Over the years, Stray Kids have grown into one of K-pop’s premiere groups. In fact, their popularity is so global that it almost feels as if they’ve transcended the industry altogether. Once upon a time, they also topped my year-end singles chart. Gosh, that seems like lifetimes ago. The group is back today with their fourth Korean full-length album and the appropriately-titled Ceremony. After all, this feels very much like a victory lap.
Yes, it’s another K-pop song about how great and popular its performers. By now, you all know how tired and unappealing I find this lyrical trope, but even the most overused themes can be salvaged by killer songwriting and compelling production. Stray Kids have shown they’re capable of both in the past, but oftentimes their need to be catchy and clever in a sloganeering way gets them into trouble. Much of Ceremony feels like a meme, from the repeated “hip hip hooray” to the (annoying) “we’ve got good karma” catchphrase. There are fun moments buried within the song, but they’re about as short as the attention span needed to enjoy a funny internet joke.
Looking at the positives, Ceremony‘s woozy production is pretty interesting. It keeps the listener off balance throughout and the percussion during the verses has an addictive texture I haven’t heard much of in K-pop. I wish I could fuse it to a different song entirely, because so much of Ceremony is simply repeated retorts flowing through the same hip-hop phrasing we’ve heard over and over these past few years. The chorus is quite limp, centered around a feeble beat drop and some errant shouting. There’s no melodic focal point to pull everything together the way S-Class‘s pre-chorus did a couple years ago. Looking back at an even older touchstone, it’s as if Ceremony took the most polarizing parts of Bigbang’s Bang Bang Bang (ie: its iconic trap chorus) and tried to build an entire song around it. It’s an ear-catching experiment, but not one that works for me. Worse yet, I fear its more gimmicky moments will age poorly.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
proof that not all self produced idol songs are good just because they’re self produced
LikeLiked by 8 people
Yeah ironically said self produced group have songs (albums even) that has been praised by many even professionals in the industry and charted more than well globally. At the end of the day it boils down to your personal taste. Your view of the song doesn’t mean it should be THE view of the song.
LikeLike
But what do you think about this song? Always curious to hear differing opinions.
LikeLiked by 2 people
the comment was mostly in response to discourse i’m seeing on social media over idols who take part in the creative process with ppl saying it automatically makes them better than other idols who go for songs being assigned to them which all i can say is who cares? self-produced or not, the song should be good
after all, bts are my ult group and they’re very involved in the creative process of their music
LikeLike
And that’s kinda depressing when you realize that these guys actually had a great track record from 2018-2020-ish (District 9, Miroh, Side Effects and the excellent Haven). Hard to believe they would be the same guys who would release this, I feel like they’re better than this.
LikeLiked by 6 people
it’s the same feeling I had in S-Class. Like these are the same dudes who created bangers like “God’s Menu”, “Haven”, “Double Knot”
LikeLike
Changbin’s opening was… very cringe. And I love Changbin.
I actually like the campy “hip hop hooray” and “we got good karma” chant. The verses are more cringe and stale to me. At least the MV was pretty cool. Stray Kids are the new Bangtan, the mainstream boygroup all the kids love and they can shit out anything and the girlies will love it.
But yeah, comparing this song to “Bang Bang Bang” is an insult to BigBang.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yeah, I didn’t mention it in the review but that opening is *awful*
LikeLiked by 3 people
intresting, I think the opening is the only Strongest part in the song.
LikeLiked by 2 people
i thought the intro was awesome, we love a good bintro. also the shade to skz and bts is completely unnecessary wtf? 😭 the fans of the group who enjoy this song aren’t just a bunch of mindless “girlies” pretending to like it because it’s by skz, just because you don’t personally like the song doesn’t mean there’s nothing in it other people can’t like lmao. other people, myself included, enjoyed the musical twists and turns, the silly energy, the catchy beat, the mv and performance, etc. if it’s not your style that’s totally fine but no need to insult the effort of the group (“shit out anything”… they put effort into writing and producing this and truly felt passionate about the song 💀) and the taste of the people who do enjoy it
LikeLiked by 1 person
Eh, nothing catches my attention. Too much is “karma karma karma” or “hip hip hooray!”. Not something I wanna visit on my own.
Rating’s the same.
LikeLiked by 2 people
This is one of those songs that really represents the group. Ironically this song is definitely gonna be a hit especially how perfect this is to perform at stadiums which was the purpose of making this song. Another banger by SKZ. At the end of the day they’re gonna keep doing what they do bc they know what they like and they know what their audience is like.
LikeLike
A good portion of their audience want to hear something different from them. Myself included.
LikeLiked by 5 people
for a song called ceremony I thought it would be a little more energetic then what we got. Rap parts are fun though
8/10 (7, 8, 7, 10) for me
(btw you planning on doing a buried treasure for this album?)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not sure since I haven’t listened to the album yet.
On another note, this song really seems to be testing the limits of your username! 😉
LikeLiked by 4 people
I mean it’s still good song like usual but it’s nowhere near the quality of some of their oldest works
LikeLiked by 2 people
Err, their title tracks that start with the letter C reach a whole new level of cringe.
LikeLiked by 2 people
What did Chk Chk Boom ever do to you?
LikeLiked by 1 person
The album continues to rely heavily on trap influences, with the sole dance track being a rather restrained D&B piece. Overall, all tracks feels fully less compelling than the mashup. It seems they were drawn to a style that intentionally downplays melody, resulting in the title track having the weakest melodic line. With the exception of track Bleep, most songs fall short of expectations.Notably, track Phoenix could have been much more impactful if its final section had been used as the main hook. Many of the songs are also slowed down and relatively brief, leaving them feeling underdeveloped. While the fan song shows some promise, it ultimately suffers from the group’s continued use of loose, unfocused melodies.
LikeLike
I sometimes conflate Stray Kids and Ateez in my head as the two big 4th gen groups that I have never been able to get into, but for some reason this song makes me think of Crazy Form/Work/Ice on My Teeth-era Ateez than anything Ateez has put out recently.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I totally agree. I couldn’t put a finger to it initially but that’s exactly it. I’m glad someone else has said it.
LikeLike
I feel like this is one of those songs which you have mixed feelings at first but after sometimes, you get it (Ateez “Crazy Form”). I love Stray Kids is trying to do new things while keeping their root music in-touch. This Song is not their best but it’s silly and fun. 8/10. I love the build up with “Hip Hip”
The only thing I am grieving is that the title track doesn’t blend with bside at all. The whole album is gritty where Title Track sound so stupid among them.
“BLEEP” might be my buried treasure if not promoted
LikeLike
A song like that could have worked for me if it had one central hook that is so fun and so strong as to make up for the general absence of melodies. Like “did you see my bag – what you think bout that”. This song does have “hip HIP – hoorrayyyy” and “karma karma karma” but instead of pulling the song together, these refrains (?) are practically unlistenable. The second problem is that the song lacks energy, and a song like that needs to have a ton of it. A strong melody is not needed for a song to have energy, it could come from the rap verses, but here this doesn’t happen because the rap verses are not hitting hard enough. It’s not bad-bad but it’s also not something I would listen to again, and I am normally the target audience for this plus I love SKZ.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I love when Stray Kids try new things while still in-touch with their root music. For me, This song is fun. I love the build-up with “Hip Hip Hooray” and some more elements. It is one of those song where you feel weird at first listens but eventually like it later (Ateez Crazy Form type) so for me its 8/10… Not their best, Just a fun, silly song. Definitely worst one since Case 143
I am actually grieving that CEREMONY is so stupid sounding when listening to the album. Album is dark, gritty or more like very personal sound to Stray Kids and Ceremony is like a clown walking around Swordsmen (it hurts that its a title track, Imagine people not listening to bside because of how silly the track is)
If “Bleep” isn’t promoted (already banned by KBS), thats my buried treasure. I really love SKZ diss tracks so yeah thats my favorite track from album. The rest of the album is fine. I’ll say it was worth my time
LikeLike
it’s the same feeling I had in S-Class. Like these are the same dudes who created bangers like “God’s Menu”, “Haven”, “Double Knot”
LikeLike
I dont know how the comment above me got here, it was for someone else
LikeLike
I saw this on Music Bank. I haven’t laughed at such an unserious song for a while. At least it put a smile on my face.
‘Jump up like a pop off toaster lift’ is a new stim for me lmao.
LikeLiked by 3 people
same hooks rating as chk chk boom?!
LikeLiked by 1 person
“woozy production”
LikeLike
It’s better than Walkin On Water, but frankly, the bar was on the floor with those. Hollow gave me some hope, and this just… dashed it.
I’m afraid I’m in the “please listen to the b-sides, people!” gang most of the time, but the majority of b-sides weren’t really stellar either.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh, late to the party again. what, I didn’t miss anything? Pity.
I actually like the concept of using Hip Hip Hooray as a hook in theory for a fan service crowd pleasing concert song. In practice here, it squanders that opportunity. For one, its too fast for anyone to meaningfully respond with full crowd voice.
For the rest, it is all sound and fury signifying nothing.
LikeLike
1. I don’t think I will be attending their concerts in the future. I just can’t see myself throwing my arms in the air and yelling “hip hip…. Hooray!” I’m turning 33 next week.
2. That being said, I could really get into this song if that element was absent from it. I think the beat is kinda sicknasty. Curious to see what album tracks will pop for me.
3. I knew Nick would hate this the moment it started, by the way. LOL
4. I have to say that at this point, as a fan, the bravado is really starting to grate on me. I mean generally I can’t say I care too much about lyrical content here since it’s kpop and I don’t speak Korean, but it’s been literal years since SKZ had a title track that wasn’t about being awesome. I would suggest that they go back to the well of being a crazy person i.e. Side Effects / Maniac.
LikeLiked by 4 people
From the moment the guy in your profile suggested they go with God’s Menu—and it ended up launching their career to A tier—I thought a return to their 2019 sound was impossible. Since then, I’ve lost all faith in them releasing a truly epic title track, and even the quality of their B-sides has dropped significantly. Instead of fully developing a new single idea, they seem to blend multiple unfinished directions together, which makes the final song feel incoherent and prevents them from creating the timeless hooks they used to have.
Whether they prefer to scream or go for a more carefree, cool vibe isn’t really the problem. The main issue is that most of their songs lack cinema and resonance. I often pay close attention to their instrumentation, so I have to say that songs like Charmer/Freeze, Case 143, Item/Get lit, Megaverse, and Jjam/Runner have very dry and crispy or monotonous instruments. Even though the hooks in B-sides like Phobia or Stop aren’t particularly explosive, the energy they bring still interestingly bold and solid.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hey, don’t blame my bias for knowing a mega-hit when he sees it…. I still think God’s Menu is a great song, and the songs on Go Live / In Life are some of their top-tier material. I don’t know when they started to fall off for me exactly, but I do agree with you that their recent albums have not felt coherent and the ideas often feel somewhat half-formed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You might not be able to pinpoint just when their material started waning, but I have a pretty good idea. Besides the insane success of God’s Menu for an already popular group, I suspect the travesty that was Wolfgang giving them their Kingdom win also put them on the track that noisy = popular = good. Thing is, they still had some of that old flair up until at leeeeeeast Maniac, and it was all mostly downhill from there. Chk Chk Boom gave me hope, Giant yanked it 20 steps back, Hollow left me unsure but optimistic, and this just… confuses me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fans can consume whatever they throw at them now, which is a privilege they didn’t have in Side Effects era. I don’t understand why they still occasionally release melodic songs like Social Path or Hollow whether they’re good or not in Japan but can’t do the same at their homeland. International fans still find ways to get their limited releases in Japan. On the other hand, their Korean releases are either anti-climax or pointlessly angry, to the point where I suspect they’re following spiritual advice from Shamans.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m agnostic about Wolfgang (I don’t really think that’s what won them the show and it was more of a popularity contest than anything; the impact of Kingdom is perhaps a little overestimated here) but I agree that things generally went downhill after Maniac. I also agree that Chk Chk Boom was something of a bright spot. Honestly I’ll diverge from majority opinion in this comment section in the sense that S-Class and Rock both really grew on me, I think they each have an energy that feels really infectious. And I will say Rock is made for the stadium. I know people are saying that about Ceremony too but I REALLY don’t see this. It is a track I cannot see myself coming back to much at all, it’s like S-Class and Rock’s deranged gen alpha baby cousin. And idk, it’s been years of bravado, we just need something new. I really want them to stop touring and take some time to actually reinvent their sound in a way that will be new and exciting. Considering this album comes right on the heels of a really long stretch of touring…… maybe the next one will be better?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I vaguely remember they are scheduled to release another album later this year, but I’m not sure what kind of album it will be. I’m really not a fan of the setlist from the forgettable solo songs on the mixtape at the end of last year. If that’s the case, it might be better not to release it at all. I trust my gut that they won’t change much, since they have been touring and dropping music according to their harsh schedules, which has caused the quality of their songs to decline steadily. The only thing I can think of that might significantly impact their questionable taste in music right now is the members’ enlistment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looking back on it it’s hard to believe that they made the setlist with those forgettable mixtape solo songs, then released another earlier mixtape this year without any new material at all (Korean version of a Japanese release) aside from a series of equally forgettable *duo* songs which replaced the solo songs on the setlist. And so many of their title tracks are going for this “stadium sound,” it’s like their entire output revolves around tour setlists right now, it sucks.
LikeLike
You missed the fact that Hyunjin also values Ceremony! These days, not many non-fans dare to deny his stage charisma, but when it comes to his musical tastes, it’s a completely different tale. I also don’t know what terribly happened to Chan because he’s seemingly lost the ability to select quality EDM stuff. There’s no shortage of vibrant EDM genres, but for the past few years, he has been stuck with blank Drum and Bass! And finally, Changbin should stop rapping aggressively for title tracks, at this point, it’s getting too stale (anyway, Chk Chk Boom is a rare exception).
LikeLiked by 2 people
Changbin’s rapping frustrates me because on paper, he’s a good rapper, but his flow and cadence seem to barely change at all from song to song. It’s like the same rap with different words.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I know right. It seems the same rap part from LALALALA opening
LikeLiked by 1 person
You might have hit the nail on the head there unfortunately.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Re: Hyuniin, I’ll just say Hyunjin is my ult and I honestly used to think that based on his solo output his musical taste level in general was… questionable (“So Good” was So Bad to me). But then he dropped the magnificently understated Quill Pen last December and it kind of blew me away.
His inevitable solo career could go one of several ways, but I would really like to see him go the moody shoegaze crooner route rather than try to be Taemin as so many others have done before. At the very least if he’s going the Taemin route then he needs to hire songwriters LOL
LikeLike
Fans like you are on the verge of extinction to speak up on X. Most STAY have reached a point where they are addicted to sales performance and are no longer sober enough to realize how much their music has degraded. A few unique elements added and obscured to the overall shaky structure totally bring no surprises.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well yes, you won’t find me speaking up on X because I’m not on X, the Nazi website for 13 year olds sending each other death threats over sales performance LOL
LikeLike
its frustrating cause i see what they were trying to do with the hiphip/karma chorus and i REALLY like it in theory but everything moves along too quickly and i feel like the song doesn’t give itself time to breathe. which sucks cause i think there was potential here, but overall with the production choices made it just doesn’t work. whole song also feels a little bit too..quiet and restrained for its purposes
LikeLiked by 2 people
They are very popular but their music doesn’t click with me at all. This one doesn’t either sadly.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I like the instrumental. What annoys me is that I was expecting some sort of grand ceremony but instead they just said the word. Then I realized they meant ceremony in the sense of a victory celebration, which feels very small and prosaic compared to what I expected.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Recently they’ve been all tell instead of show.
LikeLike
Same producer with Miroh and Side Effects btw
LikeLike
The only same producer is 3RACHA. Your point?
LikeLiked by 2 people
i think its because versachoi also helped composing and arranging the song like in MIROH and side effects as well as 3racha so technically they aren’t wrong
LikeLike
Oh, okay.
LikeLike
the festival version is better imo
LikeLike
It always is, unfortunately.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s obviously they’re just trying to show off by putting out multiple versions of a soulless song instead of refining it from the start. Tbh, the festival version of Ceremony is way worse than last year’s Chk Chk Boom because Ceremony lacks that promising beat. I also want to mention that the mashup for this comeback is really a waste. I find Ghost to be the most sabotaging song and wish it had kept the same tempo as the mashup instead of dragging along at a sluggish pace.
The mashup this time has been somewhat well-received, so I hope more Stay support it so they might reconsider recent releases, which are probably just old, poorly made tracks that were came out after they were already established in the industry. To One Label, please don’t push them on tour again next year!
Bonus, the overall look, from album design to outfits, is deteriorating.
LikeLike
im not really a person who listens to kpop expecting masterpieces. Its still pop 🤷♀️. It was a fun song for what it is. I enjoyed it and the rest of the album is nice to listen to as well. I’d give it a 7/10 as someone who ults stray kids. I would’ve liked something more energetic like lalala.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I fear Stray Kids has become the brainrot of bg music
LikeLiked by 1 person
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT’S A FACT NOW!
LikeLike
Can’t wait for their next title track, ALPHA, followed by the dubbed-iconic b-side, “SIGMA WOLVEZ”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gave up on Stray Kids a long time ago…:’)
LikeLike
The album was pretty weak, but I think my favorite song would have to be “BLEEP”.
LikeLike
This song better be the last in a series of dissapointing title tracks since Case 143, because some of the people who were devoted to S-Class here don’t get enough of this one!!!
Hopefully, Christopher will finally draw the line and stop accepting empty praises for their recent crap releases.
LikeLike
Make me a song…a nice one….which I doubt u will…then I’ll criticise the shit out of it…and be super disrespectful….having opinions is okay but disrespectful behaviour is not…..and anyway nick is so biased..he hates almost everything skz gives….agreed this song might not be his taste but what about hollow..ur was so meaningful and nice still he hated it…as if he will make songs like them…
LikeLike
This man has made it his mission to hate on every single new SKZ release I swear-
LikeLike