ARTMS’s trio of Odd Eye Circle members are set to release new singles one by one and first up is Kim Lip. She asks us the very pertinent question: “Can you entertain?” Almost every idol or group can release their version of a trend or a trope, but actual entertainment involves more than simply tracing established lines. Fortunately, Kim Lip has chosen excellent lines to trace and brings enough star power to make them her own.
The lines in question involve 80s R&B, pioneered by artists like my all-time fave Janet Jackson. In K-pop terms, a closer reference could be Wonder Girls’ iconic Reboot album. Can You Entertain would fit snugly on that project, though it probably wouldn’t be a standout (an extremely high bar, admittedly). The track is driven by percolating percussion and a squelchy bass loop that injects an instant sense of funk. Kim Lip effortlessly flits through this arrangement, adding plenty of verve to each moment.
Can You Entertain‘s chorus is a bit simple for my taste, offering a rhythmic highlight rather than a melodic one. However, it matches with this style of song and keeps momentum chugging along. I’ve always thought that late-80s new jack swing and freestyle are perfect genres for K-pop to tackle, so I’d love to hear more artists pick up the baton and do even more dramatic things with the sound.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I haven’t listened to all of Wonder Girls and somehow Reboot was one that I hadn’t had a chance to hear yet, which is a travesty because I’m enjoying it a lot after seeing it referenced in this post. Turns out you can have a playlist of a few thousand personally selected kpop songs but still have so many amazing albums you’ve never heard.
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Reboot is probably my favorite K-pop girl group album of all-time, so it’s kind of hallowed ground. I’m excited for you to hear it!!
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The Wonder Girls announcing that they’d spent a year learning instruments and were coming back as a band, then releasing solo teasers of them playing guitar/drums/piano/bass, then dropping a masterpiece single and album (I Feel You and Reboot), it was an exhilarating moment in Kpop.
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It picks up so much momentum at Loved and keeps it the whole time. I’ll def be listening to the album many times again.
I can see why you view it so highly, it has so many standard Bias list checkboxes checked off: True melodic vocals, ample time to breathe, old school R&B done right, propulsive energy maintained throughout the songs, lots of well integrated synths, unique instrumentals. It’s like they were peeking at your music wish list when they made this.
Album is def high 9s on first listen.
Oh right, the Kim Lip song. You are spot on with it fitting right in with that album. I also agree it is a bit more one note than those releases, vocally. Also lacks the levels Reboot tracks have. HOWEVER, I’ll rate this on its own, as comparing it to Reboot right after listening to that is simply not fair. I think it’s a 8,9,8,9 = 8.75 which I noticed afterward is the same thing you gave, so ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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I love the Reboot shoutout, that album is definitely a K-pop highlight and I don’t think it’ll ever be topped unless these companies stand on business and give our groups solid albums with a clear concept and sound. Even though it dropped at a time when I didn’t know much about its references and inspirations, the Reboot album was definitely a 10/10 at first listen in 2015.
I’m guessing another album that’s also great on that same lane is Yukika’s “Soul Lady.” However, I would say the Wonder Girls’ album is much more flirty and delves into some more rap elements. Meanwhile, the Yukika album plays more with lo-fi vibes and a nostalgic feeling. But I find it so cool that these two albums are often regarded as some of K-pop’s best, even after so many years.
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I love the Reboot shoutout, that album is definitely a K-pop highlight and I don’t think it’ll ever be topped unless these companies stand on business and give our groups solid albums with a clear concept and sound. Even though it dropped at a time when I didn’t know much about its references and inspirations, the Reboot album was definitely a 10/10 at first listen in 2015.
I’m guessing another album that’s also great on that same lane is Yukika’s “Soul Lady.” Though I would say the Wonder Girls’ album is much more flirty and delves into some more rap elements. Meanwhile, the Yukika album plays more with lo-fi vibes and a nostalgic feeling. But I find it so cool that these two albums are often regarded as some of K-pop’s best even after so many years.
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I am hearing Jody Watley more than Janet. Back when in the late 80’s, Jody was on high rotation on MTV and NYC-area radio, once an hour.
As for the New Jack Swing in Kpop, I was all for it! … … until a few weeks ago when I found this youtuber who does genre compilations, and this one just broke me. By the nth song, I just can’t anymore. “The Kpop genre that just won’t die”.
https://youtu.be/gm93g1lsQZI
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The Watley comparison is spot on! I always found her music to be more lightweight than Janet’s hard-hitting beats, which also applies to this song.
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Thanks for sharing this video. So cool to see all the New Jack Swing-inspired songs laid out one after another. Since it was a genre present at the start of Kpop, it feels more foundational than trendy, so I don’t mind songwriters coming back to it again and again.
Plus so many of the songs featured are favorites of mine (LOONA’s I’ll be there, SHINee’s 1 of 1, New Jeans’ Supernatural, VeriVery’s entire debut year). If it’s working, it’s working.
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Truth be told, the one that truly broke me was the same youtuber’s “Romanian Popcorn” sampling. That I had no idea that sound had a name, and that I owned all but like three on her list and never connected the sound together. I just called them all the “Orange Caramel” sound. So I downloaded the missing ones, and played them all in the car one afternoon ride home. Well that just about killed darling daughter because stringing all the squinky dinky beats together for 30 minutes straight was about 27 minutes too long.
https://youtu.be/CIqVR4ksZ7g
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WOW insane compilation video!! The 2014, 2015, 2016 took me back to when I was first starting to like K-pop in highschool. I had no idea these cute-sounding songs with a pure concept by GFRIEND and Apink were standing on the New Jack Swing basis. Listening to those tracks years after, I can feel it, but I couldn’t really tell back then (maybe I didn’t have enough music knowledge?)
Anyways, thanks you ate that
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The LOONA members have really been clicking with me this year (ARTMS, Yves, Chuu) and I wasn’t expecting Kim Limp to also drop a banger just like that. I’m all in with this style of retro-sounding R&B revival, it just fits K-pop so well, like Nick says.
I can hear the Janet Jackson influence, but if I were to pinpoint a more current artist doing something similar, I’d say Doja Cat and her album “Vie” comes to mind. This Kim Lip song might also work fine on Sabrina Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend,” a couple of its tracks have this 80’s feel to it (Listen to House Tour guys, that song is a banger).
Anyways, glad to have found this song!
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I like it. Interesting how Heejin also got a (way more subdued) Janet type of beat for her solo too. Looking forward to seeing what Jinsoul and Choerry’s songs will end up like. As much as I like these nostalgia trips I’m hoping for something less retro.
Will you be reviewing Yves’ Ex Machina?
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Probably not. I know it has a visual, even though it’s not called a “music video,” but the song just doesn’t interest me enough to write about.
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