Kiss Of Life have been teasing a comeback for some time now, no doubt hoping to recapture the buzz of their early work before a large chunk of the K-pop fandom turned on them. With new single Who Is She, they’re smart to return to some of the 2000s sounds that first brought them to prominence.
This could easily be a 2020s-updated Pussycat Dolls song and that’s a big compliment coming from me. Who Is She is not nearly as catchy as a song like this should be, but I enjoy its strutting beat and focus on vocal melody during many portions of the track. There’s a fun, loose energy to the performance that fits the group well and should be their focus going forward.
With that said, Who Is She‘s chorus feels unnecessarily underwhelming. The blasé nature of this centerpiece ultimately places the track closer to Tate McRae than Pussycat Dolls and makes it come across as nostalgia-bait rather than a proper reinvention of older sounds. I hear this a lot from modern pop music producers who haven’t yet realized that a great melody is the most timeless ingredient you can add to a song. Who Is She succeeds in spite of this because its references are so great, but the song could have broken past pastiche to become something even greater.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
Grade: B-
the post-chorus completely kills the momentum for me.
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The song’s fine, but it could be longer. Also, what are your thoughts on the b-side?
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I prefer it to the title track, honestly!
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will you do a buried treasure or will it just be a notable b-side
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it’s very good actually, though I think Midas Touch is the better 2000s-inspired track (for now?)
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Agree with the review. The song isn’t bad but it always feels like there is something bigger and catchier beneath the surface. The MV is nice. So many K-pop songs these days feel like they are holding back. I wonder why they just don’t go for it. Knock us out of the park please.
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I need to secretly infiltrate K-pop agencies and somehow remove the word “restraint” from their vocabulary…
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Tate McRae would have paired it with hot holy shit choreo on fyre.
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midas touch still remains supreme.
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surprisingly pretty good, their best track since midas touch.
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This is a nice return to form, thankfully. Looking forward to the next one
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I’ve been trying to figure out what the chorus’s melody reminds me of for the last 24 hours. I think? that it matches the second line in NingNing’s “Bored!”
There’s probably something else but the song is good at moving you along so I can’t hear the next line of the other song in my head because I just keep hearing this song.
Idk, anyone else hear it?
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Of course, there’s also “My Humps”
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I really enjoyed the song, the first verse just pulled me into it. They are one of the best among their peers right now, hope they can hop back just fine with this track.
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Weak version of Midas Touch, reminds me of the concept of Britney’s Circus and Blackout, but still can be ranked 3rd of their best titles behind Midas Touch and Sticky, by far they are the best singer-dancer of 5th gen gg, i hope more ppl can find out how amazing they are
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their talent is amazing, but they did a lot of racist things sadly
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