Review

Song Review: WOOAH – Pom Pom Pom

WOOAH - Pom Pom Pomwoo!ah! have removed the exclamation points from their name and opted for an ultra-trendy ALL CAPS stylization for promotions going forward. Along with this nomenclatural reinvention comes a new sound. April’s Blush saw them attempting a subdued NewJeans/ILLIT sound to middling effect, but Pom Pom Pom flips things 180 degrees with punk rock attitude and bombastic, self-empowerment energy. I don’t think any of us saw this coming.

This song is at its best when vaulting past established tropes and embracing its boldness. The verses are boilerplate K-pop, unveiling so-so rap over a middling beat. But once guitar enters the fray, Pom Pom Pom become a weird metal hybrid that begs to be explored further. You can hear the potential clearly, but the track is never brave enough to follow this route. Instead, we get weak melody lines and a disconnected arrangement that’s neither here nor there.

I like the lyrical conceit of being your own cheerleader, but Pom Pom Pom demands a stronger centerpiece. WOOAH have everyone shouting “pom! pom!” along with them, but dish this hook out sparingly without the extended bombast it deserves. Elsewhere, the vocal arrangement feels quite rough, making Pom Pom Pom a lot to get through for minimal reward.

Hooks 7
 Production 7
 Longevity 8
 Bias 7
 RATING 7.25

Grade: C

11 thoughts on “Song Review: WOOAH – Pom Pom Pom

  1. As someone who thoroughly enjoyed Catch The Stars and Roller Coaster from them, this new release does make me scratch my head. Regardless of whether this reinvention was necessary, I’m not sure how to feel about this song.

    I like the more punkrock/metal-focused concepts usually, but POM POM POM seems to try too much. It jumps between styles so much that it loses cohesion. There are elements that I definitely like, but all the switch-ups just tire me out in the end.

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  2. I dunno but something about this really works for me~ I really do love their older sound and hope they don’t abandon it but love the start of this song and hope they experiment more over here. I can see how the song feels unfocused but for me here it works.

    Liked by 2 people

  3. the song is fine. i kinda like the verses better than the chorus lol why is this keep happening with these songs nowadays. i think my top favorite is still Rollercoaster. this is not the song that stops me from listening to them yet, but i really hope they did not removed the ‘authentic’ wooah along with the exclamations.

    also, there’s literally DXMON’s last month’s amazing ‘Girls, Love boys, Love girls’ included as a b-side on this album with the title ‘Girls love boys’. it’s exactly the same except there are several lyric changes to clarify that they don’t love girls (literally joking pls don’t be mad). for all i know they’re under the same company, so is it like a company project or something?

    Liked by 1 person

  4. their company could have looked at what happened to weeekly when you drastically change a group’s sound without transition… at least the chorus wasn’t some random edm drop

    Liked by 2 people

  5. this song would have been perfect… If it contained no lyrics. I’ve never been so slapped in the face with obnoxious empowerment lyrics in all my time in kpop. Probably because so much English is taking me out and they talk sing those lines.

    i barely remember old wooah songs so the change in tune didn’t whiplash me, in fact the first 5 secs of the intro got me hooked, but then they started spitting cringe…

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  6. Although it’s not as bad as Weeekly’s unwarranted concept change, it is still a little cringy for me. This feels a like a parody or something like when a bunch of girls just listened to Eye of The Tiger and decided to make their own self empowerment title.

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