There’s this K-pop sub-genre lovingly referred to as “Christian horse girl music.” Think early efforts by GFriend, Lovelyz, Oh My Girl, April and the like. If you have time, do yourself a favor and go down the YouTube rabbit hole of this music, as it encompasses much of my favorite girl group output of the last decade. Girl groups have completely moved on from this sound, leaving the mantle of Christian horse girl music to be picked up by… The Wind?
The Wind have been traversing this road since debut, but new single Only One might be their most potent example of the form yet. There are several things I love about this song. First, it centers melody as its main musical ingredient, never losing its structural momentum to plunge into needless sing-talk. The tune is wistful yet dramatic, building to a chanted climax that gives each chorus an exciting through-line. This melody also makes room for several stirring vocal turns. After losing their main vocal in 2023, I worried that the group would become mired in material that didn’t stretch them vocally. That’s certainly not the case here. I mean, just listen to the bridge for proof!
Second, Only One throws the musical sink at its instrumental. So many “beigepop” entries of this K-pop moment could learn from Only One‘s ornate arrangement. A little electric guitar and a lot of strings never hurt a K-pop single, and in this case they give The Wind a sense of grandeur that transforms this song into a real statement. It’s not quite up there with the “Christian horse girl” classics of the past, but I’ll very gladly take it.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 9 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
y’all may disagree with me, but so far The Wind has been the best group in terms of music consolidation in K-pop. They are really moving forward with their discography with a sound that suits them very well. They don’t have any hits that I don’t want to hear. There’s still hope for K-pop!
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Anyways, I find this very cute, the strings add a sense of both elegance and innocence and works effectively, making the track even stronger. I’d appreciate a little punch to the hooks, but it still finds its way to become a cute little earworm.
8.75 (9, 9, 8, 9) for now since I don’t really seek this sub-genre as much as you and maybe most of the readers here do lol, so just to be on the safer side (but who knows, it may find its way to the 9s? ￣_(ツ)_/￣)
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A lovely little breath of fresh air. I was about ready to whip out my spring-going-on-nature-walks playlist, which this would be perfect for, but it just snowed 😦
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christian horse girl music mentioned in the bias list ❤
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kim heesoo is my favourite christian horse girl
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Oh this is absolutely their best song yet, and they’ve already had some gems (Sirius, Island etc.) This type of music will literally never get old for me, I’m so glad they’re continuing down this road!
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My favourite Christian horse girl group The Wind
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Omg that made me laugh out loud. Christian horse girl kpop!
Anyway, yes, very mid-2015’s girl group in a good way. Actual singing happening. I could only faintly tell the difference among all the GFriend singles apart, so this may as well be a GFriend cover to me.
I also heard an interpolation of Jackson 5 “I want you back” in the intro. The driving bass line in particular, which doesn’t seem to repeat in isolation like it does in the intro.
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This post felt like shade
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my favorite boy group for a reason!!
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sweet and fluffy, that’s why they’re my faves.
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