It’s become common for idol acts to release special music videos after promotions end for their title track. This allows the albums a longer cycle and spotlights various sounds that may appeal to a wider audience. Fifty Fifty’s perky Pookie saw them aiming straight for the pop jugular, but follow-up Midnight Special offers a moodier sound.
“Moody” is not in short supply these days, as girl groups and boy groups alike seem to love “a vibe” more than anything else. With this in mind, Midnight Special unfolds mostly as you’d expect. When the beat isn’t shuffling softly, it pauses entirely for moments of vocal spotlight. Gentle rhythm guitar anchors the chorus, giving a slight, subdued disco touch. The girls’ vocals sound ethereal and striking and I love when the production leans into its lush layering. But no matter how many K-pop songs of this style make their way into the market, they’ll always face an uphill battle with me. Midnight Special needs either a knockout series of melodies or some idiosyncratic production flourish to stand out. The song has neither, so it earns the dubious (and probably overused) descriptor “pleasant.” Sadly, I just don’t have much room for “pleasant” on my playlist.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
hi nick! have you heard tripleS bside’s? do you think there is any buried treasure?
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Planning to listen later this week. Don’t know about buried treasures yet, but the highlight medley hinted that some of the b-sides are more interesting than the title.
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love2love is definitely an highlight.
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More meh than pleasant.
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I have no idea what really happened (does anyone, outside of the involved members?), but all I know is that I really loved that first EP (and Cupid was a fine follow-up single, but it’s not what made me a fan), and that special sound of those voices that sounded unique to my ears is now Ablume. I wish the new Fifty Fifty all the luck in the world, but their tracks could be by anyone, to my ears anyway. I don’t hear anything in the new Fifty Fifty that sounds anything like Tell Me, Higher, or Lovin’ Me.
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I didn’t realize how much I missed the original lineup’s vocals until Ablume debuted and I got to hear them again. But I love the new Fifty Fifty configuration. They really leveled up their choreography compared to the original lineup, and Chanelle is a powerhouse singer (saw them live, can attest). Rather than compare them to the original, I just view them as a new group.
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Did you see that young posse released a mv for blue dot the other week?
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