Subsidiaries are something we think of with corporations like HYBE and YG, but JYP Entertainment has slowly been branching out in this way as well. Boy group ALL(H)OURS are technically under their extended roster and soon there will also be girl group DDDD 25, formed through the series The Entertainer. Before that, the group’s Youngbin has made her solo debut with Freak Show.
There’s a lot to like about this song. The beat is surprisingly robust, forgoing tinny percussion for an arrangement that feels fuller and more rounded. This is in no doubt thanks to agency head JY Park, who co-wrote and produced the track. He has a longstanding love for classic funk, R&B and disco. Each of those genres can be heard here and Youngbin makes a great conduit for the sounds. Her vocals are strong and showy, recalling the type of singing that used to be K-pop’s standard as recent as a decade ago.
The song itself is a bit repetitive, but in a fun way that gets under your skin. Like so many recent K-pop title tracks, it needs one or two more ideas to stretch itself past the two-and-a-half minute mark. Right now, it feels like only part of a better song. Thankfully, the part that we get is a great time. It earns bonus points for being well-timed for the Halloween season as well!
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This came out yesterday. Why didn’t you review it then?
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Why does it matter? I’m sure the intention of this comment wasn’t meant to be taken negatively, but I do have other things going on in my life besides this blog. Sometimes I’m too busy to write multiple reviews every day. There were already three yesterday. I didn’t have time for a fourth. In fact, I barely had time for those three!
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I’m sorry, it’s your blog. I understand if you didn’t want to put it out yesterday. No hard feelings.
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Props for a respectful response to a misunderstanding.
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No problem. It’s honestly never a case of whether I “want” to put something out or not. It’s just more of a time issue. I write my reviews before going to work each morning and the prep needed for my job varies quite a bit depending on the day so there are some times I just need to prioritize the “biggest” releases and get to the smaller ones later (or never). Yesterday was especially crazy because I also had to bring my car into the shop so I was more rushed than usual.
I’m sure nobody really wants to hear the unexciting minutiae of my day (haha) but please know that if I don’t get to something on my usual schedule it’s usually because life is life-ing.
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The man actually has a real day job. A day later is fine. (… honestly I don’t know how he does so many morning-of reviews, he must wake up at 5am in his time zone to get them in.)
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I just apologized to Nick.
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Yes. Yassssssss. Full throated singing on a proper soloist song, funky music. Sass in spades, both in sound and vision. A few more contemporary production touches such as the Billie Eilish “Bad Guy” bass poking out here and there. This song could have been released almost anytime in the past 40 years, and that is a good thing.
This song is so JYP. I bet there will be a duet on a year end music show, special “surprise” guest appearance.
I was thinking about g-idle this morning, and how kooky but sassy their songs are. Too kooky, almost in a punk dare us. That Wife song, the wigs popped into my head. If idle wanted to be more mainstream but still feel idle, it might be like this one today.
Bold of JYP to include the consonant F so prominently in the song. fuh fuh fuh fuh Freak fuh fuh Freak To the freak show. (A consonant not in the Korean language which gets approximated by a “hw” sound as in “hwaiting!”) Singing and performing that hook, fuh fuh fuh fuh freak is such a gift to the artist. The backup dancers can do the official dance routine, and the lead singer can go and vamp around the stage in an extended outro. Also, there are a lot of dance and posing moves one can improvise to a line that goes fuh fuh fuh fuh freak fuh fuh freak to the freak show.
Rating, I would say for me right now mid to high 8’s.
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Korean often uses p for f as well. That’s why on survival shows you’ll always hear them saying performance as peopomeonseu (퍼포먼스).
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Funny I was also wondering why Nick didn’t want to review this yesterday, but just goes to show how insanely on top of reviews we are accustomed to Nick being. Thanks for your hard work!
As far as the song goes, I’m always a sucker for JYP groups, with NEXZ, SKZ, and ALL(H)OURS being the only ones I’m not super crazy about. This is a strong start for Youngbin and I absolutely love the personality and percussion in it.
I’m at an 8,9,9,9 = 8.75
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Welp now I’m going to have to go back and watch The Entertainer.
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is it just me or do some parts of the mv seem ai generated?
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unfortunately it has now got to a point where ai gen and cheap(er) cgi rally aren’t particularly distinguishable…..
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*really
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