On the surface, Say My Name may seem like a typical new girl group, but they have an interesting mentor. They’re the first idol act from INKODE, the agency co-founded by ex-TVXQ member Kim Jaejoong. Jaejoong often interacts with younger idol groups as part of his variety work, but this is the first time we’ve seen him take creative reigns outside his solo material. Given his history, you might expect a rock-influenced act. However, Say My Name’s WaveWay is far more predictable girl group fare.
Given its backstory, I so wanted to love WaveWay. After all, there’s not much point in debuting a new group unless you’re willing to establish a unique vision for their career. Instead, WaveWay sounds as if it could have come from just about anyone. Its mid-tempo groove is reminiscent of the subdued trap-pop sound so popular in the late-2010’s and the airy melodies echo much of the beige songwriting we find these days. It’s an uninspiring combination, to say the least.
Rather than compel or repulse, WaveWay does… nothing. There’s not enough happening to evoke much reaction. Nothing about the melody, performance or instrumental sticks out, choosing instead to play things straight down the middle. But with so many other acts available to listeners, I’m not sure what about Say My Name makes them the group we should choose to stream. I’ve listened to this song several times and I can’t remember much about it at all.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 6 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 6.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Cute, but generic.
Straight 7 for me.
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the instrumental needs to be more exciting… these easy-listening productions just aren’t cutting it.
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Not that bad but yeah…quite mediocre.
Who produced this lackluster fare?
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I would not have been mad if he formed a group full of female Jaejoong mini-mes. I love his solo albums so much, and would love a girl group’s take on his style. Oh well!
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Also notable because former Iz*One member Honda Hitomi is in the group. But I agree, this song is a whole lot of nothing.
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This would’ve done NUMBERS on 2019-2020 alt TikTok. I can imagine this playing over someone’s “grunge emo y2k kawaii scenecore” outfit check. But other than reminding me of one of the darkest eras in human history (please, never bring alt TikTok back…), the song is very meh.
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This is very pandemic-pop. I remember the midtempo kawaii beats doing numbers on my playlist during that time, very animal crossing core. In other words, it’s cute but it somehow sounds dated already.
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yk what this reminds of kinda
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Oh yeah, I remember this. Exactly this type of thing. See also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAeybdD5UoQ
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You just unlocked memories of 2017-2018 animation memes with this omg… I think I got another one.
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It’s cute but yeah. Wanted to know what you think about the b-side Goldilocks Water?
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Well, I have watched enough Jaejoong variety shows to know that he considers aegyo cutesy stuff as an integral part of Kpop😅. So I expected his group to go down that path only. It’s mediocre but nothing enough to make create a strong initial footing.
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I was excited for this debut and I’m still pleased to see Hitomi returning to kpop, but I must say that the concept for this music video is…. Perhaps not the most original in the world.
Down to the giant cat at the end, it’s the same…..
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