During this summer of second-gen comebacks, 2NE1’s Sandara Park fits right in. She’s released solo material before, but never a Korean album. (She did record a mini album in the Philippines before debut, though!) New single Festival sees her aiming toward summer sounds, building its chorus around an interpolation of Uhm Jung Hwa’s hit of the same name.
Festival is fun and frothy but never pushes much farther than that. This is fine — especially during summer when big, brassy pinwheeling beats are usually enough to satiate. The song’s production has this format down, matching Sandara’s light vocal presence with an ebullient sound. However, the melodies aren’t hitting me the way I’d hope from a song in this style. As a result, Festival passes by without much impact — apart from that aforementioned Uhm Jung Hwa moment.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
So happy to see Dara again!
LikeLike
shes THIRTY EIGHT. geez. i wished i looked that good when i get to that age
LikeLiked by 1 person
shes THIRTY EIGHT. geez. i wished i looked that good when i get to that age
LikeLiked by 1 person
Festival deserves a higher rating. I have no doubt this will be a hit.
LikeLike
So I heard the original song for the first time, I think Uhm Jung-hwa with her voice, her energy and that fantastic instrumental knocked it out of the park, I totally forgot about Sandara’s version even though it was nice.
Now that I listen to it again, I feel that I expected a sweet but exciting arrangement and melody like Adora’s “Magical symphony” but it always held back, it ended up being somewhat unsatisfactory.
Still, it’s nice to see Sandara again.
LikeLike
I like it, but her vocals could have been better. Their is a ballad b side produced by Heize that is better.
LikeLike