After breaking into the big leagues last year, QWER have been a reliable fixture on the Korean charts. Korea loves a rock band with a quirky, indie sound and QWER fill a void. As far as chart success is concerned, they feel like the female DAY6 at the moment. In addition to their off-kilter material, the group is more than capable of rattling off a straightforward ballad. Special single Blue Whale (흰수염고래) has all the hallmarks of another hit — probably because it’s been one before. The song is a cover of the 2011 original by famous rock band YB.
While I don’t have a ton of space for this style of track in my personal music library, I appreciate the kind of rock ballad that takes its time to build toward emotional peaks. Blue Whale may not reinvent any wheels, but it traces its way through the tracks of its influence in a studied, effective way. Blue Whale is one long exercise in build, starting hushed and finishing with more gusto. There’s not one moment of huge climax, but the song’s snowballing effect keeps listeners engaged and emphasizes its message of encouragement. We can all use a song like this in our lives from time to time, and it’s lovely to hear QWER honor one of K-pop’s most legendary rock acts.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I am being blessed this week with key changes. While the rest of the world goes to hell, thank you key change to lift my spirits up a step.
This thing is probably going to be a bigger hit in Korea than most of the rest of the songs we review here. QWER’s previous releases were on the charts forever in Korea. Now they come back with a cover of old nostalgia ballad. And its a good choice too. Bright sweet nostalgia. The vocal is a bit strained and breathy, but I don’t know if anyone can hear that over their own singing along.
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This actively reminds me of 60 seconds by Kim Sun Kyu, but in a more claustrophobic way. The vocals are gorgeous but I feel like the vocal tone is not for me!
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Hi Nick! I discovered something very subtle yet interesting. Before Kis-My-Ft2 dropped on streaming platforms, the original MV of Gravity had a very strong fadeout effect. Now, the song has a proper ending and it sounds so much better!
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Did they upload a new version, because the one I see is still the one with a slight fade-out? I have the full video available from DVD so I never really watch the YouTube one anyway, but I’d sure love for the full version to be available for others! The full version runs 4:28.
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Apple Music’s version of Gravity runs at about 4:12 and has a proper ending (KMF2, let’s get down!) with no fadeout but a subtle build ↗️ towards the end of the song. I didn’t know that you have a DVD version of it! I wonder where you got it and how does it sound like LOL! 😅
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Ah, I think I misunderstood your original comment. The YouTube MV is still the short version with a fadeout, while the audio upload is the full version (thank goodness).
It’s confusing for me because I’ve only ever played the full version so it’s hard to put myself in the place of someone who had to make do with that fadeout version until it made its way onto streaming. A fadeout does not work on this song imo!
Before Johnnys/Starto started uploading content to YouTube/streaming services, you had to buy the CD single or album to get the music and full versions of MVs. That’s how I had the MV originally. Then, I bought their most recent greatest hits album in 2021 that has every single full MV in Blu-ray quality. It was definitely worth it!
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Wow, that must have been such an iconic purchase! I am assuming that Johnnys/Starto are their in-house producers and buying their CDs must have been a special moment for you LMAO! Thanks for supporting Kis-Ny-Ft2!
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these past few weeks i have seriously fallen in love with this group and their sound, TBH is a certified banger and lee siyeon’s vocals are wonderful
that said, this is a soothing rock ballad i can listen to from time to time but not one of their best songs
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If you squint, it sounds a bit like “Spring has come by chance”
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