In 2020, AAA’s SKY-HI formed his company BMSG and since then he’s debuted a constant surge of new acts. The vast majority of this music has not been for me, as it often favors the type of clanging, shout-heavy hip-hop that I dislike in K-pop as well. Still, I appreciate his ambition and most of these acts have quickly found great success in Japan.
Despite my misgivings, upcoming group STARGLOW’s name intrigued me and I’m happy that I checked out their pre-debut single Moonchaser. From what I can tell, this is set to be a more vocal-heavy dance act and the surging EDM of this track feels like a great template for them. Moonchaser is refreshingly old school, from its long runtime (almost four minutes!) to its straightforward, boppy dance beat. Even better, the guys seem to be excellent performers. There’s real presence in both their vocals and rap, compelling through their sheer polish.
If I have any quibble about Moonchaser, it’s that the song is quite generic in its execution. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing since I love the specific approach the song takes, but a slightly more idiosyncratic twist could have easily pushed this into the “9s.” Even so, Moonchaser never puts a foot wrong and its propulsive power keeps me engaged. I’m really excited to see where these guys go next because this is a very promising sneak peek.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Up to the 1:30 mark, it was a fairly conventional song. I mean, I do have three other songs called “Fly (me) to the moon” on my ipods, including the nice one from ONF from back when on their “Complete” album. The “oh yeah oh yeah”‘s a la BTS Boy WIth Luv. I was skeptical.
But then for the second verse, they do a lengthy rap verse with back and forths between the players. AND then it keeps going, with more goodies. the song lasts for a full 4:30, which is forever, like three times the typical song these days.
So I am going to say YES. Rating seems about right for mow, mid to high 8’s, we will see how it ages.
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I’ve been absolutely addicted to this track since it dropped! BMSG hasn’t been for me either (even as a long time Jpop only fan) but STARGLOW has a lot of promise. Fingers crossed they keep making solid songs like this!
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