Kep1er has bucked the survival series odds and remained as a (less than full) group even after their initial contract ended. This seems to be the new norm, as a smaller version of ZEROBASEONE will also be promoting later this spring. Since reformatting as six, Kep1er’s music has run the gamut in sound and quality. I thought last year’s Bubble Gum was fun, but struggle to find anything worth listening to in new single Killa (Face The Other Me).
There are a few approaches that need to take a lengthy break from K-pop. Vocal fry is near the top of that list, and when it’s coupled with a chorus as annoying as Killa‘s we’re in real trouble. This is one of those irritating, catchphrasey tracks that’s essentially a bunch of empty boasts over derivative production. I’ve never loved this style of song, but now that it’s become its own predictable template new iterations barely even register.
Honestly, I struggle to find points to recommend here. Killa‘s melodic centerpiece (its pre-chorus) sounds nice but isn’t memorable enough to stick. Meanwhile, the rapped verses adhere to dull, simplistic phrasing and the “I’m a killllaaaaa” hook (complete with “chicka boom” and “brrrrr!” exclamations) puts the final nail in the coffin. It’s meant to be a “killing point,” but serves as an immediate signal to turn the song off.
| Hooks | 5 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 6 |
| Bias | 6 |
| RATING | 6 |
Grade: D-
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Production’s cool, the song isn’t and now I’m just gonna stream SHINee and yearn for the kpop perfection this industry once had although I didn’t become a kpop stan until 2018
6.5 (6, 8, 6, 6) for me.
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Well those elements putting the nail coffin kills the track so it’s indeed a killing point in that sense?
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True!
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It took me some time to accept the use of vocal fry with aespa, but Kep1er pushed me far beyond my limit here. It’s a shame cuz the song is decent apart from that and the other irritating gimmicks you mentioned, for a “bad girl” concept anyway. The outro was really interesting.
Also, they chose the WORST song off the EP. The others are at least a 7.5 across the board. KILLA is like a 5 if I’m being kind.
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ikr? I like the rest of the EP a lot, idk why they chose this one T-T I only like the outro of the song, but it’s about to get interesting and it’s over.
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Also, it’s depressing how we managed to get 16 songs having rated in the 6s in a span of 3 months given last year, it didn’t take until August (if we leave aside songs that rose/fell) to get this much. And throughout 2025, there were 7 songs that got a 6/D- and it’s almost April and we managed to get 6 songs with this rating. I fear we’re truly in a dark phase of kpop 🥴
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Just be happy we’re not getting a fuck ton of songs below a 5 like last year…
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Maybe but personally, I’d take songs rated 5 and below over songs rated 6 any time, cause I feel like there’s usually something so trainwreck-like, or just borderline annoying and awful about those songs, that it’s lowkey captivating (like Picasso by EPEX, I lowkey love it for it being such a trainwreck), and I feel like songs rated in 6s are just so boring, so devoid of anything new, it doesn’t try to be good, but also not bad (like NouerA’s recent song being just your average boy group slop). And I feel like this current scenario in kpop is much worse than September-November from last year lmao
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Agree. Entertainingly bad songs are better than mid songs.
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im not the biggest fan of this release either, but i am a really big fan of the b-side “Mic Check” from this comeback’s EP. im bad at articulating why i like things but that song is just soooo good, its so sleek and satisfying.
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Production is fine, but there’s nothing that stands out. A huge downgrade from Bubble Gum, and that’s saying something given it was rated like an 8-8.25.
7(6,8,7,7) for me
Give me Killa from Mirae instead pls
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they were doing great with Yum and Bubble Gum last year… but this is just so incredibly outdated. this was released 7 years too late.
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I miss the days when Kep1er was a nine-member group. Galileo, Shooting Star & Giddy (my top three songs in that order from 1 to 3) are still on repeat for me. This song is just not it.
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agree! my top three are galileo, up, and shooting star, and b sides like daisy and lion tamer. i definitely prefer them with that bright, full sound
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I thought we left this type of songs in like 2021… I’m scared cause it seems like this type of “talking and yelling over a beat” tracks seem to be making a comeback and I’m not too thrilled about it…
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well at least personally. This is a first no skip EP from Kep1er for me. Felt they really went all out and kept a very cohesive tracklist sound. 10/10 for me on each song
admittedly people are going to be divided on this as they are too used to the low energy groove songs of late 2025 and 2026
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After some reflection, I think I enjoyed this EP because I’ve been having Babymonster and Ateez on repeat a lot lately, a refreshing change in flavor before I got back to my endlessly relatable R&B Kpop playlist
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Liking this comment and your own reply as important counter commentary to everyone else here.
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what happened… this is a new low for kepler yikes. The concept doesnt really suit the group. Bubble Gum/YUM were very good.
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so, was shooting star just a red herring then..
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I can’t argue with your review because I agree, even though I love Kep1er. “KILLA” becomes exhausting, but I think the song could grow on me as quickly as I hated it on the first listen. The outro, or dance break, is my favorite part, but it ends too soon to be a definite highlight or build to a final climax.
Otherwise, I quite liked the EP. I’m obsessed with “I am Kep1“—I don’t know how many more meanings people will find for Kep1, but I’m still here to discover them. I also really like “Addicted 2 Yo,” and it has some simply brilliant parts. “Lowkey” is a typical Kep1er R&B ballad, and it doesn’t particularly stand out, but it’s a safe and enjoyable listen.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/LRwrpMO5J_w?si=kYni6Fc5XgYkimn9
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I expected much worse reading the review and the comments before listening to the song. Maybe I didn’t/don’t listen to as much of this style of music as everyone else here? I personally don’t remember vocal fry immediately in any other songs I’ve listened to more than a couple times. There’s Aespa and then Racer by Itzy.
I won’t lie that Galileo, Shooting Star, or Back to the City are more my preferred Kepler, but it’s interesting to hear them on this style of track. I think the production does a lot of really fun things. I also like the energy from Kepler in their raps.
Guys, I just like this song. Rating: 8,9,7,8 = 8
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theres a phenomenon in the mediasphere called “genre inbreeding” where creators only engage with media within their genre or medium and as a result their creations end up being self referential and being a worse creation of everything else within that medium, which leads to the next generation of creators being influenced by those works and continuing the incestuous cycle of slop, same thing is going on with AI and LLMs training off other AI generated works
this song is pretty much a result of a larger scale of genre incest, using every trope found in the hip hop book to form a stale creation that only reinforces the cycle
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not bad and i like the prod, but it’s definitely missing something compared to their older titles
i like their previous style better musically wise, but i guess the concept does kinda fit them
love the bsides tho! i’m having a harder time with i am kep1, but the other 3 are great imo
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