such style that it’s catchy in a good way! And I loved that the song just flowed nonstop – even the raps actually clicked in smooth! That bridge was so good and the final chorus was perfect and the MV captured the mood so well. Also Yujin is slowly turning into one of my favorite female idols because wow she’s so ALIVE and charismatic with her performance!
Ive hits another high with this for me- 4 in a row – easily my favorite girl group of the new crop with their music!❤
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geez I didn’t expect everyone here to be so positive!
That said, it’s a well-produced song, pop at its finest. But there isn’t something really new; the song is nothing more than a highly-refined early- 2010 eurovision song.
Well its definitely a 8.5-9/10, but I dont see this a potential soty (similar to After Like), at least for me. I just dont think it is representable of 2023.
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Wow, I wasn’t expecting an A rating. I like it, but I’m not sure it’s at the level of Love Dive and After Like. I totally agree about the production, it absolutely elevates it. Do you know what it reminds me of? Fifty Fifty’s first EP. (And it’s why I was slightly disappointed in Cupid; it was sparser.) I’ve had the album on repeat. Some buried treasures there, I’m sure.
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… I wish they had double-timed the lyrics in the finale with more complex background harmonies, I’ll bet that would have sounded really interesting.
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Completely agree with your review Nick. The last minute is an amazing rollercoaster of rock synths that gave me goosebumps.
The over the top voice production reminded me of T.A.T.U. also.
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a 9 with a chorus this awful? the nursery rhyme trend has to die
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This really isn’t a nursery rhyme chorus. Even Nick coupled that comment with “vaguely”
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It has the cadence of a nursery rhyme atleast to my ears , even the hint of one annoys me lol
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Not getting that at all. I think pop music in general just has stuff in common with nusery rhymes that to come call it out kinda requires it to be concretely childish
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It only has traces of a nursery rhyme but it’s the kind of sing talk that i don’t really like in general there’s something about the ( vocal ) melody that irks me , i wasn’t a fan of the i will survive sample in After Like either ,i wish they’d use a more original instrumental instead of samples and nursery rhymes in their songs , then i’d be more of a fan of their title tracks
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Again not a nursery rhyme… Feel free to not like their tracks. That wasn’t really the topic in the first place
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It’s one of my favorite kpop releases of 2023, it’s totally exciting
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I’m probably in the minority but this is a just ok song to me , the chorus is fantastic but the nursery rhyme is annoying the high notes a bit too high and there’s too much stuff interrupting the tempo like with that little trap part , IVE is good but not among my top tier GG’s imo
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So who’s top tier for you and why?
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I like what STAYC,New Jeans , Twice ,tripleS , Apink , Limelight ,WJSN ,and soloists Yena , Lee Chae Yeon and Sunmi a lot more than IVE , why ? a big part of it is personal preference probably but i think these artists have a distinctive sound and style of them selves , IVE is good i like them but i don’t share Nicks enthousiasm of them
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Gotcha. I think I prefer a lot of those groups over I’ve as well, but amongst 4th Gen they’re at least top 5 for me
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Firmly hits the upper 9 tier for me along with Shining Bright, the year might be looking up for me a little now.
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I can see why this feels exciting compared to what else is out there, but this is my least favorite single from them (aside from Kitsch, which has grown on me). I think I would feel differently if the chorus were more dynamic and something you could actually dance to.
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Thank you for saying exactly what I was thinking. I like the song but a 9? Thats literally as high as Love Dive and After Like, which imo, are far better and catchier songs. Maybe I need to give it a few more listens but I dont really think theres anything that memorable about I Am. I’m the same as you though in that Kitsch actually grew on me a lot.
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i absolutely adore the song, the pre-chorus and chorus remind me so much of marina’s “primadonna”!! i feel like the nursery rhyme melody is adequate for both songs, and chanting it would be so fun for a marching band, actually…
also a previous comment pointed out how this is a eurovision nf kinda song and i can’t unhear it! and i agree wholeheartedly that it would’ve been sorta mid in the final, but i feel like the girls’ energy elevates it so much. like i can’t really imagine a solo singer pulling this one off, but the unison chorus of 6 girls just… makes it right
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Thank you, IVE, for making songs that sound like songs.
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This entire album is fantastic. I’ll be listening to this song and Blue Blood on repeat for a while. 10/10, no complaints from me!
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Replying to myself to make another point: When After Like was released, Nick named My Satisfaction as a buried treasure, and I feel like I remember him saying something about how it felt like an evolution of IVE’s sound. I feel like I kind of hear that sound in this song, if not this album.
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Don’t like it. Vocally puts me off and I don’t feel the bombast that everyone seems to be raving about.
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I don’t see a lot of people even using the word bombast
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I get what you mean – it looks bigger than it is, I realised after a few listens. The chorus feels a little bit empty? And yes, the strained high chorus melody is not my favourite either. I still like it overall though.
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Yeah this song is incredible. IVE just keep releasing incredible music and I’m here for it.
This sounds like such an Epic Grand Finale anthem. I really like this comeback.
Also, following this amazing title track, the B-sides ‘Blue Blood’ and ‘Shine With Me’ are absolutely incredible.
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I just listened to the album and it was relatively thought-provoking despite most of the songs being very mild (some of them borderline boring). Their approach to most of the songs is pretty much “pleasant mid-tempo head nodder that you can listen to in the background of anything”. I AM feels like a much more grand and intense version of that approach which makes sense as to why it’s the title track.
Kitsch on the other hand seems to serve a different purpose to the album with it’s message of “let us have shallow taste if we want to because it makes us money and we aren’t hurting anybody”, which I thought was really funny when I first read the lyrics, but I’m not quite sure if I actually like the song. It feels like that song is meant to preface the entire album by clearly stating the it’s intention to be easily digestible and surface-level fun, which I guess I can respect since there isn’t anything inherently wrong with that.
All of these songs are also generally above average by kpop standards, with the exception of Hypnosis, which I think is the best song the album by far. It is so much more dynamic and eclectic than the rest of the album, which gives me the feeling that they might promote it later.
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I am very glad for this song, after Kitsch…
The high notes remind me of t.A.T.u.!
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Said the same in my comment!
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I like this song conceptually and it’s definitely not bad, but it’s not sticking with me like After Like and Love Dive. I feel like it’s missing a catchier earworm? The chorus mostly feels like a rehash of the prechorus so I’m left wanting for more. That said though, the production quality’s great.
As for the rest of the album, I’m really liking Lips and Not Your Girl! The latter doesn’t quite match their usual sound/concept and feels very summery, but that’s what I’m weak to lol.
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Woah. IVE have really stepped out of their boundaries, haven’t they? First things first. This song is a banger and this is my favourite IVE release alongside AFTER LIKE.
The few reasons I was hesitant to like IVE’s discography was the lack of a powerful chorus, no or little climax, and the lack of high notes, even though I don’t expect high notes from IVE. However, I AM delivers a full package. The chorus is the second strongest in IVE’s discography, the final chorus, the climax, was great, almost theatrical. And the high notes. Being a die-hard 2nd and 3rd gen lover, it is refreshing to hear high notes soar alongside with the chorus.
One of the things I want in a song is a good pre-chorus. I AM’s pre-chorus was great. I loved that the song becomes subdued in the pre-chorus. The final pre-chorus, before the last chorus, was my favourite part. I absolutely love it when the music is subdued or becomes silent and emotional after the bridge, e.g. OH MY GIRL’s SECRET GARDEN. Finally, the lyrics of the pre-chorus is beautiful. “You are someone’s dreams come true, a déjà vu of some favourite day. A strange view of a place I want to stay, I’ll be faraway.”
I didn’t like the first verse, but I don’t know why. I am a bit concerned about the live stages. IVE isn’t well known for their stable vocals, and I AM is a very challenging song.
Anyways, this is an A for me.
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I don’t know how they managed to do it yet again, but it’s another SOTY candidate. Sky will never be the limit for girls like these, rocketing their Starship into the stratosphere.
Really, when was the last time we came across a group whose songs are so effortlessly likeable. Maybe ’16-’17 Twice? ‘
It’s not perfect though. he hook could be slightly stronger, and being Scandinavian I’ve already had my fair share of Eurovision beats…
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This one has nothing on some of their iconic previous singles. It’s really not even close. But it’s pretty lovely and sometimes that’s enough. Strong B for me.
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Ahh, I wish I liked the chorus! The production is killer all throughout and the opening had me hooked, but it loses me a bit every time I hear the chorus melody. It sounds like a prechorus because it, uh, is. That really works for some songs (I love Seventeen’s Oh My, which is maybe an even clearer copy-paste) and I love the prechorus in isolation, but within the context of a chorus I feel like it doesn’t pack the right kind of punch. Still a solid release.
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Ive shows the genre itself is meaningless. GP is just ready to eat anything that 4th gen top gg releases I love this song but just frustrated that only ive can make nostalgiac maximalistic song succesful again
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Hmm, am I the only one feel bored by this come back? Both 2 songs didn’t do anything for me. I turned it off right after the first chorus. Even their gorgeous visual couldn’t keep me till the end of the song 😦
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I still need to listen to the whole album, but I do really like this song. Hard to tell at the moment where it will settle out in my personal ranking amongst the rest of the great music IVE has put out so far (though it’s certainly ahead of Kitsch), but that doesn’t really matter so much to me because I’m just stoked that they’ve released yet another song that I enjoy listening to. I predict I’ll be blasting it in the car a lot this summer while simultaneously grumbling at them for recording it in a key that makes it harder to belt along with.
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I think this is very good compared to any other song that’s come out lately.
I like this song, this really feels like a fully developed pop song, with real meat on its bones (which seems rare these days). That said, I don’t Love it.
I don’t like the high melody in the chorus – it sounds a bit strained.
The prechorus and chorus also repeat the same melody and I did get tired of it after a few listens. It’ll be interesting to see how this rises or falls for me!
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I haven’t been real happy with 4th gen cuz I’m still firmly planted in 2nd gen territory. So when it comes to IVE, I have been on the sidelines waiting to see how they’d mature. The pre-release had me looking elsewhere – then POW!!. I’m doing a double take. I feel this track is so much better than the pre-release. They have a way to go before reaching their full potential though. I’m expecting the rest of the album to be just as solid. I’m hoping for their next comeback they’re given material that better showcases their maturing talents. Well done ladies.
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