It’s been an unexpected “Cube Entertainment circa 2011” flashback this week, with Highlight/Beast, Jang Hyunseung and now HyunA all releasing new music. The actual songs haven’t been nearly as fun or memorable as this flashback suggests, but it’s still nice to see familiar faces back in the fray. HyunA’s music career remains quite active, reliably churning out new work each year. New single Mrs. Nail (못) catches her doing what she does best, though the song could be much hookier.
HyunA has always blended rap and vocals seamlessly, churning out catchy little baubles that have helped define K-pop’s sound over the years. In this regard, Mrs. Nail feels like a return to form, placing her effortless charisma front and center over a robust arrangement that melds rugged bass, walls of vocal layering and brass accents. The musical stage is set for the perfect HyunA single and it’s nice to hear her play around in a setting she popularized rather than kowtow to current trends.
However, Mrs. Nail‘s topline struggles to match the exciting production. The chorus punts when it should slam, wasting its exciting backing vocals on a few bits of throwaway melody. Red, this is not. Fortunately, HyunA’s force of personality carries the track. Her verses are enjoyable and even when she’s simply talking her way through Mrs. Nail it’s difficult to turn your eye or ear away from her.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
i can’t believe she’s still making music. Her reputation and career has fallen so far
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Its a pretty good track. What would help is if they mixed the vocal lines to be louder than the bass line, because louder is better.
In my earbuds, the bass line is the main thing I hear, like a car that pulls up alongside you at a light with the subwoofer going.
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Unrelated, but did you hear Sungmin is leaving SM after 20 years in the label?
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Yeah, I don’t know why he stuck around for so long. He renewed at least twice since he was sidelined.
There was a nice picture of alllll 15 Super Junior members at Ryeowook’s wedding last year.
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honestly, hard to enjoy it when all i can think about is who she married 🤮
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I agree with @MYMAGOOGLE; the vocals in the chorus just need to be brought forward.
Overall, I enjoyed this. It’s absolutely going to end up in the soundtrack for some drama about rich kids in the near future.
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I really loved it, it’s a clapback at her haters in her most authentic way. Also, to the people bringing drama related to her, grow up, this blog is about music. The author judges music, not personal life, he doesn’t play God and neither should you.
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I’m not that familiar with HyunA’s discography so I guess I gotta go back and listen to her older songs, I remember she was in a group with her boyfriend at the time and they made some bangeeeers!!
This one sounds good too, I enjoyed it. Really sticky song, the chorus is just too effective and the addition of the harmonies are a nice touch to elevate the song.
8.5/10
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