Back in 2019, ITZY’s debut ushered in a wave of confident, attitude-forward girl group tracks. They’ve since shifted their style in a number of ways, which was evident on the couldn’t-be-more-different-from-each-other Gold and Imaginary Friend last year. It feels like they’ve only struck the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the genres they might tackle and new single Girls Will Be Girls paints another way forward.
In some ways, this song’s big energy hearkens back to ITZY’s debut year. However, it’s bolstered by a more confrontational tone. There are moments where the track goes full-on club banger, which is a style I’d love to hear more from girl groups in general. The production is fluid but intense, taking elements from the trendy drum and bass genre and tying them to more robust beats. There’s a lot going on here, and it’s a bit overwhelming the first time through — especially with all the sound effects in the music video.
Further listens smooth out the experience but also reveal some of Girls Will Be Girls‘ struggles. The song is quite repetitive, most evidently during its chorus. The vocal layering here makes for an exciting centerpiece, but a little of the chanted hook goes a long way. The producers likely know this, as they offer a standout dance break in place of a second chorus. The verses have a fragmented feel that’s more sing-talk than I’d like, but the percolating instrumental compensates with a very cool arrangement. On the whole, I think the song works in spite of its worst instincts, but it feels like a stepping stone to something even greater in the future.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Nick, you will LOVE Kiss & Tell off their album.
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Now this is what I expected production-wise from Ryan Jhun. Thank god dem joints is long gone here.
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There’s nothing wrong with dem joints. Plenty of good work
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i personally dont like hoe disjointed his production gets.
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I see what you mean, especially with the nct work. I just don’t think that’s a very prevalent problem when you look at his wider discography. You can find many ryan jhun songs that miss the mark in both extremes (and of course a lot of gems)
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I LOVE the complextro production of the track, but can’t help but imagine how amazing it’d be if the chorus after the “girls will be girls” hook was melodic and dynamic like Air? Like, especially with the guitar and synths in the background, it’s a wasted potential imo 🫠
7.75 (7, 9, 8, 7) for me.
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we get it. girls will be girls!
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welcome back 😍( they never left☠️
8.5/10☺️🤶😍
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Itzy are my girls and I’ll try my best to like the song but the performance and dance are actually what will save this repetitive song. Thankfully it’s itzy do the dance is going to be perfect and they’re excellent performers, I know the music shows will be great.
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It’s fine it but feels like it could have been more. It’s quite short so maybe they could have gone for a bigger finale at least. And I agree the chorus is repetetitive. It seems like JYP has some trouble finding that catchy chorus for some reason. Couldn’t they think of anything less repetitive? The MV looks really good though.
Kiss & Tell is the winner here for sure and I also enjoy Promise a lot.
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I like some of the production choices, but that chorus needs some work lol (at the very least it’s a full sentence and not just random words).
I see it as a step up from last year though!
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the production is great and the instrumental on the dance break is amazing but i felt like the only thing they said from the first to the last second of the song was “girls will be girls”. I don’t mind repetitive pop songs but there’s a point where it starts to feel annoying and the music sounds like one big chorus
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This reminds me a bit of The Boyz’ VVV from earlier this year in that it’s a bombastic clubby song with what feels like older Kpop energy mixed with modern production. I think they could have switched things up with a longer bridge/dance break that would have made the individual elements feel less repetitive. Still, a nice change from the likes of Gold.
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I think its great, however it skews towards my pre-teen niece’s dance routine age and style.
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It’s SUPER CLOSE to being really really great but it’s still a really fun listen. Kiss and tell is definitely the standout song of the album though, that song feels like 2018/2019 ITZY’s take on a very club party song.
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I was fearful of a repetitive song at the teasers, and even though this wasn’t really different from what I expected from the chorus, it’s still surprisingly SO much better. Agreed with everyone else on Kiss & Tell being great.
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Girls Will Be Girls: I miss the killer earworms of a lot of their prior material, but the production is nice on this one.
7,9,7,7 = 7.5
Kiss & Tell: Similar feeling to GWBG, but even sassier. I think on the whole it is more interesting.
7,8,8,8 = 7.75
Locked & Loaded: This is the first song of the album that feels closer to older Itzy at first, but the electric guitar break both sets it apart and adds a nice new element to the album.
8,8,8,8 = 8
Promise: A sweet song the likes of which we haven’t seen on their last few albums, but ultimately a really nice, refreshing break from the sass and intensity of the first 3 tracks. Works really nicely as a chaser.
8,9,7,8 = 8
Walk: Intermission is over! This one keeps with the same feel of the other tracks and also feels like a cousin to Killshot, from their Kill My Doubt album. This is one I would love to see a performance video of.
8,8,8,8 = 8
Overall I appreciate the cohesion of this album, but I don’t think it is as catchy and fun as a lot of their other songs, which is usually what I’m looking for in an Itzy track.
Album Score: 7,8,8,8 = 7.75
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best track since loco
8.5/10 (8, 9, 8, 9) for me
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watching the music video was an overwhelming experience for both my visual and auditory perception. it felt like i was hit on the head with a hammer.
with that being said, i think the hook serves the bustling motion of the production really well. i enjoy the relentless nature of the song but i think it lacks dynamics to make it truly great. you hear the first half of the song and you kind of already heard it all. and it ends prematurely. a bridge and a more fitting climax perhaps would elevate this song into the highest echelon of itzy’s discography.
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Itzy is one of my favorite k-pop groups and one of the very few in the genre whose entire albums I like, not just individual songs or artists. Dalla Dalla is also how I found Nick’s blog. So it saddens me to say that this might be my least favorite of their title tracks after Mafia in the Morning so far. Hope it will grow on me. Haven’t listened to the whole album yet. Fingers crossed people stop hating on them with this release but then again I do that with every new release of theirs at that point.
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Finally listened to the whole album and liked everything besides the TT.
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It deserves at elast 8/10!
personally I give it 8.8 if I’m going to be more accurate. such an iconic comeback.
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The beat lowkey sounds like ISTJ 😂
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The song’s good, but Kiss & Tell is definitely winning for me.
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This made me so happy. Itzy lost me by the time we got to mafia. This production gave me life and the song itself wasn’t marred by the girls being forced to sing out of their range. I rather we have this issue of the girls playing second fiddle during the verses. I can’t wait to hear the rest of the EP
the video was good, but surprisingly I was disappointed with the dance. I feel like it didn’t match the aggressive brash nature of the song
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