Review

Song Review: ALPHA DRIVE ONE – OMG!

Amidst the back-and-forth between ZEROBASEONE and AND2BLE, it can be easy to forget that there’s a new reigning champ in Boys Planet world. ALPHA DRIVE ONE made their debut earlier this year with a non-starter of a dance/hip-hop track, though as predicted the album sold well over a million copies. Another album is scheduled for later in the summer, kicked off by the release of new single OMG!.

Despite watching (and writing about) Boys II Planet, I feel no connection to this group. It’s up their music to win me over, and songs like OMG are not going to do that. This track is a total bore, reheating a tired trap sound and giving the guys a series of barely-there hooks that feel like they were written in about five minutes. It’s another hip-hop banger this time, but the energy is decidedly low. In a world of obnoxious, over-the-top CORTISes (CORTI?), this kind of languid mid-tempo just sounds a bit lazy.

Rather than come across as offensively bad (which would have been interesting, at least), OMG makes me feel absolutely nothing. As vibes go, it’s absolutely serviceable. If they had positioned this as a late-album filler track, I wouldn’t have bat an eye. But as your first comeback single after a (commercially) successful debut, OMG feels inadequate and unexciting. I still don’t know what this group’s sonic identity is meant to be, and this does nothing to answer that question.

Hooks 6
 Production 6
 Longevity 7
 Bias 6
 RATING 6.25

Grade: D

16 thoughts on “Song Review: ALPHA DRIVE ONE – OMG!

  1. And I thought we left this sound in 2020. I guess not.

    6.5 (7, 6, 7, 6) for me, and atp, we’re getting another enemies of the blog 😭

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    • They don’t even have a song that breaks the 7s, at least Cortis has an 8.75 in their record and also Nick has said the songs in their debut album has grown on him

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  2. All the hype from Boys Planet 2 and we end up with this shit…

    Another group with wasted potential because their agency keeps leaving the trash music for the

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    • I guess it’s tolerable though, I gave it another listen and didn’t hate it as much

      7(7,7,7,7)

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  3. I don’t mind this! At least over time I suspect it won’t become as insufferable as Freak Alarm. It feels like a pretty typical throwaway summer single.

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  4. The song title reminds me of “OMG!” by NewJeans (come back, we miss you!). Honestly, I wasn’t really a fan of AD1’s debut and only listened because I thought ZEROBASEONE was going to disband (“Formula” literally hurts my ears). But I’m just going to give them another shot because you never know, Nick’s reviews have shown me to never judge a book by its cover, unless it uses sing-talk and a lot of autotune. :). Let’s see how this sounds.

    Analysis: BRO, NICK YOU”RE RIGHT! THIS SOUNDS LIKE A RIP-OFF OF “GO” BY CORTIS but more melodic. Especially the chorus. I don’t hate it as much as I do “Formula,” but the autotune is so distracting, and the “OH MY GOD” sprinkled throughout the song is really annoying. This track stays in one realm and never really leaves, except for a few moments.
    I can’t believe most of the industry right now is trying to copy Cortis, especially since Cortis also copied American artists—so basically, they are copying a copy. Can they please just give me a song like “Beautiful by Wanna One” and make them a more royal/medieval version of ZB1. Also, find a proper mixer and masterer!? Because this autotune ain’t pretty.
    Final Rating: low 7 (might get lower over time, but I’m feeling generous)

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    • it doesn’t help that AND2BLE and ALPHA DRIVE ONE released disappointing to mid songs because some industry executives will go and take notes saying we need to bring back pandemic trap. I will literally end kpop if that happens to be a new 2027 trend.

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  5. For making the pivot to this group being the face of their boy groups, the production team really seems to just not care what their output looks like.

    Again, 1.1x speed helps. It actually makes it fine! The other news is this is not as repulsive as Freak Alarm, this is just an okay B-Side. You can listen to this and not want to coil within yourself, which is an improvement! Any group today could have this sneaked on their album though.

    The failure in this is that I do not think I can listen to this at the speed it’s meant to be played. But at that handy 1.1, it’s just an overall better time! WHY CAN’T COMPANIES ADD A BIT MORE KICK TO THEIR TEMPO THESE DAYS-

    7 (7,7,7,7) Look. I don’t hate the sounds that came out of SMTM and Cafe Era 2017-19 as much as those years also associate with so many things I’d rather forget. That stuff was formative in my listening. This stuff is also not title track material, especially in comparison to their contemporaries.

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      • I think it’s mainly in those synths combined with the trap beat, it just reminds me of it especially when the song also revolves around a singe phrase. i wouldn’t say it’s a 1:1 copy, it sounds a bit smoother but at the same time it wouldn’t surprise me if GO! was part of the inspiration.

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  6. It sounds like cortis but with more singing. I can see the appeal of this track, it works while you’re listening to it and the chorus is easy to sing along to. And that’s in spite of how “been there done that” it feels. The only segment of this song I like is the pre chorus. The textures of the synthesis go well with the members tones. I’d let OMG play if it came on, but I don’t see myself seeking it out

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