As with most survival show spawned groups, ZEROBASEONE’s discography has been a mixed bag. Most songs have grown on me, but none blew me away on first listen. And despite a number of similar b-sides, no title track has yet to recapture the airy effusiveness of their debut. New single Good So Bad manages to break this trend, forging ZEROBASEONE’s signature sound into an instantly effective package.
I consider it a strength when a group’s pre-release teasers heavily highlight a song’s chorus. It’s a sign of confidence, and Good So Bad certainly thrives on its melodic centerpiece. Supported by a celestial bed of synths, this soaring refrain opens the track and only grows bigger from there. I love the structural diversity here, moving quickly from rhythmic phrasing to an elongated note that coasts into the verses. It’s a style of full-throated, multifaceted melody we don’t hear enough of in K-pop these days, and it fits ZEROBASEONE like a glove.
Good So Bad‘s verses largely act as set-up but avoid common pitfalls to craft a brisk, effective onramp for the song’s main attraction. An exciting bridge also serves this purpose, though an extra twenty seconds or so at the end of the track could have given space for a knockout finale. This is a slight missed opportunity, but overall Good So Bad is a definite success and feels like ZEROBASEONE’s biggest hit yet.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This has more…gusto? Weight? I can feel the effort put into this song, which is something I never felt before. And a proper sonic continuation of In Bloom. That chorus is GLORIOUS. Wake One pls continue this excellence!
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I quaked when I heard this😌👑
9/10✅😌👌
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I love it! Do wish there was more to it, but the chorus is a delight.
8.75 (9, 9, 8, 9) for me.
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Chorus does a lot of heavy lifting but the song itself feels full. No filler vibes here
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For me, I just wish the end of the song had more to it, like a bombastic note or anything to make the final chorus seem more grand (like many people here said). And the ending also seemed too abrupt.
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That YEAHH adlib from Hanbin before the final chorus should’ve been prolonged. Hao couldve gone off more. I can envision Matthew getting a cute one liner somewhere. Put me in the studio fr
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my main gripe is that the song is short and the final chorus sounds empty without any adlibs. regardless of that, it’s an amazing comeback and it’s still my most favorite song on the album.
(ps: Memories remains Kenzie’s best song for any of the new gen bgs)
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I’m with you I think this should have built to something a bit more epic, add another chorus to the end with some extra instrumentation or ad lids ect or actually I think the slight problem is the transition from the bridge to the last chorus wasn’t exciting enough, at least have the high note travel across the chorus a bit or something. It feels like it doesn’t reach it’s full potential at the end. Still, very much my fave ZB1 song along with Sweat, It’s still a great listen.
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huh, I actually thought the build-up from the bridge to the final chorus was well done. it does lack adlibs though.
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The build up is there in the bridge itself but the transition isn’t. It literally just goes from the bridge straight into a normal chorus without anything to mark it or make it exciting. Normally something a bit impactful or different will happen to make it more exciting. That’s only really fine if you have a big high note or something to add an extra dimension instead but we had nothing in this case.
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Yep, this is really my only complaint about the song, but it’s an important one that holds it back.
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I can’t really understand producers mindsets when they do this. Surely it;s music production 101 that the final chorus (or choruses) and the way it’s brought in are one of the most vital parts of the song and should feel like a big crescendo and culmination. I just can’t understand the mindset of the producers when they sat down and listened to the final version of this and really thought that last part of the song was the best it could be and there was nothing to add.
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You know, if you watch them perform this, the final chorus has different choreo that makes it feel very special and exciting. Considering that, it’s even more strange that they didn’t do something to highlight it similarly within the song itself.
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I really enjoyed this! Dunno if it’ll surpass Sweat or In Bloom as my favorite ZB1 track but I have a feeling it will with further listens. For now, I’m glad that they did a title track that isn’t the usual D&B. It brought something new with the group and it mostly works.
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To be honest, the chorus works wonders in lifting the song. There’s something so enjoyable to how the elements were put together, it has a very airy feeling like you’re flying on an airplane height between the clouds, listening to this.
BUT this bugs me: the song doesn’t feel like “ZB1”. With Kenzie involved, that chorus is an unmistakable SM-boygroup-flavored centerpiece from melody to mixing technique. This is something that you listen to and “Oh, SHINee/RIIZE” just pops in your head, not ZB1.
P.S. Good So Bad also reminded me of Zedd and Cory Wong’s music.
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Now that you said it, I totally agree on the Riize/Shinee take, this really sounds like they stole it from Riize’s table lol, not as much Shinee though.
I do like this song, although seemingly not with as much enthusiasm really, because while it does sound like it’s Riize’s it also lacks some oomf for some reason, idk if it’s production or something else, because it sounds bright and uplifting but not that “crisp”.. We’ll see what time does to it
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it doesn’t sound like RIIZE at all to me. they only have one (released) song made by Kenzie and I would say it’s more or less different. it sounds closer to NCT DREAM (Broken Melodies/Moonlight/Rains in Heaven) in terms of the song’s atmosphere & delivery
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Ah, now that you mentioned NCT Dream, it does sound like them – especially Hello Future, Good So Bad is like a funkier sibling to that. It’s still an example from an SM boy group, which doesn’t refute my first statement.
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I wouldn’t necessarily agree with your comment at first blush, but when I listened to the album as a whole I did see a very SM inspired sound palette. “Kill the Romeo” and “Road Movie” both reminded me of NCT, while “Insomnia” sounded like Shinee.
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Road Movie gave icantfeelanything vibes. Both tracks had compelling vocals but Dream better executed what RM was going for.
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Lately I’ve been wondering if my investment in ZB1 since BP has been worth it…and this song reminds me that it has! Given time I think this might even surpass In Bloom as my favorite title track from them. It also reminds me a bit of &TEAM’s recent songs.
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its fun
9/10 for me
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Buried treasure?
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Eternity
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Honestly I have to look past my disappointment that they didn’t really see the horror concept through from the initial teasers. I mean there were hints of it, but I wanted more! Similar to how I’d have wanted just a little bit more from this song, push it just a little bit further. It’s very polished, but as others are saying, a couple of well-placed adlibs could have pushed it over the top. It’s very fun anyway, though. As you say, the chorus is gorgeous, I loved that elongated high note from the first hint in the teaser. Really glad they’ve gone with such a pretty melodic sound, especially after I regrettably (as a fan!) found “Feel the Pop” to be totally unlistenable. (The decision to make THAT the main release and “Sweat” the prerelease still mystifies me…)
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Snazzy!
The album itself is pretty solid too, I ascended when I heard the chorus to Insomnia.
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Same😭
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Some songs are too edgy and chanty but Eternity is marvelous
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Kill the Romeo and road movie…
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Insomnia had my jaw on the floor. Certified bop.
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My jaw fell into the ground😭
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Eternity is my personal favorite of this EP
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This song is SOOO glittery. It’s like if Red Velvet’s Cosmic and EXO’s music had a child. That last chorus frustrates me because there was SOO much potential but we are in a under 3 min songs crisis… I really hope ZB1 continues this route along with In Bloom. They really fit this nice niche of upbeat feel-good galaxy/cinema-esque music – they can fill the WJSN void. K-pop is also sorely missing bombastic explosive energetic full songs.
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That chorus is so satisfying! Favorite song from them so far. I was never a huge fan of In Bloom, and I enjoyed Sweat and Feel the Pop, but this one is just too good. 9/10
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