This isn’t a uniquely K-pop issue, but I keep waiting for a male pop star to pick up the mantle of showmanship previously held by such titans as Michael Jackson and Prince. K-pop used to be a haven for this style of virtuosic pop star with ambitious artists like Taemin, but the new gen seems to prefer a more lo-fi, guy-plucked-from-your-neighborhood form of popstardom. I mention this here because I feel like TXT’s Yeonjun has it in him to be the kind of world-conquering showman I miss but seems more interested in a looser, more melody-averse presentation. This was true on his debut mini album and carries over to new title track Ice Cream.
I just… don’t know what I’m supposed to get from a song like this. This sparse, percussive Neptunes-esque sing-talk schtick has been done to death from artists both inside and outside of K-pop. Do we really need more of it? It certainly doesn’t paint Yeonjun as an artist with anything new or dynamic to say. It’s a groove. It’s a vibe. It’s about two minutes long.
The most frustrating thing about Ice Cream is that it’s little more than an aesthetic. There’s not much of a song thrown over the top. Instead, we get a string of catchphrasey lines riding the beat without attempting to forge into anything beyond a brief diversion. It’s more sonically palatable than last year’s Talk To You, yet somehow still feels like a retread. I don’t think anyone would be mad to hear this blasting out of a car stereo on a hot summer day, but I need someone (anyone!) to rediscover their ambition and deliver more than a simple song sketch because the threadbare nature of a track like Ice Cream is honestly more depressing than joyful. And frankly, fans need to stop settling for this as well.
| Hooks | 6 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 6 |
| Bias | 6 |
| RATING | 6.5 |
Grade: D
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
how come all these songs are tryna sound like clothing brand commercials
and yeah i definitely agree with ur first point, it seems a lot of male popstars never wanna go for the showmanship and style that their female counterparts are doing, and whenever they try it just doesnt feel the same (*cough cough* harry styles *cough cough* benson boone *cough cough* bruno mars)
like we used to have it good back in the 20th century with prince, freddie mercury, elton john, david bowie, and of course michael, what happened?
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Why was the song literally 5 seconds 🤡
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Hey how’s it going Hybe! If you’re not gonna use your piles of cash to give your brightest stars star-worthy music, I’d like to have some to upgrade my bedroom studio a bit! Then I’ll be able to finish one of my demos I’ve been working on for years
Multi-billionaire companies consistently releasing mid songs is a slap in the face to up-and-coming creators who would make far better material if they had the money and connections
Anyway, I think No More Disco is a good track and should have been the lead single. Everything else is pretty skipable
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The song being entirely in english is what ruined it for me. Some of the lyrics are so cringey.
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The song is unfortunately too short but it’s more catchy than talk to you. Another verse would have given it much more meat and would have given it a more lasting vibe. That said, the album is really good in my opinion and a v-side powerhouse. Vanilla and Fucking star are very yeonjun and incorporate rap, rock and other genres. Baby wassup is really old Big Hit/ bts style with Pdogg as producer. And LWLR is much more mellow and very personal to yeonjun. Overall, the album showcases his vocals and versatility munch more than no labels part 1. I blame hybe for the decision to go with ice-cream as a title track bcz it’s a really solid EP.
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Man, just….man. Bighit is becoming the downfall of their music and its just beyond frustrating. The production is actually very good and its what keeps the song from staying a ringtone. Not going to comment on the length of the song because I think I have said enough on that topic.
The rest of the album is divisive, either good or just straight garbage. Long way long ride is great.
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TXT’s songs are written by the members. Thier songs are not garbage. I happen to like Yeonjun’s album. He wrote the songs himself.
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No. Some tiny parts are written by the members. Usually a verse or 2. I am sure Yeonjun had a big part in writing the songs here but I like to believe some of the english lyrics are very likely outsourced by the western writers hence why they occasionally suck.
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i think he only participated in baby wassup and long way long ride for this album (which happen to be my favs, idk what that could mean…). compared to no label part 1, where he’d taken part in all of the songs, i think this album feels a bit less like a fully personal projet🤷♀️
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why are there so many bad kpop songs that have a theme of ice cream?? lmao for example jeon somi’s ice cream
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but red velvet isn’t included in this universalization, right 🙂?
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oh ofc not. red velvet’s ice cream is a banger. maybe I should reword my statement into “why are there so many kpop songs that have the theme of ice cream”
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Nooo, I like Somi’s Ice cream, Blacpink’s on the other hand, NO, also I think Yeonjun here is going with a food theme, GGum and then Ice cream, what next, candy probably.
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can’t say the same thing about HyunA’s Ice Cream tho.
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Honestly, I don’t remember the last time I truly loved a song from HYBE. In Yeonjun’s case, I think some kind of R&B would suit his voice very well, but they keep going for odd ranges and vibes that end up feeling a bit cringe. Anyway, “Ice Cream” is the worst song on the album, in my opinion. 😂 Part 2 is much better than Part 1—I liked “Baby Wassup” and “No More Disco,” and “Long Way, Long Ride” was fine too. There were also some fun moments in “Fucking Star.” As for “Vanilla,” I’m not sure—it was kind of weird, yet catchy and occasionally unpleasant.
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As usual, my favorite HYBE releases have been the furthest from their orbit. I’ve enjoyed Pledis’s output (TWS, V8) and KOZ (BOYNEXTDOOR) this year but anything from Big Hit or BELIFT (apart from REDRED) has been pretty dire. Source Music is the wildcard here, I guess.
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Oh, Santos Bravos has been great as well, but that feels even further from their orbit.
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did u like Velocidade? I feel like this song finally helped me understand what you guys mean about really taking in the lyrics of some K-pop songs that are entirely in English because Velocidade had that effect on me
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I adore Velocidade! One of my most-played songs of the year. I don’t speak Portuguese/Spanish, though, so the lyrics have no effect on me.
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are you planning on giving reviews to that group just like you did with katseye/vcha?
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Oh really, can we expect reviews from you??
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To be honest, I’ve kind of lost interest in following groups closely. Now I just check out whatever happens to pop up on my feed from time to time. Today I saw V8 and realized they had already debuted. 😂 I barely recognized Vernon, and I really liked “Rat Race,” but I haven’t listened to the rest of the album yet.
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Yeonjun wrote the songs himself. I don’t think any of the songs are bad.
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On this album, he only has official credits on Baby Wassup and Long Way Long Ride
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No he didn’t, he had a small part in it.
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Kinda ironic for a song talking about making summer fun only to make listeners fall flat on their face with how depressing the tune is…..
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I think R&B suits his voice. Yeonjun and TXT definitely need a new production team because Bighit at this point can’t even pretend to know how to produce a vocal group. Let someone else produce and write for/ with TXT because they won’t let these boys sing, or craft songs to suit their abilities.
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male pop star with a summery song called Ice Cream about cooling down on an unbearably hot day? I’ll stick with MIKA’s, thanks https://youtu.be/MnL9CEONfUA?is=vNe-UzVPgAH_0lS9
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Meanwhile, I’ll take the Junho one!
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what makes you think Hybe picked Ice Cream as the title track? Yeonjun could of picked it himself.
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Sometimes I wonder if there is some kind of purpose behind the kinds of inane lyrics that would feel trite to a primary schooler. Marketing to this particular audience of primary schoolers who haven’t heard this particular worn-out “clever” wordplay like “I scream for ice cream”, I guess? It just feels like they want to drive away anyone who might take the music seriously. I quite liked ggum and I absolutely agree that Yeonjun has a lot of star potential. I guess the question is what demographic he wants to be a star in
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This track has an interesting foundation, though it occasionally feels a bit like an extended demo that could use just a little more development. I really appreciate the guitar elements woven into the production, though I personally feel they could have been utilized a bit more dynamically, as the overall arrangement feels a little stagnant at times. That being said, I still found it to be a solid listen and a step up from “GGUM,” even if it doesn’t quite reach the heights of “Talk to You” for me. It is a really commendable effort, and I’m always interested to see how an artist’s sound continues to evolve.
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I don’t understand why this song was the title track. It’s too short and there were easily much better candidates for the title track.
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