I don’t often review music that doesn’t have an accompanying video, but every once and awhile big acts release a stand-alone single without the full promotion given to title tracks. ENHYPEN are preparing for their upcoming stint at Coachella and have released the English-language Loose prior to that milestone stage.
To be honest, I don’t buy ENHYPEN in this musical setting. Loose sounds more like a Jonas Brothers song… and not a particularly good one. They’re aiming for slow, slinky funk but end up with the drags of a jukebox playing at half speed in one of those run-down diners you only see in the movies. The song is inert all the way through, not rhythmic enough to be funky, not authentic enough to be country and not catchy enough to be worth its time.
Granted, I’m very much in the anti-“chill” camp when it comes to K-pop. I wish I could magically erase that word “chill” from every K-pop A&R team. Loose feels like the boy group equivalent to the “beigepop” trend currently infecting so many girl group releases and it just doesn’t work for me. Earlier this week, newly debuted boy group Close Your Eyes showcased how to lower the tempo while still retaining strong melody and a compelling vocal arrangement. In comparison, Loose just feels bored with itself. It’s hard not to feel just as bored listening to it.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
It’s less jonas brothers than debut era charlie puth and while thankfully this is no marvin gaye it’s still not something i want enhypen over especially with that hideous autotune slathered all over it that the members do not need and lends the whole production this cheap chintzy feel it didn’t have before. I’m chalking this up to a failed experiment more than an outright bad song (and even now I can feel it growing on me) but the casual thrown out loosey promotion belift is giving it is definitely the right choice.
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the best thing about this is that it’s 3:30 minutes long for an English release from HYBE.
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It feels like a throwback to that era when everyone was copying the beat off of “Blurred lines”, until they didn’t anymore.
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This is unbelievably bland. It’s movie background music for a boring montage that doesn’t move the plot forward. Is this what they think Western audiences want??
Speaking of Close Your Eyes, I listened to the album and really like it…most of it is chill and low-key, but it all works together well and feels distinctive. Very impressive for a debut survival show group.
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If you don’t like the song keep it to yourself loose is a better song then you could ever make so I don’t why your even judging
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Loll nobody is hating on them, it’s just their opinion on the song, why are you so pissed
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their username checks out to make a comment like this lol
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What happens when an obsessed kpop fan finds a blog not dedicated to overly positive disingenuous feedback
like the fact that that’s your name…. Couldn’t even hide how triggered you are
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Omg I was saying, like keep yall opinions to yall selves…
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I really hated this so much. I had to turn it off mid way. This kind of music always sounds so smarmy unless the singer is really soulful and charming. I hate when most white people try to sing like this like Charlie Puth or some cheesy Justin Timberlake songs. Only someone like Bill Withers can sing over this kind of beat without making me cringe. For a boygroup it’s bad and even worse listening to Korean idol boys try to sing this kind of stuff to me. I also hated the Jonas brothers as a young girl I thought they were cringe so idk maybe I’m biased.
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Loose is such a great song 💙. I think the world would disagree with your statement strongly. It was released only eighteen hours ago and already has over one million views and a quarter of a million likes. ENHYPEN is extremely talented and their fanbase, ENGENE, would agree.
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And as everyone knows K-netizens create multiple accounts to upvote MVs and new music from their favorite artists! Views and likes are worthless when it’s the same people doing it hundreds of times a day just with various fake accounts!
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If you think numbers equals quality for music you’re surely mistaken. Also you can’t speak for the world 😂
no one said Enhyphen wasn’t talented and duh their fan base would agree with that that’s the essence of being a fan
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I agree, loose is such a good song. I wasn’t really feeling it at first but as I got to listen to it more it was such a vibe
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i love enhypen but wtf where the producers on? this is way too bland.. i thought we were getting a song like drunk-dazed or at least bite me cause the lyrics were kind of similar..
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Why would they release smth like bite me or drunk dazed for an digital single which don’t even have a mv likr br for a second. It’s a vibe and they’ve always tried different sounds not everyone will like everything so it’s fine but that won’t stop them from trying different stuffs. If its not for ya just move on without saying it’s bad or boring without knowing the context and intention behind the release. It’s not that hard
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You’re telling people to move on when you should move on. You clearly aren’t mature enough for a space like this where people are going to have discussions on what they do and don’t like about music. Y’all feel the need to go to bat when someone doesn’t like a song you like…. Do you like every song you listen to? I highly doubt it.
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I know right. This doesn’t give Enhypen energy and I totally agree it’s not catchy, just bland. The song is good but it’s not Enhypen style
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I agree with you. I usually really like enhypen songs, but this one was kinda boring and not for me. And a little reminder, that everyone has a right to not like a song. Not much of a big deal
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I definitely agree with you on this! As an Enhypen fan, this song is not good. Definitely a failed experiment in whatever they were going for! Hopefully they do something better next.
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I agree with you, but ultimately this didn’t need to be reviewed
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The last bit about being anti-chill is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. You see it in songs like Loose and Come Over, it really is giving bland Jonas Brothers knockoff and I hope this isn’t the sound that takes over kpop this year. I consider myself an engene but Loose was just really disappointing. Enhypen can do so much better and Loose really stifles all of that. I miss passionate music and could really care less about the “chill” “beigepop” movement.
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Speaking a engene,
This genre isn’t for me. They don’t usually make songs on this genre, it felt new. It sounds unpolished and could’ve sounded a bit more special. But it doesn’t sound like a skip or bland. It feels just mid. Enha members are so much different from each other, they also have so different music taste from each other even as a singer. Yet they somehow gave birth to great songs. I hope they will produce something great next time.
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The song’s okay, but I prefer something with more bite.
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