Well, we finally have another soft drink anthem to compete with NewJeans’ Zero. Between these two tracks, Coca Cola has to be pretty stoked — especially since both revolve around a chorus that’s essentially a repeated incantation of their product.
Even though it feels like one, I don’t think Yeeun’s Cherry Coke is an actual CF. The bulk of the song exists over sparse percussion and a whistled hook. I find this arrangement pretty lifeless, though I enjoy the occasional blast of melody on the word “overload.”
Then, Cherry Coke springs to life for its last thirty seconds. It’s too late to salvage the track, but I wish the whole thing would have embraced this dynamic, rock-infused sound. The energy is fierce and exciting, like a sudden headrush of fizzy caffeine. (See, I can write a coke CF too!)
| Hooks | 6 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7 |
Grade: C-
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I do wanna say: ZERO:ATTITUDE walked so these 2023 soda CFs can run.
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Yeah, this one’s not for me. I was excited she had a new one coming already, because I still really love Strange Way to Love from last month. It’s like the best b-side STAYC hasn’t done. (And their b-sides are often *great*.)
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The delivery. Somewhere between Jessi and Soyeon. Not for me, an easy pass. Second, another song that vastly improves by clicking 1.2x speed.
But I was so hoping someone would tell me that this was a CF, because why do such a song like this called Cherry Coke if one is not in fact getting paid bucu by Cherry Coke.
Its not like it’s a sly and clever cultural ref to Orange Crush. I’ve got my spine, I’ve got my Orange Crush. I’ve had my fun and now it’s time to serve your conscience overseas, coming in fast, over me.
(… I think this will be a slow comments section, so I will drop the full vid here)
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unrelated but sexy gikwang is back!!! his upcoming song definitely sounds promising and similar to his previous work
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I really liked Strange Way To Love because it was just beautiful and felt very emotional to me, easily one of my top track this year and my favorite ballad so far.
The new track is quite different and unfortunately doesn’t really convince me. Especially the chorus feels uninspired with the repeated lyrics, and the instrumentals are kinda dull in some parts as well. It gains some momentum at the end of the track, and I wish they had embraced that energy earlier on. 7 is an adequate rating.
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It’s cute but I really hoped for something with a full chorus at least. Yeeun can sing! As seen in Barbie/Mermaid (my fav of hers) and Strange Way to Love! Hopefully future ventures have a bit more meat to them because I really adored her in CLC and think she’s super talented. It does have me wanting a Cherry Coke though!
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This song is 10X better than the NewJeans CF, but I wish the Korean Soda marketing departments would try what their Pakistani counterparts do; fund unheard-of artists to release classical-meets-trendy MASTAHPIECES and uploads them on a dedicated Coke Studio channel. Last year, the biggest hit from Pakistan was a Coke Studio song, and I absolutely love it on its own.
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Yep, I would rather listen to this one you posted than either the Cherry Coke or the New Jeans Coke one.
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They literally did this last year with TRI.BE. TRI.BE was part of the first wave of artists they did on Coke Studios Global channel where they had a bunch of artists covering Queen’s A Kind of Magic. They then had an original song called Memu Aagamu with Armaan Malik and Allu Arjun from India.
They later had Enhypen do a cover of A Kind of Magic. Both theirs and TRI.BEs were styled very much to fit the artist.
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And the results show. Memu Aagamu is still the most viewed TRI.BE song.
(still a fever dream to realize they collaborated with Allu Arjun though)
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So often this year I’ve been like “This song isn’t that bad” and then I get to the hook and the song just dies. I think I prefer NewJeans’ Coke song better. That one was more fun as inconsequential as it is. This one just feels like an ad and the chorus is meant for them to talk over. Also the end sounds really bad. I do not like the last 20 seconds one bit.
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She was definitely trying to create a trendy song, and while I don’t really like the result, it’s not unlistenable either.
I’m happy for Yeeun, and I look forward to more bsides like Strange Way to Love or Mermaid in the future.
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