Song covers can be tricky. Do too little to change the original and the whole exercise might feel pointless. Do too much and it’s bound to polarize opinion. TRF’s 90s hit Boy Meets Girl has already been covered dozens of times, partly because it’s an Avex standard alongside other oft-covered classics like Get Wild and Wow War Tonight. Boy Meets Girl also happens to be one of my favorite J-pop songs of the 90s. I first wrote about it here and now I get a chance to revisit it through the lens of SM’s NCT Wish.
Covering a personal favorite song is also tricky. I love this Boy Meets Girl because I love the original Boy Meets Girl. The melodies remain timeless and the production in this cover isn’t all that different from the surging euphoria of TRF’s version. So, the question becomes: was this necessary? Do Wish bring anything new to the recipe? I suppose male vocals bring a different flavor and there are ad libs here and there that are new. The instrumental has a modern crispness that’s nice to hear and I very much appreciate how the producers didn’t fiddle too much with the song’s natural momentum.
This version of Boy Meets Girl largely distinguishes itself through a short but snappy outro that adds a bit of extra anthemic fuel to the track. It’s also over a minute shorter than the original, so if instant bang-for-your-buck gratification is your aim, this will work. I can’t say it’s more interesting than any of the other covers of this song that have come before it and I’ll always go back to the original, but if you’ve never heard Boy Meets Girl before I imagine this will be something of a revelation. I can’t justify giving it a “10” the way I would the original, but I also can’t picture a world where any iteration of this song is lower than a “9.”
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 9 |
Grade: A-
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Yay, nct wish finally got a good score 😍🙌
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Nick has given this exact score to Songbird.
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I know but that was 2 years ago! Crazy how fast time moves😢
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Man, THIS is the kind of sound NCT Wish should be pursuing. Granted I haven’t listened to the original so I can’t comment on whether it does the original justice or not or draw parallels between them but from a standalone viewpoint, it is cute, a nice burst of euphoria, their best song in a little while (even if it’s a remake)
8.75 (9, 9, 8, 9) just to be safe lol. Now let me listen to the original (if it’s on Spotify lol)
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It certainly is!
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this sounds great
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The original one has definitely a more eclectic and psychedelic quality. The Wish version has a more pop-py charms, especially with the production and sound effects. A 9 well.
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wow this song is so good! I feel like there’s hardly ever a reason not to add a half step key change at the end of a song, especially upbeat, joyful ones. It just lifts the mood immediately
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also wow, the outro on this version gave me the exact same feeling I get when listening to Dream’s Dunk Shot cover!
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so when are we getting a 9 rated girl group song 😞
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Well, there is Motto although it was an initial 8.75. But then the last time we got a gg song that got an initial 9+ was fromis’ Like You Better… almost a year ago :’)
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last GG song that got an initial rating that was above a 9 was ALICE’s Dance On, which is like 3.5 years ago
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Wow. I didn’t even realize that. To be fair, though, I don’t give out initial 9+ scores very often anymore. A flat “9” with room to grow is much more common (and even that has sadly become pretty rare).
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hey at least dance on was a banger ✌️
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Adding a new verse did make the difference, but just as what Nick mentioned, I’m already immersed into the original one, so it’s tricky for me to rate it. By far I’m going an 8 – though there’ll still be room for adjustment.
It’s such a shame that I saw the title and I click in at YouTube, I directly drag to the middle and I heard a different melody (the first verse), then leave, without giving it a full try because I’ve already know the original and in deep I thought it’s not a cover. Did I really prefer if it’s a cover? I’m not sure as well. Such a mixed feeling.
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I really prefer this kind of vibe for boygroup songs compared to ‘noise’ or ‘raging rap’ type music that unfortunately infested kpop these days. A really good euphoric song that fixed your mood when you hear it. Might need to check on the original version first to decode which is better. A nice addition for summer playlist indeed.
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Just checked out the original TRF version. The OG song production made it more like an old EDM disco pop, but the new NCT ver actually bring more youthful vibe to the song. I like the new ver better
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