It’s been over a year since we last heard from Sunmi, and even longer since she’s released anything more than a digital single. An album is reportedly in the works, but before that we have another standalone song with Blue!, which continues the softer sound of last year’s Balloon In Love.
K-pop’s in this weird spot right now where many idol groups and soloists are making their version of not-so-great indie rock. I guess it’s their answer to global trends happening at the moment, with genres like country and faux worship rock making a return to the mainstream. Like any musical style, a great song will be great regardless of the trappings it’s cased within, but too often the industry seems to be borrowing tone and texture and draping it over underdeveloped melodies.
Blue! has a jauntier pace than Sunmi’s recent work and is a co-write with singer-songwriter Lee Dohee, making this one of the few completely female-driven K-pop title tracks I can remember. That’s very cool. And unlike many of her peers, this style fits Sunmi’s breathy tone and aloof presence quite well. She adds a layer of intrigue that makes Blue! engaging even in its softer moments. Hearing the chorus by itself via teasers, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the hooks. However, it works much better within the context of the full song. This still isn’t anywhere near Sunmi’s best, but it’s a nice teaser for what’s to come next.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Pleasant.
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Unfortunately, the feeling is that Sunmi gradually lost 100% of the momentum she achieved back in the days of Gashina / Heroine / Siren, and nowadays she’s just “another solo female comeback” amongst many others. None of her title tracks of the last few years left any kind of mark or at least of memory, and Blue! simply follows this path.
Too bad, actually, because she deserves at least to make her aura shine instead of simply “singing things” that goes nowhere.
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Although it did build momentum for her I have a feeling she just got tired of doing that particular pop sound, especially since she was doing it for 5 years straight basically. How well she pivoted to a more indie type of sound is subject to opinion I guess, but I think the real momentum killer is how infrequently she releases music and albums now compared to the days of You Can’t Sit With Us etc.
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I really liked Tail and Heart Burn and even Balloon in Love.
This one is kind of weird because it’s almost like she’s out of time with the instrumentals in the chorus? I think it’s because the melody does something weird (is it diminishes? It gets a little flatter than you expect on the second line of the chorus)
Idk, this seems like a worse version of Balloon. It’s better than that other song she put out this year. But she has a voice like Irene’s– harsh but compelling. I’ll listen to anything she puts out, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be a good song.
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im kinda shocked u havent done a top 10 for sunmi yet
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