Seventeen sub-unit BSS conquered 2023 with their megahit Fighting. Across that year, its catchy chorus and memorable choreo became the kind of popular touchstone you see everywhere — from dance challenges to variety shows. That level of success can be difficult to follow, and it was probably smart of BSS to wait nearly two years before releasing another title track. CBZ (Primetime) (청바지) picks up the baton with a similarly upbeat flair, acting as a funky burst of cheer for the start of 2025.
I’m not always the best audience for what BSS offer, as the humorous nature of their music can often feel gimmicky to me. The gimmicks are bolstered by incredible talent and catchy melodies, which certainly helps, but even a song as potent as Fighting can come across more like a gag from a comedy show than an enduring pop track. CBZ skirts the same line, enjoyably funky but always with a hint of novelty that keeps me from completely falling into its charms.
Whatever I may think, the song never lapses in energy. Its percussion is relentlessly perky, unfurling a bounding tempo ornamented with jazzy keys and flourishes of guitar and brass. The chorus flows effortlessly over this mix, taking advantage of the guys’ robust vocals. It’s not as anthemic as Fighting, but it has a fun, festival-like intensity that will likely benefit from live performances. We’ll see if CBZ will develop into the same chart-and-culture-conquering hit as its predecessor, but for now I enjoy it a little less than Fighting.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
Grade: B-
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
the weakest track on the album and their weakest single so far. Happy Alone and Love Song are both better.
Happy Alone is the sibling of first hooky by TWS.
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I think Home Alone might be too monotone in comparison to songs like First Hooky. It’s lacking some dynamics and the tight melodies that song had. I think it’s much closer to the ‘chill funk/groove’ that was seen in CBX’s Blooming Days album. Not bad, but not especially thrilling (except Vroom Vroom, always in my heart)
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I can see the case for happy alone being better than this. Love song is nice always but should’ve been cut short
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aswell*
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Oh really…. My thoughts were completely different
I mean I did love the other 2 but I get why CBZ is the title track. It is super upbeat and I loved it from the start till the end.
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Unrelated, but Riize released a cover of TVXQ’s Hug, and Inreally enjoyed their interpretation of the dance break. The added guitar and soft rock elements were really nice
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are you aware of the ongoing riize boycott? i dont want to dictate what you listen to, but if you want to listen to riize please do so through unofficial sources like podcasts or fan re-uploads so that sm doesnt get any money from it.
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I use an mp3 website, and have been doing so since 2023 year. I don’t stream their music or watch their content on YouTube.
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lol, lmao even
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I enjoyed the “Hug” cover as well. It was a fine homage to a classic 1st gen song, sounding both old-fashioned and contemporary.
As for the Riize boycott, not my thing. I have been around kpop for a long while, many false and real scandals have come and gone, many people get hurt and some people get saved. I’m just here for the music. I can’t be bothered with keyboard warring anymore.
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I’m not against boycotts in theory (though I believe they’re rarely successful), but I’m curious what the RIIZE boycott is trying to achieve at this point. The Seunghan thing seems to be a done deal. He’ll be debuting as a soloist this year. I get that the whole situation sucks and have written many times about how crappy SM handled everything, but I can’t see any future where a dwindling boycott changes anything. Happy to be proven wrong, but it feels like this energy would be better spent elsewhere (like supporting Seunghan’s own work and tackling the underlying issues of this mess — ie: fandom/netizen bullying). Otherwise, it feels like we’re just punishing the rest of the group at this point.
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I agree with your takes on the boycott. Companies’ treatment of idols has always been laden with bad practices, we know this. And it doesn’t excuse it. But fans are acting more and more psychotic, and the online realm of fandom is a cesspool for the most part, this site being my most shining counterexample. Those problems with fans desperately need to be addressed, although I don’t know how to do so.
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As the resident ELF, I will note that SM has not changed since the TVXQ / SuJu crisis management days. Ahem, Sungmin getting kicked out for getting married. Hangeng was also treated very poorly. The only winner was arguably kpop itself when the three departing TVXQ members kicked up enough fuss about the contracts which lead to “better” standard contracts for all their juniors.
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As a huge Breeze, I’m just waiting for Seunghan’s debut before I continue actively supporting the rest of Riize. I want to see that SM is really going to treat him as a proper soloist with back-up and resources rather than just dumping something out to appease fans. I hope he will be successful!
(I will say, though I still boycotted, I sensed the boycott was doomed after Love 119 came out, it was simply too much time since his hiatus.)
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Not as good as Fighting, but still an enjoyable song.
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I prefer this to “fighting”. Fighting’s hook became grating very quickly
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On a scale of 1 to 10, I say It’s Alright!
It sounds like the kid brother of Aju Nice at times. As I am a fan of that song, and always love the DK-SK show, this one is a yes for me.
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it will grew on after some listen ..i actually like this one and love song a lot
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I’d say that Home Run is actually it’s older brother!
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Why not both?!
I’ve listened to Aju Nice so many times, I might responsible for a fair number of these views, but really I was hearing this turnaround in a few spots in the pre-chorus and chorus. There is probably Home Run DNA as well, but I have not listened to that as diligently.
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Ohh yeah I see what you mean. I am also an avid Aju Nicer (it was once my favourite kpop song period, good times) but I hadn’t noticed this!
I think the Home Run similarities lie less in it actually sounding like parts of the song and more in it’s general style (the beat/rhythm, the jazziness of it).
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I cant stop thinking about Sorry Not Sorry by ITZY as it takes the same sample from that song-
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BOOSEOKSOON IS BACK!
I have specially emerged from my seasonal spiral of doom (I despise January) to come and rave about them. This trio is just a delight, and not just because my bias is in it. They always deliver and this is no different. I adore the jazzy piano, reminds me of the Semicolon era. The vocals are on point. The choreography is incredibly fun.
I don’t know yet if it will be as much of a classic as Fighting, but for now I’m just glad they’re back and showing out just as big as ever.
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