Much of the news surrounding Seventeen’s FML mini album has highlighted its incredible sales. They’re breaking records left and right, standing as one of the industry’s most well-loved acts. I wouldn’t call myself a mega-fan the way I was back in 2015-17, but you can’t argue with quality. Their success has been built upon consistently solid music.
New single Super (손오공) sees the group embracing elements familiar to other HYBE artists. The track has a strong On/Idol vibe, mixed with the intensity of Seventeen’s own Hit. It’s a frustrating iteration of the sound, at once thrilling and unfulfilling.
Super opens with a lush vocal blend that reappears in the post-chorus and the tail end of the song. From here, the track vaults into a fast-paced verse driven by distortion. The beat has a great sense of snowballing momentum and its briskness covers up a lack of memorable melody. I really like the sound and energy of this segment.
Then, the bottom falls out. Super opts for a sparse beat drop, highlighting the track’s most grating elements while stalling the energy built to this point. I don’t know why so many K-pop songs insist on this switch-up, but it’s frustrating every time. Super re-assembles with verve and power for a shout-along post-chorus, but I would love to hear a mix that fully capitalizes on the track’s sense of speed.
My unsolicited advice? Remove that drop completely, go easy on the vocal effects and push the sound of that lush introduction to the forefront of the track. These changes alone could turn a solid track into a spectacular highlight.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I do not like these half time drops
The way they simply mess with clocks
The bass line starts, it wobbles, it rocks
Then drop the tempo and it stops.
Seventeen in sixteenths is the tops
When they keep rocking there, it pops
But theys insist the chorus crops
the groove the rhythm, to eighths it chops
I do not like them in a box
I do not like them wearing socks
I do not like them half-time drops!
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Take my damn like
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it’s already growing on me. but I agree with you, that introduction was a surprise and should’ve been used in the track more. horrible first half of the chorus with a decent second half. verses were definitely the highlight for me.
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DARUMDARIMDA AYYEE
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Thinking about the song objectively I agree that the drop is kind of weak and the song would be better without it, and that svt’s embrace of HYBE vocal effect overuse is kind of annoying. But thinking about the song completely subjectively as a huge fan of Seventeen, I love it and it’s a banger and I will be bopping along to it for the foreseeable future (also Wonwoo’s opening verse? chef’s kiss, I love his voice so much)
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I like the songs verses, I like the instruments in the chorus, but the chorus just could have been so much better if it didn’t feel like it was playing at 0.5x speed.
S.Coups is so fine tho
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This strikes me very much as a HIT and HOT type of song that is made for performance but not really a song I care to listen to on its own. The mini album is great as usual. Dust gives me Together vibes and April Shower is a worthy successor to To You. However, I Don’t Understand But I Luv U is the standout for me and top contender for Buried Treasure.
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Wow, almost 3.5 million sold by the first day. Congratulations. That’s incredible. As for this song I think it’s ok. I like it well enough. This EP was good too. I think my problem is usually the hooks. All these songs kind of die at the hook. They have a great bridge and then nothing. They always give me at least one song that gains my whole heart though and this time those are Dust and April Shower. It’s worth the whole listen to get me to those 2. I love them a lot.
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yep, also sorry for the incoming rant but this is one of the reason why i stopped being a carat, generally woozi is really good at making verses and build up, but sucks at actual hook/chorus, you cant hate their songs as a whole bcs some parts and good here and there but the melody are forgettable and dont really have IT factor
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Everything Nick said basically. I’m not a fan of the drop at all, contains everything I dislike in a song (low energy, slow, anti drop, instrumental chorus) but really enjoyed rest of song. So it’s a 7.5/10 for me, missed opportunity for a 9+
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Seventeen songs are either a big hit or big miss for me but this one is the first to be in the middle. I have mixed feelings about the chorus but the other parts of the song are great.
The music video on the other hand was AMAZING. It simple and stays in one set but the camera work, lighting really makes it feel like it’s multiple shooting sets.
For me, I would rate the song 8/10
The bsides, however, are much better in my opinion.
‘Dust’, ‘April Shower’, I don’t understand but I luv u’ are amazing songs. I think when it comes to these kind of songs, Seventeen are one of the best.
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such good bsides, those are my faves as well.
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i actually agree with the rating for once. sadly it’s the only good song on the album, which is probably their worst since boys be (2015). they deserved to blow up with an ode or your choice instead but i think those albums were held back by their title tracks.
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As a certified carat who’s also commented on quite a few posts on this blog before, I have to say I was totally expecting you to review this much, much lower than the score it got lol. Unfortunately I don’t like this song. Then again, it’s not necessarily because it sounds more HYBE/4th gen chanty boy group – it’s because I’ve never liked this kind of… non-melodic song from them before (Getting Closer, Hit, and Hot to an extent in terms of OT13 title tracks).
This song is frustrating to me because I get that it’s basically a performance piece and a statement – a truly epic statement which I am really proud of, as a long-term fan – but sonically if they’d taken out that beat drop, ramped up the energy throughout with more rock elements, toned down the stylistic vocal processing and had a proper bridge, I might have liked this so much more. They do pull off this kind of song convincingly enough, but damn, I wish they wouldn’t. The kind of success they’ve been experiencing with Hot and now this is incredible and really blows my mind, but I wish and hope that the melodic songs that are their bread and butter are the ones that truly stand the test of time, so to speak.
The b-sides here are quite good though, and more to my taste (with the exception of the Hip Hop Unit… but I expected that lol). The second half run, with the performance/vocal unit and the standard sentimental OT13 b-side, is great as usual. I’m just glad Seventeen are still giving us those kind of songs too, even as they explore other sounds in their title tracks.
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This happens to describe my thoughts so well too!! Of course as a carat I’m overjoyed to see them doing so well – even thought I’ve only been one two-ish years, the growth is really amazing to observe.
From the performance piece perspective (I treat Fearless this way too) Super is just so great. That choreo…insane. It shows off SVT’s expertise in a suitably grandiose way, and Woozi on the throne starting the song and his “Ping!” + last chorus – insane. I’m hoping that the instrumentals in the beginning are expanded upon/brought more into focus during year-end stages, knowing how they like to adjust the music a bit.
I definitely get the worry about losing SVT’s melodic masterpieces to time though. Like you said, I agree that SVT pull this style off pretty convincingly (I warmed up to Hot over time and I can feel myself starting to get addicted to Super lol) but I still believe that their strength lies in crafting a great melody, along with their unique sincerity, esp in lyrics. It’s what drew me to them in the first place. Sometimes I wonder if there are newer carats that haven’t explored SVT’s older discography yet and get a little sad at the thought. Truly great music hidden there!!
I can always count on SVT’s b-sides! Dust and April Shower are my favorites at the moment.
And a happy anniversary to Pretty U! My favorite title track, and one of the songs I describe as “quintessentially Seventeen” in my head 🙂
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Dust and April Shower are my favorites too! I’m noticing a pattern here with those of us who fall on the more melodic side of their music haha.
Completely agree that what drew me and most of us to their music in the first place is the strength of their melodies and their sincere lyrics. The lyrical wordplay also used to feel much stronger in some of their older songs I feel – not that there’s wrong with the newer ones, and they do still have their moments, but there’s just something that gets me with lyrics in songs like Pinwheel, Space, My I, All My Love, Kidult, etc. that I have felt more sparsely with some of their 2021-onwards songs. Like – “I want to pick and gather all the pretty words for you” – I want more of that, so deceptively simple yet so heartfelt and sweet! But it is fun sometimes to see them unleash that braggadociousness through lyrics in Cheers/Super etc. too.
I do think there are quite a few new carats who are discovering them very recently with this newer kind of music – I also hope they get to explore more of the gems in their varied discography!
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Also – just realised that seven years ago to the day they released the absolutely legendary Pretty U. Kind of mind-blowing to think how far they’ve come!
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I love Seventeen💎 but this song/album was not made for my music taste. Glad they are killing it and being recognized for their talent and hard work though.
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I love them but I am pretty much reconciled with the fact that they will not make the kind of music I enjoy probably ever again.
I don’t hate this – I just don’t enjoy it. There’s no melody here to stick in my brain and the repetitive production makes me feel nothing.
Very happy to see them have the success they deserve, though!
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Have you listened to the b-side “LUNCH” from BSS’ recent single album? It’s the first thing Seventeen has released in years that gave me the same joy their early material does. The Prince vibes are strong.
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I love Lunch.
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I’m partial to dinner.
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Bwahah.
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Yes, I did like the BSS album! BooSeokSoon are an exception to my opinion on Seventeens recent material 🙂
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You will never be able to convince me that this wasn’t just a spare BTS song that never got released. I can’t really identify anything about this song that is uniquely “Seventeen”. They deserve to reach this level of success with their own sound and style, not this derivative bs.
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this morning I was like this song is a pass for me. but now IM HYPE. I’m not sure how it grew on me so fast. but I’m obsessed and gagged YEEESHHH
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I didn’t like it at all. I know, I’m often a fan of irritainment. But it just doesn’t work for me. But the song Dust is a glorious piece of crying on the dance floor fluff I want to hug to me like a little bunny.
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Ever since the highlight medley and teasers were released I had a feeling that the anti-drop(?) chorus won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but putting that aside the overall song was very hype, catchy and enjoyable. The beat is sick and the energy is insane. I’m kinda biased here but I think Seventeen solidified themselves as a Kpop Performance Powerhouse with this song. (also, b-sides Dust and April Showers are soooooo good!)
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Those are the two songs I liked off the album. I agree.
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I have a soft spot for Seventeen lol so the bias is strong here – I really liked this one! It felt like a modern take on a traditional sound – there were parts that reminded me of Oneus’ Lit a lot, just with a bit of Seventeen’s Hot thrown in 🙃
The prechorus section and the faster part of the chorus were my favorite. Also…. while I’m usually not a fan of line disbn where member X comes in only halfway through the song – there are exceptions 😂 Though a few of them came in only in part 2 – it still felt ok to me. I mean, if I was given the blank song and asked to split it between 13 people I might have done the same thing. Each of the segments were memorable and I think that’s what made it feel good.
Also the MV was so good – I liked that they focussed on the performance completely without switching in between to posing and still shots – it helped to keep the ambience more. The performances will be fun!
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I’ve felt very meh about SVT’s promoted tracks for the last 1.5 years (I begrudgingly liked Hot on Spotify out of Carat obligation, kinda glossed over the rest of their 2022 group releases) so I was wary about this one, but the persistent head-banging beat in this REALLY redeems it for me. Definitely agree with wishing the chorus drop had more energy (like, cmon, match the energy of the rest of the song), wish the intro instrumental was reused more (and not just quietly in the back), but otherwise I’m surprised by how much I’m liking it on second/third listen. It kinda reminds me of Hot which is one of my favorites among the “noise/hype” songs so makes sense LOL.
Otherwise I’m liking F*ck My Life and I Don’t Understand But I Luv U. I really like the moody almost r&b sound the melody/harmonization have? It reminds me of early 3rd gen Kpop! The rest of the album I’m just ok/fine with.
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Reminds me of HIT* not Hot……
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You’ve said everything I felt while listening to the song. I’m not against false drops but the way it was executed fell flat. This reminded me of Sugar Rush Ride by TXT where the drop just ruins the momentum and drives you crazy.
Dust and I Don’t Know Why But I Love You – both went into my playlists. I don’t care for the rest of the songs on the album.
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I thought I was the only one who felt like it was giving On vibes.
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Actually August Rigo (one of the credits for BTS ON) is also in the credits for Super! So that might be why. IMO they have similar intensity tho I feel that both songs still sound different from each other.
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I absolutely love the verses, but the drop is terrible. For some reason every time I listen I keep thinking it’ll be different but it isn’t.
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I’m back on this site after so long… I’ve missed so many comebacks and posts but I’ll catch up soon (since there isn’t much good music to catch up on).
I love the energy here and do really like some parts of this song a lot! But the “e-e- energy part” and the drop chorus bring this song down for me. Also, poor the8’s hairstyle….that’s the real travesty with this song….
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