ZEROBASEONE’s post-2025 future remains undecided, but they’re finally set to give us a full album on September 1st. Weeks before that, they’re back with pre-release Slam Dunk — an uncharacteristically hip-hop dance track.
In K-pop, there’s often this urge to throw many different concepts and styles at a group rather than let them settle into the one sound that fans love the most. I certainly don’t flock to ZEROBASEONE for hip-hop, but like the mission songs on Boys Planet or Produce 101, agencies like to dress their acts in all sorts of guises. In this case, they’re playing basketball players a la the popular anime Slam Dunk. I love this idea, but I’d love it more if it came packaged with a song as awesome as that show’s Kimi ga Suki da to Sakebitai. Instead, we have a very shouty, very chant-heavy track that sounds way too much like way too many other boy groups.
There’s this specific tone that’s forged when a bunch of K-pop boys’ vocals are fashioned together into a shout-chant. With few exceptions, it’s remarkably cut-and-paste for pretty much every group. It’s a bit shrill and quite grating and I wish it would fade from popularity. Sadly, this sound overtakes Slam Dunk‘s chorus and much of the track. There are moments of more melodic funk during the verses but they don’t amount to much. The pre-choruses are definitely the song’s strongest element. Otherwise, if you enjoy the sound of idols screaming at you Slam Dunk will scratch that itch. Personally, it’s not at all what I covet about ZEROBASEONE’s music and does the members no favors.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I just cannot listen to this song with those ANNOYING squeaky footsteps (for some reason) baked into the song itself. Who thought of this as a good choice, its only ear-grating lmao.
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This comment had me thinking there’d be a lot more squeaking than there actually was lol
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it still overstays it welcome lmao. it’s throughout the ENTIRE song.
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yup, the pre-choruses are the only redeemable parts, everything else I hate. this is their worst song to date (Feel the POP, you’re safe). I don’t even mind chanting as long as there’s a good-ass instrumental to back it up but the instrumental here is all over the place, it’s sooo terrible to me. hopefully this is the worst of it and the album delivers.
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I was gonna say it’s their only title track I don’t care for. Turns out I completely wiped Feel the POP from my memory. And also this is just a pre-release, not even a title track, so FTP is very much not safe in my book. When I think of how Sweat was the prerelease for that track…. The mind still boggles.
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The song is a miss, but weirdly, so is the video? There are some nice shots in there, but why no full-court shot of the dance break? They’ve been positioning Matthew as the buff one, but they have him in a baggy t-shirt when they could have had his arms out.And for those all-white close-ups shots, how fun would it have been to have those as 360 pans where the members are scanned like they’re being body mapped for a video game? Some missed opportunities here.
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The lack of effort and creativity with this group is crazy. So much potential that isn’t being tapped into
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there’s a slight budget compared to their past pre-releases (SWEAT and Doctor! Doctor!), I thought it was nice but there’s way too many cuts between scenes.
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That’s a fair point, Doctor Doctor had a celeb cameo and all, and the video was very cute even if the song was not my favorite.
This video… it feels more like a Japanese release than a Korean one, down to being named after a manga.
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I appreciate that no Matthew arms is one of your chief complaints, I am with you on this 100%.
If we’re going to have sports-themed comebacks we should at least have some athletic bodies to look at….
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This sounds like the hip-hop version of Road Movie that they did for M Countdown. Thank goodness it’s only a prerelease.
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I don’t even mind the nct vibes but a vocally-driven chorus with more singing overall could’ve improved this. The prechorus is the highlight.
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You can’t convince me this song isn’t a reject from the new NCT Dream album.
This is the problem with the “song camp” system. The same producers and songwriters are working with pretty much all the active groups in the industry and just sending the same songs around without trying to make sonething unique for that specific artist.
And Wakeone is the worst label when it comes to this, they’ll just pick out whatever random song they can get their hands on without any sort of creative vision.
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this doesn’t sound anything like the songs from Go Back To The Future lmao
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Yeah, GBTTF is a weird pull. It does some like it has NCT dna for sure, though. More 127 than Dream.
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0:22 Another kpop group declares that they will break the rules. Proceeds to follow all rules.
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I kinda like this for no real reason. Usually these kinda nct-like songs arent my thing but i think the basketball concept is silly enough that its winning me over lol (also i just because i think zb1 are so charming as a group in general). Still not something ill be actively listening to but as a pre-release i dont mind it
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Was it too hard to cover 5ive’s Slam Dunk (Da Funk), which is still one of the best hip hop dance tracks by a boy group in history?
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Posted this exact same thing on twitter! K-pop producers seriously need to study late-90s boy groups.
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I’m definitely on the same page. Moreover, given how entertaining was 5ive’s entire discography, it would be really funny if a k-pop boy group showed us how even better it could have been if they could sing and dance. 🙂
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i honestly don’t love it and they are my ults, so idk what to think. i think im going to address this on my blog too! thx for the idea
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I wouldn’t call it screaming. They’re all too clean-cut and adorable to scream. It’s chant heavy, but has some bounce to it. Not my favorite of their songs, but if it’s a pre-release, maybe they’re simply showing off another genre for us.
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nick r u an anime fan…. if u r, dont be shy, drop ur top 5….
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This is going to sound weird, but I’m someone who *wants* to be an anime fan but just can’t make it happen. I can’t tell you how many series I’ve started and end up dropping after a few episodes. I don’t know why I can’t get into it because I really would like to.
Back in the day, I was obsessed with Trigun and probably still consider that my favorite (though there hasn’t been a ton of competition that I’ve stuck with, honestly). I also think Akira is a total masterpiece. Those are pretty old touchstones, though!!
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As a HSM fan, I love the basketball dribbling and shoe squeaking flourishes on this production. The Warriors vs. Cavs game commentary in the intro is crazy too. Like the instrumental is actually immaculate as a basketball concept, but the rap and chanting is a huge letdown. This sounds like any other NCT song and I would not be surprised if it was slated for a SM release. The pre-chorus is the best part – why can’t we get more singing?? I feel they are missing the mark with what makes ZB1 so great, which is strong vocals and infectious melodies. That’s why In Bloom and Good So Bad (and Yura Yura!!)were such great title tracks. In some ways, they remind me of EXO. At least this is a pre-release… hopefully the upcoming comeback matches up with their best titles.
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