Though I should know better by now, I’m still surprised at how well BABYMONSTER’s Sheesh has done on the charts — especially given its lukewarm-to-awful reception in many critical circles. This is a good reminder of the sway YG Entertainment still holds over fans, along with the broader fact that disgruntled internet chatter is rarely emblematic of the wider, offline world. With that said, I’m still not a Sheesh fan — except maybe as a bad meme.
The group is following Sheesh‘s success with a special performance video for Like That, the second K-pop track in the past two months composed by singer-songwriter Charlie Puth. Even a few years ago, I would have never imagined devoting space to Puth’s output on this blog, but here we are. His airy, groove-oriented style is an odd fit for K-pop’s more maximalist presentation, but “subdued” is popular at the moment so Like That matches the trends. Its guitar-and-whistle beat is sparse but funky, allowing the girls’ vocals plenty of space to breathe. That’s more than you can say about noisy tracks like Batter Up and Sheesh, and will likely please fans looking for an arrangement that bucks traditional YG tropes.
Like so many singles of the moment, Like That strongly recalls sounds popular in the early 2000’s. I was especially reminded of The Neptunes’ production on Justin Timberlake’s Like I Love You, though this track is far less engaging or combative. Instead, Like That is content to remain mildly groovy throughout. Its instrumental keeps an arm’s distance, never yanking you in with palpable force. That approach is left to BABYMONSTER themselves, and they steer Like That with a clear — yet oddly reserved — confidence. This description actually fits the song as a whole. There are many delicious ingredients involved, but the overall product is a bit undercooked.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
It’s groovy, a little subdued, but decent enough that it showcases the girls’ vocals pretty well. They deserve more material like this or something stronger— honestly, I’d kill for them to do a song like IVE’s I Am even if it’s unlikely. Or maybe they can continue with those attitude-based or “darker” songs, but with strong melodies of course (say, IVE’s Accendio or My Satisfaction). But ofc, papa YG’s more environmentally conscious than Lee Sooman with how much he looooves recycling material
7.75 is the perfect rating for it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
only song from them I like, and it’s really good. Score is fair
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah its alright. Rating is about right.
Though, when it got quiet at 2:02, I thought the song was over. That is the current expectation for songs, to just sort of end. And then we get multiple repeats of the chorus to finish it out, but essentially the song runs out of ideas at 2:02.
LikeLiked by 1 person
As for the Sheesh phenomena, its just very YG to have this sort of luck. 2NE1 end then weeks later BP debut and are just as big. (arguably in time bigger with the globalization of kpop) BP end then weeks later Baby Monster debut. Take over where BP left off.
I am just not in the target demographic except as the mom of the target demographic who pays the bills. My best friend in high school funded her darling daughter’s BP fling. Her darling daughter showed up some time ago with the branded backpack and all the gitsch, lightstick inside, while friend rolls her eyes and says you have no idea how much I spent on tickets. And I said yes, yes I do.
LikeLiked by 1 person
(Totally off topic: best friend from high school and I drifted apart after college started. Years later through the magic of the web, found each other again. Come to find out, and we did not plan this or discuss it or anything, we both named our darling daughters the same uncommon name.)
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s such a cute story I love that😍🥹
LikeLiked by 1 person
you can really hear Charlie Puth all over this track (in a good way). I don’t remember the song being this good at all lol. I listened to it once during release and thought it was their best song (not a high bar) and never listened since. for me, its those adlibs that truly seal the deal. I’d give it a mid-8.
LikeLike
Definitely sounds like Charlie Puth. I think this song is just missing some bite for me to come back often, but the groove is good and the chorus is catchy
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think I’m one of the only people that gets enjoyment out of Sheesh, even though I agree it’s not exactly the pinnacle of music. I do skip the breakdown at the end of that song, but the first two choruses do it for me and I love the prechorus. Anyways, enough about Sheesh. This song is neat, but not something I see myself playlisting or playing on loop. I hope the girls get some even stronger material building on this, with a little more bite to keep me coming back. They have good vocals and I want more of them singing (especially the blonde one).
LikeLike
This is my favorite song off the mini album.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I remember giving their EP a chance, I listened to it while I was working and I thought this was the catchiest song in the tracklist and the one I could see myself actually listening to.
Despite their bad reviews, I still have hopes for BABYMONSTER. I think BATTER UP was a cute attempt and I wasn’t asking for much because they’re a rookie group and it was their “pre-debut” single. Then, their next song came and it was a piano ballad and I appreciated the vocals, and I’m super happy to see this group has 4 good voices!
After that, Sheesh came and I don’t think it’s horrendous but the YG formula aged like milk, so if BABYMONSTER continued doing something along the LIKE THAT lines, I wouldn’t mind.
I think they have the voices and a strong enough rap line to stick to a more late 90s/early 2000s R&B/Urban inspired sound. They just need to land the right track, I think there’s a lot of room for music with that vibe at this moment and they could pull it off (as proved by this song, even if it’s a little bland).
LikeLike
And songs like this are the reason I really, really prefer not knowing what the hell idols are singing about. Some of these kids are, what, like 14, 15? I’m not sure what’s worse… actually being able to sell the lyrics to this song or them sounding as phoned in and disconnected as they do.
“Say you want love boy I know what that means
Make you feel way better than in your dreams
If I show you that I know where it’s at
Baby, would you like that”
No. No, I wouldn’t like that. Flip the genders, and I’m not even sure you could find a teenage girl out there that would, well, like that.
On a more music related note, people have decried the Westernization of K-Pop, but it seems like the real tragedy to befall K-Pop is getting *just* enough attention that every songwriter who failed to make it or is no longer quite as marketable in the West using the bloated, short shelf life of the K-pop industry to pay their bills or build their catalogue. It feels like the overwhelming majority of K-Pop’s musical output is lagging farther and farther behind the West. It’s starting to feel like the world’s slowest, decade long train wreck.
LikeLike
Yeah, I feel like most of these writers neither take k-pop seriously (Charlie does though) and will give them their worst possible material. Like how Ed Sheeran gave BTS PTSD, I mean PTD (permission to dance). I think kpop relies on them partially because they provide publicity, but it’s not worth it when the result is mediocre.
To add my own personal opinions:
It sounded dated to me. I do like it, but would not look for it again. The music video is terribly beige, not sure if YG knows that they need a new song writer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😹 You killed me with the PTSD joke. I’m still having trouble typing from giggling. And I agree. Still, even when songwriters from the West give/sell what they believe is their best material to K-Pop agencies, it still winds up being beholden to trends that by the time they are regurgitated (usually which much publicity surrounding it, as you said), it can’t help but be dated. And probably in misguided efforts to be able to market these songs, it means that very little is changed. After all, if you experiment with what you are given and churn out an ultimately different product, will that person take it as an affront or still want their name attached to the final product? And if you can’t attach the name, then what is the point in using it to begin with?
Similar opinions on the song. And I think everyone knows that Sheesh, even if they do like it, didn’t exactly bring anything new to the table or distinguish Babymonster as a group with their own identity. I really hope YG’s takeaway from all of this is that the success they did have was largely in thanks in company stans, remnants of large fandom still missing BP before their inevitable lack of a discography causes them to lose sonic relevance, and the performance abilities of the group members… NOT the actual songwriting. Though while I hope they find a way to combine the girls’ performance skills with a unique musical identity, I’m not holding my breath for it. If YG still had ambitions to be trendsetters in idol music, we wouldn’t be running out of fingers counting the iterations of IATB/D4. Sigh.
LikeLike