KickFlip were the first group I wrote about in 2025 and my coverage became more and more positive as the year went on. As often happens in this case, I ended up going back to their older songs and enjoying them much more than I did at first. They’re now a group I actively look forward to, making pre-release Twenty highly-anticipated. And while it doesn’t quite break the dreaded “8.5 or below” ratings curse of 2026 on this blog, it’s a solid addition to their rock-influenced sound.
The guys really started leaning into rock last spring, and September’s double shot of Band-Aid and My First Love Song cemented the genre as a KickFlip hallmark. Twenty sounds more like the former, though not quite as strong. I appreciate its heavy guitar, as K-pop’s rock sounds are often more subdued than I’d like. Twenty bursts right out the gate with a flurry of energy and its pounding drum beat underlines most of the song (until we hit the buzzkill breakdown of its second verse, of course).
Like Band-Aid, Twenty‘s most anthemic moment arrives during its chorus. The melodies are a bit more generic here, but I appreciate how the hook unfolds as several distinct refrains. My hope is that they refine some of the song’s more irksome tendencies for their title track set for release next month.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
It’s great! The melodies are amazing and the energy is great too, but yeah, the second verse breakdown is a downer. But it’s solid and I must appreciate their sonic rebrand cause I find it hard to believe these same guys released songs like Mama Said and Umm Great.
Rating’s the same.
LikeLike
I liked this a lot! Agreed it’s not as strong overall as Band-Aid and My First Love Song, but the chorus is real pretty and caught on with me immediately, they’ve been putting their vocalists to good work. I also really love the sparkling electric guitar that’s become the through line of their last few singles.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The hook took a couple listens to emerge for me. It’s a bit trite, but pleasant enough. The rap segment is very strong and is the clearest variation on the Band-Aid/First Long Song formula (which I’m delighted they’ve stuck with). 8.5
LikeLike
This is a good sound for them and I hope they continue in this direction. Its propulsive energy reminds me a bit of hey!hey! so I thought this would be right up Nick’s alley!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really like this song!
If I were to nitpick, the vocals are too over-produced = the slice and dice machine was set to high. For example, the section starting at 0:34, a bit call and response with one voice interrupted by another voice. Except the two voices aren’t interacting, one starts then is clipped for the second to start which gets clipped to the next one and etc. It sounds like a bad photoshop looks. That vocal production tic actually happens all the way through the whole song, but is readily audible there. Now, for some pop songs, clipped vocals add texture especially in contrast to some legato music. Here, it just sounds sloppy.
That said, I like the song anyway. Rating for me, possibly low to flat 8.
LikeLike
For some inexplicable reason, neither Band Aid nor this song hit me with a lot of excitement. I mean, I like them and I know they are objectively good, but I don’t have the urge to play them.
I prefer their playful sound like Mama Said, Freeze, My First Love Song, along with some of their bsides.
LikeLiked by 1 person