Through no fault of their own, Everglow have had a tricky time maintaining a stable fanbase do to infrequent comebacks and wild shifts in sound. Last year’s Slay marked a welcome return, though the song itself felt weighed down by dated tropes. Now, the girls have taken a darker approach with the oddly inert Zombie.
Between Everglow and Tempest, I don’t trust Yuehua Entertainment’s A&R team. Sure, they’ll manage to find the odd La Di Da or Can’t Stop Shining, but there’s no real consistency to their artists’ output. Zombie might as well be performed by a completely different group than the Everglow we’ve come to know. I don’t hear anything I’ve enjoyed about their past work in this track. It feels very concept-heavy, more concerned with mood and imagery than creating an interesting piece of music.
If anything, Zombie is a throwback to the once-trendy sound of Billie Eilish’s 2019 debut album. If that’s the aim, we’ve about five years too late to make this style sound fresh. Zombie trudges along a surprisingly sparse arrangement, taking the energy way down for its opening verse. Things don’t grow much more dynamic from here, placing a flat melody and some “ladi yadi yahs” over the dreary production for an attempt at some sort of hook. The group’s vocals sound great throughout, but there’s not enough going on here to maintain interest. I just don’t get what the overall plan is for Everglow’s discography… if there is one.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 6 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 6 |
| RATING | 6.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Whatever their agency’s name is really said here’s trash from the side of western pop street and 5 dollars🥂😍
Use it to fulfill your dreams😘❤️
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Damn, didn’t expect you to rate it this low. I was expecting somewhere in 7s.
Well, I find it spooky, the production is minimalistic, but somehow finds that eerie vibe to it. I find that okay. But I am unsure of how it will age for me.
A flat 7 for now.
And hey, for a song called Zombie, it somehow does a decent job being lifeless, amirite? 🤠
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I just can’t believe The Stereotypes had a hand in this. where were the people who made Damaged? THAT is a pop girl group classic. this is just bland in every way.
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THE STEREOTYPES WERE INVOLVED IN THIS?! oh there’s simply no way
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Song arrangement, of all things 😳
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yes they’re the producers 😭 that’s what got me excited
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I’m shook that the Stereotypes were involved in this song. I wouldn’t have guessed that at all!
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Idk them at all but that name would give me bad feelings lol
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So I actually don’t hate this song. And I like the theme of the video. However, we are in June. This is the prime time for fun, upbeat Kpop music. The fact that Yuehua chose this song and concept as a comeback now is headscratching.
And I am still in shock that the Stereotypes were involved in this song! Not only did they do Damage by Danity Kane, they produced Bad Boy and helped create Kingdom Come by Red Velvet. So for this to be the title track for Everglow really makes me wonder what is going on with Everglow’s creative team. Maybe they really don’t have a direction and are just putting out content until it’s time for contract renewals?
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heh it’s a bop, welcome back Everglow
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I’m all for “darksy” and edgy pop songs but not at the expense to sound so empty like this one.
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I think this is really tastefully done and arranged to be lean rather than maximalized, actually. This is a song I could see being a slow burn
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Eh, not their best but a decent enough track. Kind of weird for them to release it on june though, feels like an October-November song. 7.5 for me (7/7/8/8), might be a grower and has quite a unique concept, depite their agency’s incompetence.
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Its like an Imagine Dragon/ Purple Kiss song. doesnt sound bad but where the heck is my high octane Everglow EDM eargasm?! Its like if Itzy did a ballad for a title track like wtf?!
Song 8/10
Personal satisfaction score 1/10
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I actually prefer this a lot more compared to Slay but seeing how Yuehua has been treating them, I’m not surprised that their getting scraps despite how successful they were in their earlier days.
The music video was cool. Mia’s haircut and glasses made her look like a real-life anime character. However, it’s extremely frustrating seeing their mistreatment because these girls are SUPER talented and they have SO MUCH POTENTIAL and yet their company is fumbling the bag HARD
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This wasn’t it at all, it reminds me of Pixy or Purple Kiss which isn’t a diss as both grouos are talented. Everglow is such a talented group and had a good run but this was boring, the vocals were good but not enough to keep me interested.
With other girl groups doing the subduded melatonin sound or some temu jersey club sound…Everglow could have came in with an edm, heavy synth, or house sound. That’s where the girls really shine.
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“I just don’t get what the overall plan is for Everglow’s discography… if there is one.”
thanks, yuehua. this is the girl group everyone thought would be “4th gen leaders” along with itzy and (g)i-dle. you know something’s wrong when CUBE ENTERTAINMENT of all companies are doing a better job, even after all the scandals and polarizing music.
i miss the la di da/pirate everglow.
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(G)I-DLE’s biggest saving grace is that they have Soyeon, infact, she was the main reason why they were even able to debut. If it weren’t for her producing skills, they’d still be waiting for debut or would have debuted instead of Lightsum (and we’d be waiting for the latter). Cube only cares if one of the members is a producer.
This is why Pentagon were able to survive as they have Hui and Kino. CLC didn’t have a Hui or Soyeon-esque member, which is why they suffered from awful management. And look, the same’s happening with Lightsum too. So unless Nowadays have that one member, they might face the same fate as CLC and Lightsum.
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I like Zombie, but in fairness I generally enjoy subdued, darkly atmospheric songs. I still wouldn’t give it a hugely high rating, maybe something like a 7.5. I definitely agree it’s a strange choice for an Everglow title track. It’s not exactly different or experimental enough to be an eye-catching departure from their usual sound. It would’ve been neat as a B-side or special single that got a MV+promotion in October. But releasing it now is a baffling decision. At least it wasn’t a 2 year wait for a comeback like with slay
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I feel conflicted about this song.
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will someone, please….some established, reputable, honest, hit-making management agency in Korea….for the love of k-pop….buyout Everglow’s contract (music rights and ownership) from that miserable, incompetent Yuehua, so that they can be the 4th-gen k-pop girl group leaders that so many of us thought they would be when they first debuted with “Bon Bon Chocolat”….if i had the money, i’d do it….i’m begging!….please, someone in k-pop help this group before they become another group that had all the talent and poetential to be great, but due to horrible and incompetent management, they just became another fad that pains the hearts of those of us who love them….😭😭😭
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