You know… P1harmony’s music really frustrates me sometimes. They’ve developed this habit of hiding excellent material as b-sides while promoting their most gimmicky tracks. February’s Killin’ It album was quite strong, but the title track didn’t feel representative or fresh. Judging by the highlight medley for their newest comeback, I fear this pattern continues.
Sad Song is one of those radio-friendly earworms that centers around a repetitive, structurally obvious chorus. I’m reminded immediately of Western groups like Maroon 5, who’ve made a career on such material. The immediacy of the melodies and production make this an obvious choice for promotion, but the sugar high wears off quickly because there’s too little going on under the hood of the song. It softens its hip-hop edge with Latin touches, recalling material NCT 127 might have favored during their “that’s that queso” era. This isn’t an ill-fitting sonic playground for P1Harmony, but the samples chosen only exacerbate Sad Song‘s repetitive nature.
While the track is well-performed, it feels like three minutes of the same riff over and over again. The chorus veers too close to the instrumental hook, failing to provide the contrast needed to make this style of production really pop. The group carry the song with plenty of energy, but I’m guessing (and hoping) there are more musically interesting things happening on the album itself.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
*sighs* Every day, my wish for a Scared-esque title track grows even bigger.
Rating’s the same.
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I’m so so happy I’m not the only one who feels this way 😭😭. Scared was peak P1Harmony
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Right, a lot of us think the same 😭 Man, I wish they developed the Scared sound further instead of devolving to the classic teen-like bragging-like posturing 🫠
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I loved Scared, and they completely disappeared from my radar after that.. too bad, really.
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I admit I lowkey vibed with their post-Scared works for a while (minus Killin’ It, didn’t like it much), but they all fell off for me and I haven’t played them in months (although Jump is a third fav after Scared and Siren). Doesn’t help when they choose weaker tracks over stronger ones as the title (like Do It Like This over Follow Me or Back Down over BFF)
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Oh I thought you would quite like it…..it’s down as their best for a while for me. That said, I do wish they would return to their Scared or Do It Like This era’s. They seem to be stuck in this kind of style and formula now when one of the most interesting things about them with their first 3 or 4 songs was they sounded quite different and even experimental. They so have some of those types of songs on their albums tho, as you pointed out. Realeasing something like Scared now would set them apart from other groups.
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What about Last Call as a Buried Treasure? IMHO It would have been a great (at least a *better*) title track, especially given the immense popularity of the electro-rock genre in the last months…
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I also vote for this as Buried Treasure, it reminds of a cross between Enhypen’s Shout Out and SVT’s Our Dawn Is Hotter Than Day.
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the instrumental change right before the bridge seemed a bit unnatural to me, like it didnt blend in very well.
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I haven’t liked a P1 song since Scared (which feels like a life time ago 😳) but Sad Song is the closest contender to a song that I’ve liked from them recently. It’s really missing some “oomph” and the song feels like it’s throwing everything at the wall but nothing is sticking
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The melody is pretty basic but overall I liked this, it’s different from their regular title tracks but still feels very much like them. I think it shows a willingness to break out of their usual M.O., albeit in a safe way. One thing I really appreciate about P1Harmony is that everyone (except maybe Soul) has such distinct voices/tones that it’s easy to identify them. I’ve always wished for them to be more than the sum of their parts…I don’t think they’re quite there yet, at least on their title tracks.
Like others here, Scared is also my favorite title track by them and I used to wish they’d do another title track like that. But that sound is very much of its era and I think it would be better if they did something that had the effect of Scared rather than a title track that sounds like that.
Great album as expected, It’s Alright and Last Call were standouts to me. Welcome To sounds a lot like Look at Me Now (which is one of my favorite P1Harmony b-sides, so it’s fine by me). I think it’s a solid follow-up to Killin’ It, which is still one of my favorite full albums of the year.
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Killin’ It came out in February.
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am I the only one who thought they were gonna go all emo for this?
anyways, decent song, but I’ve heard better
8.5/10 for me
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I thought the same, kinda wish they did that 😭
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I’m not sure which I’d prefer: a track titled “Sad Song” that is as brooding and emo as the name suggests, or a cheerful, subversive take on the concept.
Either way, this song doesn’t really fit either description lol.
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I’m biased to like this because I’ve grown so fond of P1 as performers that I feel they elevate most of their tracks just by performing the hell out of them. Their titles always end up on my playlist.
I liked this, I appreciate how it’s a fast song, and the energy is consistent throughout. It’s a bit different from recent singles from the last few years, but it could further distinguish itself by fully fleshing out the melodies on the chorus and going bigger.
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