With each new release, I’ve appreciated MEOVV’s music more and more. They’ve yet to deliver a song that’s completely captured me, but they have a sound that feels much needed in K-pop right now. Even with this goodwill, as soon as I spot a song title like “DDI RO RI” my mind goes to the worst sort of catch-phrasey sing-talk pop imaginable. I don’t require deep lyrics in my pop songs, but I’m pretty sick of the onomatopoeias.
Adding to the potential of bad gimmicks, DDI RO RI samples Bach’s Toccata and Fugue — often associated with Dracula. I love a good classical music nod in K-pop, but these samples have tended to frame lame attempts at hip-hop posturing lately. And as expected, that’s the case here. MEOVV are staking their claim as badasses… just like so many of their peers. And, they’ve done it in an incredibly predictable way, placed over an inert trap beat with barely-there melodies shaved of all their dynamics. The classical flourishes are cool, but used in a ham-fisted way that feels separate from the song rather than seamlessly driving it forward.
I wish more of DDI RO RI sounded like its propulsive pre-chorus. We get a taste of MEOVV’s strong vocals here and seem to be building toward a showstopping chorus. Instead, DDI RO RI plummets into a repetitive talky hook that elicits no sparks. I continue to marvel at just how difficult it seems for K-pop songwriters to craft an engaging chorus. It’s like they’re actively trying not to stretch a song in any one direction, happy to let it lay dead on the ground instead.
| Hooks | 6 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 6.75 |
Grade: D+
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I’ve been hooked to their discography lately but yeesh, this song is a hard pass.
7 (7, 7, 7, 7) for me
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I be on the moon shit moon shit moon shit.
That’s how I hear it.
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this pissed me off so bad, Teddy needs to stop playing around in that damn studio
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I liked this mainly the start 39 seconds and end 40 seconds.
As for not liking it, 6.75 is harsh. You gave Le sserafim Boompala a 7. That song is the worst song I heard of the big girl groups this year. It’s hard to take your rating as serious. For me this is a 7 to a 7.5 due to the pre-chorus and ending of the song. The overall album was not bad.
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Yeah, this song and its use of the sampling was way better than Boompala’s macarena.
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I was SOO looking forward to this EP. MEOVV have been working on this since last year. The highlight medley sounded promising and their discography has been getting better. But this album is so mired with controversy which is really bad for a group that 1) barely releases music 2) has no major glaring controversies despite being a TBL/YG adjacent group.
Dr. Luke worked on 2 tracks. They didn’t put credits in the highlight medley to hide him. Are we seriously going to platform an abuser and predator? And those 2 songs are also getting promoted for this comeback. Fans want to cancel their pre-orders and new fans don’t want to tune in. This is NOT something MEOVV needs as they are growing.
As for DDI RO RI.. I enjoy a classical sample too, but I don’t like the posturing rap and trap beat. It’ll grow on me, as per usual, but I wish it was a vocal-focused song that had something interesting to say and handled the sample more creatively. This is lazy. And I’ve seen non-fans say they’re underwhelmed by the chorus or straight up confused by the creative direction of the song and MV. I like the avant-garde style but I also think it’s super risky. No wonder MEOVV said they hoped fans understood this song… Sigh.
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