Red Velvet’s group work may be quite infrequent at this stage in their career, but a full album from member Irene should tide some fans over. She made her solo debut in 2024 and has also been active in a sub-unit with fellow member Seulgi, but a full project like this affords extra opportunity to develop her own sound. That sound seems largely tied to the dancefloor, though I wish title track Biggest Fan remembered that Irene is a singer as well.
You all know how I feel about this “talking over a club beat” epidemic in K-pop. I love upbeat material, but have become so frustrated that these dance beats have somehow taken the place of melody. To me, melody is the single best predictor of longevity. It stands the test of time. And with regards to melody, Biggest Fan is a pretty big offender. Very little (if any?) of the song is actually sung. Instead, Irene skirts through the brisk club beat with various cadences of talk. From verse to chorus, Biggest Fan hinges on attempts to create catchy catchphrases. Unfortunately, I’m not in the catchphrase business. Otherwise, I’d be reviewing novelty t-shirts instead of music.
I’m a big fan of Biggest Fan‘s production and wish it had an actual song to support. The beat is bright and buoyant and carries its propulsion through its entire runtime. It’s a nice mix of disco, electro and more modern dance sounds. But at the end of the day, production is rarely what I remember about a song, and Biggest Fan‘s irritating sing-talk hooks are unlikely to grow in the way that Hearts2Hearts’ similarly talky RUDE did. A requesite “La La La” conclusion doesn’t add much to the recipe.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
Grade: C
This song makes me feel like it is one of hearts2hearts rejects
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ENOUGH WITH THE “LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT YOU” LYRICS GOD DAMN.
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“Unfortunately, I’m not in the catchphrase business. Otherwise, I’d be reviewing novelty t-shirts instead of music.“
LOL
This song sucks!
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This song fell flat for me and the album too that I feel like maybe I am the problem . I was a big fan of her debut project and it seemed to offer me more of what she can do than this project , especially that its a full album. I am probably going to listen to her debut album and then this album , maybe it will grow on . There were some songs that I think I enjoyed but are not memorable .
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I feel the same. Her debut is definitely stronger than this. I did enjoy the album, it’s not groundbreaking, but it has some sweet moments, imo.
Honestly, I think what I enjoy the most is her voice. I’ve always really liked her tone, so it’s nice to hear it in a full song when she’s actually singing.
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“Unfortunately, I’m not in the catchphrase business. Otherwise, I’d be reviewing novelty t-shirts instead of music.”
LOL
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Help I don’t understand😭
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As an RV stan, this was definitely not it. I know Irene is not the strongest vocalist in the group, but she can sing, why would they give her these “talking over a beat” tracks? I was hoping for a more melody-driven chorus when I heard the “I’m your biggest fan” line in the teasers, it sounded so catchy, but I guess this is what we’re stuck with.
I will say, I did enjoy the “looking at me, looking at you” part more than most people seem to. I feel like it would’ve worked better as a post-chorus for a stronger melody.
The album is pretty good, imo, there’s definitely better title track material there than this, and she seems to have her sound figured out.
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I’m a luvie, so let’s say that I AM biased. I liked that song but I agree. I honestly wish it was longer with a third chorus bombing in your face.
Still I’ll continue listening to it as I am VERY biased and everything RV gives me I’ll take
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this whole album feels pretty derivative, like they just gave her whatever they had on hand. i remember like a flower being pretty consistent all the way through so that’s a bummer. the most memorable song is probably the trap imogen heap SPIT IT OUT, but even then i’m probably not coming back to it. biggest fan was absolutely a h2h reject
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i’ve felt this way about a lot of older sm idols recent albums (yunho, boa, a little longer back minho as well). the songs are faceless and feel like they were just taken from a huge collection of drafts they had laying around.
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