Best-Of compilation albums are uncommon in K-pop, but if any group deserves to have their singles bundled into an anthology it’s Seventeen. They’ve been releasing bangers since 2015, though I’ve found their more recent work harder to get into. This album features four new songs — each of which will be getting a music video over the next few weeks. First up is title track Maestro, which harnesses the darker, more aggressive side of the group.
Like many modern K-pop tracks, Maestro segments itself into distinct moments — some of which I enjoy and some of which I don’t. This makes for a frustrating listen because one second you’re enveloped in a rush of momentum and then next you’re underwhelmed by a thudding chorus and underdeveloped hook. There’s cohesion in the execution, but not in the sound.
My favorite points in Maestro occur either when the energy speeds or the production gets weird. The pre-choruses have a brilliant drive reminiscent of 2019’s EDM banger Hit. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the song also succeeds when it pulls back to a captivating, skeletal frame of percussion. The moment right before its climactic switch-up is compelling because it’s so starkly arranged. I’m far less enthused by the song’s melodies — especially the dull chorus. The repetitive “la la la” hook is a total energy suck after the set-up of the pre-chorus. But then we have that thrilling techno beat that ushers in verse two. I wish the entire track had been this daring. As it stands, I feel more inclined to remix Maestro than enjoy it on its own.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
Grade: C+
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I have the exact same problem as you. The production was calling for stronger hooks. Like, how can you give such dynamic verses and then give us such an underwhelming chorus? I’ve learned to develop trust issues with verses that have such kind of dynamic energy and it’s not fair, like, SVT, do better! 😩
Rating is the exact same! Damn, I had a feeling you’d give this the same rating as I did (I also guessed the same with Heya too, but was expecting production and longevity to be switched there) 🙃
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I would be lying if i said i did not expect this type of rating lol. As soon as I heard the anti-drop in the chorus I already immediately got turned off. This song could have genuinely been one of their best if they didnt forget how to write lyrics as soon as the chorus hit lmao. This is the type of song that does NOT work with an anti-drop and would have worked better if it was anthemic like that first verse of the chorus…
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forgot to say one thing, it tried to sound like wonderland lol
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Oh I thought i was the only one who noticed it 😅 probably the melody on the chorus.. tho i think both songs still sound different as a whole. Anyways the fact is both svt and ateez are groups that don’t miss in their performances!
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Tried and failed. Wonderland did it really well, whereas Maestro felt…jarring and frustrating.
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The lalala part should’ve been an actual lyrics ngl. That’s my only problem cuz the melody is genuinely promising. I just didn’t like how that part was sort of lengthy and they were just saying lalala. It could’ve been better
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Falling back on “la la la” lyrics feels so wrong in a song about being a maestro! This isn’t the sound I usually turn to Seventeen for, but I did also really like the pre-chorus and the second verse techno in spite of that bummer of a chorus. Relistening to all their singles together on the Best Of disc is the true delight of the album, so they’ve still well earned their maestro creds!
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This is half of a great song. When they lean into the weird, ITA, it’s fun. And I think it would be cool live. I applaud anyone doing a best of, new fans are going to love this. I was excited, but then I remembered I like about 2 of their titles. Now if we’re their b-sides…
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Talking about. Talking about their b-sides.
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I never knew why Anyone, March, or Dust weren’t titles.
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Maybe I’m wrong but I think I read somewhere that Anyone and March were actually title track candidates? Iirc March along with Don Quixote and Hot were tt candidates for face the sun.
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Wow, cool. I also really like Don Quixote.
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Atleast we got a choreo and performance of queen don quixote even if it wasn’t the tt lol
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yes to the choreo and the aesthetics of the mv. But without the visuals and just listening to the track on its own, was honestly underwhelming for me. I was waiting and waiting and then the end came..left wanting. Didnt hav the oomph of their older tracks. The trailer promised me sth bt ultimately dodnt deliver. I actually like their vocal line song better.
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So many different directions a song called “Maestro” could have gone. Bucu classical sampling coupled with bucu Self-sampling. Victory lap. Or all fan service soft song.
Anything but this.
Instead we get an ordinary over-thought over-wrought dark theme style song. It doesn’t even sound like Seventeen, and that’s the biggest shame here. I’d give it a flat 7.
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You may find the orchestra version they released today satisfying! It’s fully arranged for a string orchestra. I think it really elevates the brass stings already present in the original. There’s a nice instrumental only part starting at 2:47.
Woozi said he sampled 7 of SVT’s previous title tracks for Maestro! (Adore U, Aju Nice, Oh My!, Fear, Rock With You, Cheers, and Super). They are really very hidden but some more obvious ones include the little guitar riff at the beginning of Maestro (taken from Adore U’s intro), and the synthesizer in the prechorus (taken from the bridge of Rock With You). (Here’s a twitter thread on it)
I think it’s interesting that Woozi chose to incorporate these samples in such a subtle way. In my opinion the only one apparent at first listen would probably be the Adore U guitar/bass riff, but that is arguably hard to place given that you need to be familiar with their debut song/early discography to find it. I loveeee it though, the samples effectively makes the verses of this song funky and interesting.
Have you listened to the rest of the album? You may like Cheers to Youth. That’s the fan service soft song for this album, and the vocal unit deliver. It’s actually not just the traditional piano ballad either, it’s something really bright and imo moving.
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as far as choruses go (especially after Super and God of Music, or just their post-2021 songs in general), this one isn’t bothering me that much. I like it overall (that production is insane), but it definitely could’ve been better.
recently, I feel like Woozi & team has great ideas and concepts for songs but the execution is almost always just halfway there. I get what they were trying to do with HOT, Super, etc. but those songs all have the same disappointing chorus problem – it just seems lazy at this point.
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Honestly, I’m wondering how many iterations the song goes through from initial idea to final product because it does seem like the final product falls a little flat of the original cool ideas. Woozi did mention that his version of Ready to Love was originally very different as compared to the one that we got, and it’s from RTL onwards that there have been a ton of additional producers in the credits for their title tracks especially. The difference with the b-sides still being the Woozi/Bumzu and Prismfilter team is quite stark.
Somewhere, although the quality of the production itself seems crisper, I feel like these title tracks have perhaps succumbed to the pressure of having to fit a specific outside direction/formula, especially with the chorus. I’m happy to take Woozi’s statement at face value that he doesn’t care about being trendy, and I’m also not trying to claim that he himself somehow isn’t happy about these final versions being put out or whatever – clearly his artistry plays a crucial role, and he’s experimenting – but there have definitely been some changes in how these have been approached I feel.
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that’s true, their music has foreign producers now when it used to be mostly just Woozi/Bumzu/Prismfilter… and this all started happening after they were acquired by HYBE 🤔 however Super & God of Music were just them, and I really did not like those songs at all – so like you said, they probably have a different approach now compared to then.
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I like svt so I’m biased on liking the song (lol), but I kinda understand the review. The chorus does feel a bit underwhelming and I notice choruses are probably not svt’s strongest points as they tend to do sorta bare or empty(?) choruses especially on their more hype/dance tracks (like hot, hit, super, or even on aju nice, home or thanks). I really like the prechorus tho (dk and seungkwan slayed). Watching the fancams of their perf, I think the choreo and overall performance makes up for the chorus (at least for me). I also like the confidence they have as a group to carry a song like this. However I can see it as a song that non-fans/casuals of svt may not be fond of listening unless when watching the perf (wc was what I initially felt with their songs hit and getting closer).
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Forgot to add that I think the kpop in public dance covers for this will be fire (esp with that dance break)! Also VU’s cheers to youth is probably my fave song on the album
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This is giving me Stray Kids’ Side Effects. Like their recent title tracks (even God of Music), this is much better watched than heard. I saw a fancam of this from their recent concert and the footwork is amazing. I’m trying to think back to the last SVT title track where both the performance and song were equally matched…maybe Thanks?
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I had Clap in mind (tho maybe cuz I really just like their rock-inspired songs lol), but I also agree with Thanks. If we’re to include jap. releases then I think it’ll be 24h, fallin flower or ima imo.
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Oh yes, I forgot about their Japanese releases. Agreed!
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Yes! Very SKZ style. Its interesting, if SKZ or any other 4th gen BG, dropped this song it would have been ignored by Korea and deemed unremarkable/not GP friendly. But because of Seventeen’s domestic popularity the song is doing really well.
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Aside from them having a bigger domestic fanbase/longer career, I think svt’s “noisy” songs (pots and pans music svt lezzgo lol.. but srsly I don’t understand people who use it as a “drag” towards svt and other “noisy” bg groups when imo there’s nothing wrong with “noise” music if that’s other people’s thing and if it’s what makes them shake their a** lol) is more “well-received” by the gp compared to other “noisy” bg songs bc svt didn’t start/debut or become well-known with this type of sound and this probably has some sentimental value for kr gp/fans who have seen them evolve from the bright aju nice boys to the sonogong performers (except hit and fear i guess cuz they didn’t seem to be that well received back then?). In comparison, skz (not sure?) and ateez debuted with songs that are pretty similar with what they’re releasing now, so maybe casual listeners cannot immediately see a stark “progress” or “evolution” from these groups based on their main releases. Idk it’s just my observation wc could be completely wrong btw.
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Disastrous song.
Seventeen can do so much better than this.
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For a song called Maestro, it should be criminal that it lacks string instruments or an organ (also in the mv there were shots of an orchestra and there were barely any represented in the music itself!)
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I have a similar sentiment to you because I wish there was a little more instruments in the original song too – but given that Woozi was sampling 7 previous title tracks, maybe it was smarter to keep the original instrumentation from them (heavy on synthesizer, bass/guitar, and various percussion). The most prominent in Maestro was definitely piano and maybe trumpet/trombone – that makes it a little closer to a woodwind band, ha!
If you’re willing to listen again, they just released a great orchestra version (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFjtetmhDjc) that is fully arranged for a string orchestra! At 2:47 to the end the instruments get to shine specifically.
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Okay yall but spell ate😘😍
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I SO agree. My personal fav from the b-sides is probably Vocal Unit’s Cheers to Youth because I’m a sentimental carat like that, but Performance Unit sounded greattttt on Spell. Perfect vibe and the song also really shows of the member’s vocal timbres super well. “Yeogi ccean viewwwwww” is constantly stuck in my head right now.
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Ngl the first listen was atrocious. The first Svt tt I actually disliked. Woozi what were u thinking? I’m genuinely lost.
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its kinda werid
8/10 for me, but may change soon
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ok nvm, I don’t like the chorus. It’s a 7.5/10 for me now
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WTF is SVT doing lately? It’s crazy how the further back in their discography you go, the better the songs get.
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the chorus sounds like its from a whole other song entirely which is a shame bc i was SO geeked to hear this heavy of 90s techno influences in a kpop song
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I got a similar sentiment with this song. While I enjoyed the first verses, the pre-chorus really threw me off. Then, what I really disliked was the chorus. Writers and producers need to get past the idea that repiting the song’s title or chanting “la la la” or “na na na” is an actual chorus, because it’s not. It really doesn’t make the song catchy at all.
I feel like “Maestro” is going to have the same effect “Pink Venom,” “Fact Check” or “Lalala” had on me. Meaning, I can see myself listening to this song again but mostly in the context of the album. I won’t dislike it but I would never make this one of my favorite SEVENTEEN tracks. It’s just the legacy the group has that will probably make me listen to it again.
I couldn’t agree more with the part where you kinda say you get excited about the song during a specific segment. Then, as it progresses, you go from being all smiley and enthusiastic to realise that, whatever you listened to first, it’s not coming back.
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KPOP INDUSTRIESSSSS!!! PLEASE STOP USING ANTI DROP AS IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA (GENERALLY) FOR LISTENER.
Seriously, I’m really off for those anti-drop because they lie to me. I wish that the built up is consistent, and lead us to a wonderful-opened-widen-playful chorus that I could dance with.
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While I kinda get what you mean, I feel like since songs with the antidrop/empty/lowkey chorus are usually what becomes very popular (especially on international fans, just look at songs like pink venom, super, bouncy etc.), companies/groups probably feel like they have to use this as well so I feel the kpop antidrops aren’t going anywhere yet 😅 (unless some new gimmicks for the chorus becomes more popular?)
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I think they were trying to replicate Super here because it was really successful in terms of popularity. However, it felt so overthought here, too much going on without any particular cohesion for a listener. But being the great performers they are, I think they will definitely pull it off somehow.
My most favourite part was the breakdown towards the end, The8’s part I believe, I wish they fleshed it out better.
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The only things I truly liked from this TT was its similarity to ATEEZ’s Wonderland, the vocals in the pre-choruses and the MV. The MV was super cool and Woozi had a shocking resemblance to Chishiya from Alice in Borderland with his slick half up-half down blonde hair.
I hate how good sounding songs like this can fall victim to “Bad Chorus-itis”.
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Sounded like very unfinished low effort version of Wonderland sadly. Like I was bored halfway, whereas I feel hyped throughout Wonderland.
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Hmm while I can see how there can be some comparisons to wonderland (wc is great btw, probs still my fave ateez tt), I think maestro feels more funky (esp at the first verses) and a lil bit sexy with some added techno/synth(?am i even using the right terms 🥲) vibes wc feels to me like a mixture of fear, homerun, and hot (and if i read right there were Easter eggs on the song from their previous releases). In comparison, wonderland feels more bombastic and powerful with a pirate-y marching band vibe that has the signature ateez/eden sound. Which now is more effective? Is it maestro or wonderland? I think that’s up to a person’s preference (I do think wonderland sounds “fuller/more coherent” even tho I prefer maestro more due to my bias. But liking them both for different reasons doesn’t sound too bad imo). However, both seem to work well for their respective audience/fandoms as performance pieces so I think comparing them is a bit pointless in the first place 😅
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I really hope their next title track can go back to the early SEVENTEEN sound.
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I’m hoping for more emotional type edm songs like don’t wanna cry or thanks. I don’t have anything against their new songs but it’ll be nice to have those kinda songs again 😭
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7.5 / 10
0 – unlistenable
5 – exactly “ok”
10 – perfect
Listened about 10 times. Quite satisifying, feels it should have more bass and have a little more of a “God’s Menu” vibe in terms of pacing. Like what they did, I will be listening to it. Doesn’t feel like a basic kpop song. Itwould be more unique if they had relied more on some sort of EDM/wind instrument for the background.
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I am a carat and I am acknowledging that I am biased before this comment ha – but I really like this! I got mild flashbacks to, of all tracks, Darling when I listened to the first time, because I love the build up of its pre-chorus sooooo much, and after listening for a few days, Maestro’s pre-chorus is hands down my favorite part, closely followed by the style switch in Wonwoo and The8’s parts. Ditto Super’s pre-chorus. What can I say, I guess I do love a good SVT pre-chorus. The verses were also really cool and the switch up in tempo/style at Wonwoo and The8’s lines was amazing. The samples Woozi put in from previous title tracks makes me really sentimental too!
I definitely understand the feeling of a letdown at the chorus though – there are so many SVT songs with wonderful, sing-it-out choruses (I mean there’s a great one on this album, Cheers to Youth, and I thoroughly enjoy World, God of Music, RTL, and more for this reason) that it’s such a punch when you don’t get one 😅.
This will be going the same route Super did for me. It may not be my favorite to just listen to by itself (That honor goes to Cheers to Youth, Vocal Unit’s absolute banger of a song that makes me want to dance and also cry at the same time) but if you walk with me a little, I’d argue that it’s not designed to be. At it’s core it’s a very grand performance piece, with moments written in to match (The instrumental break that doubles as a crazy dancebreak, stripped down chorus that puts attention to the stage at the moment, etc.) That SVT have sort of shifted reccently to put their performance heavy, showy songs as their title tracks doesn’t bother me tooooo much. It’s already growing on me, and it’ll continue to be stuck in my head!
Thanks for always reviewing Seventeen!
P.S – I highly recommend listening to the orchestra version they released today! Fully arranged for string orchestra. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK5AJ7DMIf0)
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(Oops! Didn’t mean to talk about Wonwoo and The8’s part twice, but I guess it nicely emphasizes that I love them a lot!)
I cannot overstate my love for the momentum building during DK and Seungkwan’s lines, though. Truly, what amazing vocalists. The energy is going to be pretty insane live/on tour when they perform this song, I can feel it.
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