You could say I’ve been hard on (G)I-DLE’s music so far, but everyone has their musical pet peeves and too many of their songs simply push the wrong buttons for me. However, I’m always ready to approach new music with an open mind, and pre-releases offer a great chance for acts to play a little loose with expectations.
Allergy arrives less than a week before the group’s newest mini-album. It takes a more straightforward approach, blending relatable themes with a punchy rock backdrop. Being the old-school K-pop fan I am, I was immediately reminded of 2NE1’s Ugly – a high-water mark of this particular sub-genre. Allergy doesn’t find melodies as sticky as that classic, but its energy and sentiment are similar.
Apart from the requisite second-verse tempo shift, Allergy keeps momentum throughout. I enjoy the build toward the first chorus, which gives each member’s unique vocal space to shine. The hook itself is slightly generic and not quite as anthemic as it could be, but its early-00’s pop/rock sound gets the job done. I can imagine this being streamed throughout many a teenagers’ room. Even so, it skews a bit young for me and could do with some roughing up around the edges. I’m waiting for (G)I-DLE to fully embrace their punk rock side!
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
Grade: B-
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
As someone who’s obsessed with the early-00’s pop-rock sound palette, I can say it’s kinda cool, but again, the problem is the song’s central hook that makes it sound a bit undercooked. How many more times are we gonna go thru this unending series of lackadaisical choruses, eh???…
Yeah, 8 is enough for this one.
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Definitely 90s vibes. For me, there were two 90s: the grunge and melodic power pop/punk epitomized by Green Day, Weezer, and the Friends theme song. Basically, American rock. And then there was the stuff in the UK: Britpop, Madchester, big beat, trip hop, etc. I was totally in the UK camp, with no interest whatsoever in most of the 90s music coming from the US. Clearly (G)I-DLE’s in the US camp, and it just doesn’t really do much for me…
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In an industry that values more on visuals and not really so much on the music itself (let’s just all agree on that, shall we..) you have gotta give it up to (G)I-DLE, just for having the chutzpah cause nobody else is doing it. A girl group that has the best musicality in the industry as seen in their involvement collectively and unrestricted in their creative process from the concept and up to the composition and production of their songs. Name other girl group who does that? IVE could never. They cant sing, they can’t rap, and they certainly can’t make their own song. Some white european (probably swedish) will do that for them.
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Lol, there was no way that this wasn’t targeted.
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Just pointing out the obvious and some hard to swallow facts (to some.. the delusional stans to be exact). So the way i see it, you’re the one who is triggered.
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Ok
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I would just like to say that chocolate IS good, so Ty for replying that fact XD
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Repping, not replying. Darnit.
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This comment was going well until the last couple of sentences – should have kept that in the drafts, no reason at all for you to make this random and inane swipe at a completely different group.
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But I wasnt lying, and u know that, you’re just not comfortable with dealing the good old hard truth.
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There was absolutely zero reason to drag a specific group. I was with you until then…and, for the record, I’m not a fan of Ive. What you did was unnecessary.
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“They cant sing, they can’t rap, and they certainly can’t make their own song.”
You just described Soyeon lmfao
Also IVE’s discography >>>>>> (G)I-DLE. Then again even BLACKPINK has a better batting average at this point.
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Soyeon’s busy counting her royalties have fully cemented her legacy in K-pop less than 5 years after their debut. A rare trailblazer, unique, and one of a kind
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Eh, sure ive can’t sing and whatever but i would take their no miss singles more than the hit-or-miss song from soyeon and friends.
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Calling (G)I-dle’s discography as “hit-or-miss” is too high of a compliment lmao.
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In the past 14 years of my being a k-pop fan, I’ve never seen a girl group fanbase as annoying as (G)I-dle’s, and rabid fans like you are prime example of why that’s the case.
Being “self-producing” doesn’t put you above any other groups nor does it mean shit if your outputs are consistently ear-grating, pretentious jumble of spoken words masquerading as “songs”. Heck even my f(x) bias Amber Liu, who insisted on writing & producing her own solo debut, should’ve just sucked it up, admitted that her skills (or lack thereof) suck ass, and let SM’s production team handle her debut. The same goes for (G)I-dle (and Stray Kids, to a lesser extent). Maybe, just maybe, paying those white (Swedish) europeans to make good, actual pop songs would the right thing to do lol.
Also, calling out IVE for their lack of skills is BOLD coming from a (G)I-dle fan eh? Soyeon’s admittedly great rapping skills and self-producing shtick are their only noteworthy selling points lmao. Their vocals are average *at best* (and that’s me being superrr generous), and their dancing skills are wayyy below average for their generation.
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Not to be a huge jerk but this is by far the least interesting, most inane and boring song they’ve released. I hated Nxde but at least it had… character. This is shockingly lame, not remotely engaging and does not sound good at all. The best I can say is at least it doesn’t sound terrible.
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Dude you are talking about Spicy by Aespa, youre at the wrong message board.
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I kind of agree, nxde was not catchy to me and I didn’t really enjoy the song beyond the message and soyeons rap. This song is one of their worst for me.
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Personally, the lyrics feel like a first draft. The pop-rock elements are fine, don’t really have a kick to them. The chorus was so underwhelming i almost didn’t make it to the second verse. I like that the members are very sincere in wanting to have a unique take in the industry but their follow-through is just not good. this is a 6 for me.
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Can Aespa create and produce a song on their own? How about IVE? New Jeans? Les Sserafim maybe? (La Rosaialia entered the chat!) Hahaha.. of course not, they’ll just pay the white boy from europe do that for them
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You must have a LOT of shit in your ears to assume that ANTIFRAGILE sounds anything like Con Basura.
Also, fuck Rosalia.
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Pa’ ti naki, chicken teriyaki
Tu gata quiere maki, mi gata en Kawasaki
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Thanks for reminding me that it wasn’t enough for Rosalia the Spanish colonialist to bastardize reggaeton, she also had to turn Japanese food into a punchline
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Hey, both of you, knock it off.
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Better to pay someone to do a job they’re actually good at instead of trying it yourself and fucking it up
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…..huh? where did those groups come from /gen? just because a group produces their own music does not exempt them from critique, like am I supposed to celebrate a bad song (again personal opinion)….because it was written and produced by the group. Making music is hard ofc and I commend any kpop group for writing their own stuff, but if it’s not good their contribution alone is not gonna be a redeeming factor for me.
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feel like i responded to the wrong person. sorry if that’s the case.
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nerd
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Thanks to home audio equipments being a lot more affordable now than they were 20 years ago, I could create and produce songs on my own. They will most probably be shitty, but if you could call Oh My God and Nxde “good songs”, than there’s no reason why my sorry attempts at making coherent sounds shouldn’t be called “good songs” either.
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The lyrics are so not catchy and distract away from the song for me. I’m probably the target audience for this song considering I’m 15, but the lyrics really don’t resonate with me. They feel repetitive and empty. I understand idle is a K-pop group, but if you’re going to write lyrics in English. At least have them be competent, that’s something I think they haven’t mastered. Barely half of the song is catchy and it’s just forgettable to me. The only good thing about it is the music video, super cute and the girls are all really stylish. But their message falls through considering their all famous and pretty. Which contradicts their message.
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Girl I was 15 back in 2011, and around that time, my favourite album were Lungs by Florence + the Machine and 21 by Adele. You can’t fine deep thoughts and hardcore emotional lyrics in K-pop.
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imagine being 27 and attacking half a comment section on a blog holy fuck
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Lmao that’s typical behaviour of rabid (G)I-dle fans (or at least the ones I’ve encountered).
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I think you can be famous and pretty and still have (lyrics about experiencing) hardships – but you have to write them well.
I agree with you that the lyrics feel kind of bland, a pattern I see in a lot of kpop songs with English lyrics.
I also see this a lot in other international pop songs with English lyrics. I think it stems from the writers not mastering the language fully and relying on common cliché’s that they’ve heard a lot in other songs.
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I would argue they have it worse in this particular regard, actually. Idols are more overanalyzed than the average girl in social media. While your average girl can get some comments, and feel bad about herself after looking at too many pretty girls, these idols have that and also probably run into a thousand comments about themselves in particular.
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So does this mean that early 2000s -2010s poprock is making a comeback?
I am way too young to be feeling nostalgic! Not complaining otherwise, I do like this genre. I think this song does it a bit blandly – I don’t think I’d be able to pick out this chorus from a bunch of other songs in the same genre.
Still one of my favourite things G-Idle have brought out, though.
On a different note, do you follow Eurovision at all?
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I’m checking in with Eurovision every once and awhile this year and may watch the show when it’s on. Loreen’s Tattoo is one of my favorite songs of the year and I also love Gustaph and Käärijä’s tracks.
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Yep. If Avril Lavigne-style act were debuting as a kpop girl group, it would sound like this. I mean, not a bad era to copy as she sold some 10 million records+ back when.
For me, I was too old for the target demo then, way too old now. For me, Pink then and now was and is about right, if only because Pink is Pink. Or P!nk, if you will.
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Avril’s My Happy Ending and Kelly Clarkson’s Since U Been Gone, the two gold standard in pop-rock song category. And if you are looking for the holy grail of pure pop music bliss.. then you must seek Carly Rae Jepsen, and her album EMOTION is the holy bible of pure pop.
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I mean, I prefer P!nk too, because that is a whole other level. But I will take this type of lyrics over many others in K-pop tbh. I think we are getting s pretty nice crop of girl groups lately. New Jeans gets songs with nice lyrics, Le Sserafim has a nice girl-power vibe to their lyrics in a reggaeton package, and (G)-idle keeps addressing things that feel very relevant to women in the idol industry even if they do it simply. I see a lot sillier than this going around.
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If your standard is so low that LSF, NJ and Gidle songs are empowering and relevant to women, when have you never had those songs?
2nd and 3rd gen also had tons of superficial “be yourself and be strong girls!” chanted from anorectic models in plastic surgery and million dollar fashion.
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We literally got
“You want my A to the Z
But you won’t get it, not a chance
Take your pick, sweet or freak?
What’s hiding underneath?”
a few hours ago, so yeah, my standard is that low for teen-oriented pop music in a system that won’t let many women (and just a few men) be people instead of objects, at least make one young girl maybe start thinking about the effects of social media. We are where we are. No use pretending the K-pop industry is something it’s not. It’s not like P!NK has always nailed it either, as much as I liked Stupid Girls as a teen, hating on other women by going I AM NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS wasn’t the peak of maturity and intellectualism either, as she very well knows xD
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So I think we agree, but I don’t see why you would consider NJ and LSF anything other than an extreme reinforcement of that trend.
G-Idle is one thing, but NJ, LSF and IVE are just bog standard “Look at how sexy my anorexic 15 year old is”.
I like the music, but conceptually they’re absolutely atrocious and lyrically they’re hypocritical at best.
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I think NJ (while highly corporative) have been addressing isolation in their latest MVs, in a way that feels very teen to me, and I find it nice that we are getting that, even if it’s highly stylized. LSF has been pushing the message of accepting imperfection, which is still nice to have in the Title Tracks even if it is in a superficial level, and they are already letting the girls take part in writing and release solo songs, which bodes well for future individuality. I didn’t mention IVE as a positive so no thoughts on that one. Does this work for me now, at over 30? Probably not. But I think it’s good for young girls at a moment where pressure to be outstanding seems to be bombarding them constantly.
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It doesn’t matter if they sing about accepting imperfection, when the image they front sends a different message.
There’s nothing effective, honest or groundbreaking about 10 anorectic supermodels screaming that there’s nothing wrong with being overweight.
Kids are more affected by what they see than the “deeper” meaning of the songs. They still emulate their idols. And their idols do not practice body positivity, healthy behaviour, etc.
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I don’t think the job is done, I just think the trend in themes and more girls getting the chance to develop their creative voice is a step in the right direction. If they start here, we may get a more open song from them in the future. We can’t go from where we are to a member of a mainstrain K-pop dropping a song on her struggles with ED. It will take time.
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Sure, it just feels like this isn’t a step in the right direction. The 2nd gen ggs all had songs that tackled these subjects better imo.
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I agree (Miss A comes to mind), but we have been going backwards for a few years now, so it does feel like a step towards a return to form to me.
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Just wanted to tune in to say this is a really thoughtful discussion, actually. Perhaps these lyrics are only being written because being bodypositive/accepting is trendy – does that defeat the message?
The irony is certainly there, especially with the massive objectification and body issues in the kpop industry (Also it’ s hilarious that the comments keep getting thinner until they literally consist of one word per line).
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Unrelated – Nick! Infinite comeback in June under their own name!!!
And Happy Birthday Kim Sung Kyu, my other hot honey.
‘https://www.soompi.com/article/1585866wpp/woollim-entertainment-ceo-hands-over-trademark-rights-for-infinite-to-leader-kim-sungkyu-for-his-birthday
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I’m not letting myself fully believe it until I have the songs in my music library… but yes this is a very exciting development!!
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Wait, that’s amazing news!! It’ ll be so cool to see them together again.
Much love for Sung Kyu – he may be too old for me, but I sure had a pretty intense crush on him once (it still smolders).
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A song called allergy on a day I’ve sneezed like a billion times. This song is either a 10 or a personal attack. For real though this song is good and I like it a lot.
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if you’re going to put a kick that much on a track, chose a good sample….it’s so distracting. boring overall, not horrible but very forgettable maybe the title will be more interesting. this sound like the bonus english tracks kpop group like to add in their albums but they kept the korean lyrics.
and shu hua.. like she seems like a nice girl, really, but she can not sing to save her life.
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tbh if i was 15 again i would resonate with this songs lyrics. i always compared myself to others when i was that age and i can understand what its like to want to be someone else. the song itself is okay, not an 8 but maybe a 7 or 7.5 for me. the message is good tho. in a world where everything and everyone is so shallow, theres nothing wrong with being yourself.
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This comment section is wildin, comparing artists is so wack. You only hurt your fav’s image with this behavior. Anyway I personally don’t like this song but that’s just my taste 🙂 (also a song that’s named allergy when I’m dying from them right now isn’t helping it much)
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As someone who has also been sneezing up a storm this made me laugh
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wait I actually enjoyed this so much!! The lyrics felt a bit rough around the edges, and the transition between the first verse and the prechorus was a little abrupt, but the energy is amazing! It got me pumped and head-bopping for sure!!
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Unrelated to the song or the bloodbath in the comments; Nick, would you cover a review on Feverse CHO considering that it’s a K-Pop song albeit using virtual characters (of ex and existing K-Pop groups)?
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(yes, more people need to take the ad hominem comments elsewhere)
Feverse “CHO” The vocals are actually nice. I don’t know much about how they pulled these girls from these girl groups, but in the end the soundscape is nice, albeit in the chirpy high helium territory. The song to me sounds to me like an alt-Griend song. That kick in the chorus right around 1:06 and when it comes around again is everything.
There are many in the kpop sites and youtube comments complaining about the animation in the MV, and only talking about that, but whatev to me.
Here it is for those who want a listen.
‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-EnPRrotnU
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Yes! (I finally made a WordPress account so I can like your reply lol) I followed the show since Loona is one of my bias group, but I ended up liking all of the girls participating in the show both virtually and in real life (personally would have wished to have Jipsunhui / Cherry Bullet’s Bora instead of both WJSN girls but oh well). If you can get pass the animation/vtuber thingy of the show, I’d say that this is the best survival show I’ve ever watched.
Also consider listening to their finale song ‘Time takes me to Love’ and ‘Like A Star’ if you haven’t!
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From the few songs by this group that I’ve enjoyed, I know it’s a bit simple but it works well for a pre-release.
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Can I drop this song here in case someone missed it?… taking advantage of the fact that this post is apparently a hot topic XD
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Their tones were showcased very well on this track. They also fit this genre very well. For me, the hook was a bit underwhelming because it’s a bit repetitive. That said, this is the best reception I’ve had to a g Idle song in a long time
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Most of G-idle’s title tracks weren’t “it” for me but after so long finally, a song that I like! (I know it’s not a title track but since it got a MV, let me count it as one).
Just feel like they can change the lalalalala part into something else, cut it altogether, or have a third verse instead.
But still enjoy the song overall, it’s refreshing compared to the usual bravado most kpop songs have been these past years.
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