As Hearts2Hearts’ career has blossomed, their music has taken a lighter turn. It seems that the understated moodiness of The Chase was a red herring and the girls have found much more success with buoyant fare like this winter’s RUDE. It’s no surprise, then, that new summer single Lemon Tang is their must bubbly, upbeat track yet.
On first listen, Lemon Tang feels like a hodgepodge of other songs, drawing influence from a variety of summer sounds. I hear a ton of Red Flavor, a bit of Alcohol-Free during the bridge and of course a massive dose of kitschy sing-talk. It’s a lot to take in at first but very “K-pop” in execution. The sing-song chorus cuts through the noise with ease, instantly lodging itself in your brain (for better or worse). I can’t yet tell whether this hook is a suitably jubilant centerpiece or comes too close to the kind of irritating playground taunt I’ve come to dislike in K-pop. For now, I’m feeling pretty generous about it and that’s largely due to Lemon Tang‘s strong summer setting.
Much more successful are the song’s pre-choruses, which bring in gorgeous synth textures and offer a more fleshed out melodic highlight. I also enjoy the moments of harmony during the chorus. These brief vocal peaks remind me of early Red Velvet, further drawing comparisons to Red Flavor. In that lineage, Lemon Tang is the awkward child, succeeding and failing in equal measure. We’ll see which extreme wins out in the end.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Red Flavor/Ice Cream Cake 2.0, this is NOT. Kenzie has clearly lost whatever touch she may have had. She spoiled this like she did with BTTF and CHILLER by putting a bunch of good ideas into a blender and expecting us all to put the pieces back together for her. I’m not interested! I can understand this approach for NCT, but H2H doesn’t deserve this. Their vocals sound strained and artificial too, kind of like on that other 🍋 song, which is a real shame. The rest of the mini is GREAT and true to concept!
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If you think Kenzie lost her touch go listen to Soar or Atmos. This is definitely not her best work but you’re definitely overgeneralizing. I’m also sure H2H’s A&R team was looking for a certain type of song.
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Lyrics only on Atmos 🙏🏻
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what in the overdramatic? Kenzie literally just made SOAR and Atmos. sure Lemon Tang might be a little messy but you’re acting like it’s complete ass.
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Hm, I’m not really feeling this one. It’s cute and all, a nice summery bop, but the chorus is a bit too childlike in its execution so it gets a bit grating at times. Not sure how to feel about this.
7.75 (8, 8, 8, 7) for me
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I definitely feel the Red Velvet comparison, but they couldn’t quite match up to it. My score is the same. I also love the melody that follows right after the ‘Lemon Tang Tang Tang’ chorus.
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part of the chorus reminds me of a nursery rhyme, which is something that pisses me off
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kenzie I love your production but this is not it
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nick ur being a bit too generous here
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Definitely the most upbeat track but not Style or even Focus level good. It feels inconsistent especially when we come to the chorus.
Probably an 8(8,8,8,8) we’ll see how it ages.
Looking forward to the Class:y album tomorrow, it’s produced by EL Capitxn so it’s gotta be good
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Summer banger certified
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I wish the chorus instrumental just hit hard, as it precedes that amazing pre-chorus, it would’ve been way more effective. I still like it, like you said, for the summer setting alone.
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Something about this reminds me a lot to Aqours earlier works, in both a good and a bad way lol
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This isn’t that bad but it’s not an easy smooth listening earworm like their past titles. I guess you can say it does have a sour lemon tang to it? Lol
There’s elements I enjoy like the prechorus which was seriously giving me Carly Rae Jepsen, the postchorus, the bossa nova pieces. But other than that, idk if I’d tune in again unless it goes viral like their past TTs.
I know rollercoaster melodies like in the chorus are common staples in K-pop especially for GG songs, but I’ve always thought it disrupts a good flowing melody. It sounds a little childish here.
This album has very heavy Red Velvet vibes, especially Red album. That was a great album but I think it’s kinda not too good to say a H2H album sounds like an RV album because they should be developing their own sound… but hey, a lot of SM releases have been getting influence from each other so!
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So this is SNSD meets TWICE but without the hooks and melodic vocals. The post chorus gave me hope in the preview as it reminds me of IVE / BlackHole, but the song as a whole is a mess meant to be turned into mini memes and endless tiktok of each section. It’s like the notion of song doesn’t mean anything anymore.
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I get the impression it’s more just failing to pull off an inventive, challenging song. It takes genius to make something like that work. Or maybe it’s both. It’s a mess in any case.
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I am hearing a big gamish of 2016-2018 aegyo. More Power Up from red Velvet then Red Flavor for me, plus Oh My Girl Pristin Weki Meki-types. I suppose its better than tik tok shouty stuff being put out by others, but for my taste I would just rather go back to the originals from that era.
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I’ve liked all their singles so far, especially The Chase and Rude. Lemon Drop though… idk, the song has some interesting shifts, but it just feels way too overproduced and overstuffed with ideas. The cuteness here, combined with the super high vocals just don’t work for me. I honestly don’t see this one ever growing on me.
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Before I begin, I just realized how incredibly busy these girls have been! They debuted in February 2025, had their first comeback in the summer of 2025, and followed it up with another release in October 2025. Then, just four months later, they returned with “RUDE!”—and now we already have this new song.
When you compare this pace to groups like Cortis or AHOF, who also debuted around the summer of 2025 and are just now moving into their first comebacks, it really highlights just how hard this group is working. They are doing phenomenally well on the charts and streaming platforms, which is amazing to see, but I truly hope they are pacing themselves and getting enough rest amidst all this well-deserved success. It clearly shows how much dedication SM Entertainment is putting into keeping up their incredible momentum.
With that being said, let’s move onward to the review!
The production at the beginning feels a little unusual, and the chorus comes in a bit rushed, which slightly disrupts the song’s overall flow. At times, the instrumentation feels a bit scattered, making the track feel a little more contained than the grand summer anthem it has the potential to be.
During my listen, I found myself thinking back to Red Velvet’s “Red Flavor” (one of my absolute favorite K-pop summer tracks) and noticing how polished and refined that classic feels by comparison. “Red Flavor” boasts a remarkably strong chorus and a production style that isn’t afraid to be unique while maintaining a very pleasant, cohesive sound.
That being said, this new release is still a very complete song that doesn’t feel overly forced. While it might not quite make it onto my personal summer playlist, it definitely captures a bright, undeniable summer energy.
Final Rating: Low 8
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While I really like the summer vibe in the song, the execution is not exactly my cup of tea. The song feels too ‘sugary’ for me and the hook is a bit aggravating in the ear. There are instances of brilliant vocals here and there, but they are not constructed in a neat way to be enjoyed. The whole song just feels very disjointed. The rating might be a bit too high, maybe high 7 is more appropriate.
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nick you’re insane, this is awful
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I’m gonna need them to take that prechorus and make an entire song out of it, because that part is fantastic! The rest of it is a bit of a mess to my ears and I can’t get past it at the moment. But I bet it’ll be a really fun one for them at concerts!
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