When it comes to music videos, JYP Entertainment reminds me of that famous Oprah meme: “You get a car! And YOU get a car! AND YOU GET A CAR!” The agency has become very generous when it comes to promotion, pairing so many of its artists’ b-sides and pre-releases with full music videos. On the plus side, this delivers a little something for everyone — even if the approach threatens to dilute the impact of an artist’s title track.
Bet On Me precedes ITZY’s new album by nearly a month, offering the first taste of new music since last November. To my ears, it’s one of the most straightforward and subdued tracks they’ve released. Opening with a steady pulse of percussion, the song crests in a driving electro thump during its chorus. In between, we have a moment of weightlessness as the girls deliver a striking pre-chorus. ITZY wear this style relatively well, but Bet On Me feels too generic to fully harness their charms.
Something about the track — maybe the chorus? — needs more oomph. Either that, or the vocal delivery needs to match the smooth textures of the instrumental. As it stands, Bet On Me is a mismatch of approaches. There’s an insistent energy to the melodies that isn’t fully echoed by the arrangement. Maybe it’s the mixing?
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
ITZY has lost their spark, sadly.
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I WANT TO BE PROVEN WRONG, THOUGH. I will wait for the actual title track.
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What spark? you mean the tired concept of “I’m the one on top! Look at me, I’m so cool, I’m the BEST!”? It’s time for ITZY to mellow out since that teen crush concept has been used and exhausted by 4th gen already. IMO this is the time they can get to chill and be able to breathe and explore newer concepts.
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agreed, i like this better than their usual stuff, most of which is very obnoxious.
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I understand why people are tired of it, but I really don’ t mind those concepts – because they usually come with an energetic beat and ITZY used to bring some interesting production choices, too.
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I must say I enjoyed this right from the first listen. Didn’t expect that.
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I guess what I like most in kpop is storytelling, and here it seems very well done. The musical “defects” (how there is a percussion drive but the chorus does not go big) kind of convey the idea that they are trying to move forward while having doubts. I’m impressed honestly.
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This song feels like a nice jog on a warm windy day. It’s awesome to see ITZY switching things up and toning down their usual over-the-top brat energy. Even if it’s laid back, it still has their signature reassuring confidence.
This is probably ITZY’s first song with lyrics that is more straightforward and relatable to everyone which is more inspiring than their past “look at me I’m the BEST!” music.
Solid 8.75 for me, it’s a nice song to just chill with and take a walk as the sun sets.
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Btw, I also like how this song represents how they feel they have so much pressure being the original 4th gen leaders and feel that the industry is moving so much faster in such a small time. But instead of succumbing to the pressure, they still choose themselves and just move forward at their own pace.
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Boring boring boring.
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it’s not an instant favorite but im pleased with the direction their going
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JYP wants to break into the “Swifty” fan base.
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Taylor Swift this is not!
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I personally liked the song but because it’s a pre-release, it lacks a bit of consistency, but it serves its purpose.
On the other hand, what do you think of Swan from Purple Kiss in her debut?
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So it sounds like a dance beat banger that is missing the actual dance beat. As if they second guessed themselves too much, tried to go softer cooler like the NeewJeans sounds, removed that backing beat and now the song is the lesser of both worlds.
In other words, Please someone make the remix!!! Just through a beat line or three underneath and it will be all fine in the world again.
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Adding just to be clear: I actually like the song but I think I would like the hypothetical remix better.
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This is one of the few occasions where I find the instrumental really interesting but it seems that the song was not made for this group, their voices don’t sound very good, I feel like the song just doesn’t sound good with Itzy’s vocal color and vice versa, does that make sense? maybe you are right and is it a problem in the arrangement or the mix, or is it the vocal delivery? I don’t know how to say it, I just know that they don’t favor each other.
In summary, I would like to hear the song in the voice of another group, with all the respect that Itzy’s effort deserves.
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I agree, but it may just be because I’m not a huge fan of Itzy’s vocal colours to begin with. I liked that its more toned down than a lot of their songs but, mainly during the chorus, I kept thinking how I would probably like this song a lot more if another group sang it. Could be the vocal mixing though.
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This reminds me of 2NE1’s slower songs. Might be the sparse production, might be Ryujin and Yuna’s delivery. It also reminds me of Robyn’s songs.
The subdued, American production apporach feels refreshing. It’s rare to hear an ITZY track with vocal focus instead of music focus. I really love the ambient parts.
Plus, this production isn’t audibly demanding. If it were fuller, it might distract the focus from the voice or exhaust the listener quickly.
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My main issue here is the vocal delivery specifically with on the chorus. Maybe if it was pitched slightly down, it would be within the girl’s comfort zone a lot more, which would benefit how they sound overall. Also, I agree with myma above, I think a few more layers to the beat would help lift the song up immensely. It is solid overall, probably around 8+ for me.
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C- for this is so unfair, they are finally moving on from the teen crush concept (which was a mistake in the first place), I wouldn’t hammer the song down this hard, it’s at least a B+ for me.
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Considering a pre-release is to create a hype for the main song, this one did a pretty good job for me, mainly because of an interesting choice it makes.
For some reason the way the melody goes here sounds a lot like some old 2PM materials, specifically sad, vulnerable (but still electronic sound) b-side 2PM songs around the Heartbeat/ Without U time. I know this wouldn’t make much sense to most people, but sth bout this reminds me of those, esp this song called “I Was Crazy About You”
And honestly, as a fan of 2PM around that time, this fascinates me so much cause that was an interesting? time for 2PM, so there was sth feels very bitter, insecure and vulnerable in their sound. So for Itzy to tap into that now feels significant for me. It’s like they know what’s going on w their sound so far (pretty aimless for my tbh), so they’re laying it all out this time. I just hope that it works out for them this time, cause I’m all ears for them now.
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I am unlikely to enjoy anything that’s dubdued or sparse, so this is a pass from me. It’s fine, just not to my taste.
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I know it’s a typo but I’m kind of obsessed with “dubdued”
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Hit me with that dudu dudu dued (or don’ t, actually).
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I had to listen to this twice. I tuned it out the first time. Unintentionally but it happened. This is a hard song for me to pay attention to. Its fine. Honestly, its reading music. Its something to have in the background when I’m not really paying any attention.
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I love this. It feels like Itzy’s “Feel Special.” A new direction for them at last.
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Couldn’t agree more. Hopefully the actual A-side release, although maybe not similar, has a more “mature” sound.
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I love it. Sound refreshing.
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