Hyolyn has become synonymous with summer, first as a member of Sistar and then as a solo act. She’s leveraged that position once again for a new mid-summer album but isn’t playing into obvious summer tropes. New single ChecK could be played year round as long as you’re in the mood for some more Y2K revival.
It’s tricky when you come to the tale end of a trend. I’m not sure how much pull the Y2K vibe still has with listeners. I’m certainly getting a bit tired of it and I imagine others are also eager to move onto new sounds. ChecK rides on an ultra familiar groove, the one-millionth K-pop song to crib those Neptunes/Timbaland beats that were so popular at the turn of the millennium. It’s not a bad fit for Hyolyn’s undeniable charisma, but the overwhelming sense of “been there, done that” dampens the song’s appeal.
When listening to ChecK, I’m reminded of early Beyonce. Hyolyn’s performance is cut from similar cloth, but her vocals have a very different appeal. While she can pull off this funkier hip-hop sound just fine, I think her higher, airier tone works so much better on melodic, sultry summer material. This song is rather threadbare, loosely cobbled together over the groove, and the performance just doesn’t have enough presence to anchor it. ChecK is absolutely fine, but far from my favorite work from Hyolyn.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
Grade: C+
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
do u have a rating/review of hyolyn’s see sea?
LikeLike
LikeLike
oh, this was a while ago. can I ask if this song has grown on you since?
LikeLike
I could be tempted to put it at a 9 but my thoughts are largely the same.
LikeLike
also one more thing if that’s okay: is infinite’s chaser your favorite song of ALL TIME, or just your favorite KPOP song?
LikeLike
My favorite K-pop song. I haven’t even tried to imagine my favorite song of all time.
LikeLike
do you have any close contenders you could think of though?
LikeLike
Probably but that’s a big job that I don’t want to sit down and think about right now haha
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks anyways. this will be the last time asking for now (I swear), but can you give some good song reccomendations? pop or kpop or jpop etc. i’m just curious.
LikeLike
Have you followed any of my 9+ rated Spotify playlists? I only have a few so far and haven’t made new ones for months, but it’s a good place to start. I can link them here if you want.
LikeLike
Or actually, following this multi-year Twitter thread is probably your best bet!
https://x.com/nickajames/status/1650213048022614016
LikeLike
comment thread got too long so i’ll say this: Nick!!! Why don’t you post the 9+ rated songs on this blog? i think more people can recognize it that way
LikeLike
It’s meant to be just a quick bonus thing I can tweet in a few seconds each day. It would take more time to post here and would clutter up the feed, so it will remain on twitter and bluesky for now.
LikeLike
Another Y2K-inspired concept! While I certainly don’t hate the aesthetic, I was really hoping for a grand midsummer banger from Hyolyn rather than another iteration of the Y2K style. The chorus itself isn’t bad, but given her immense talent, it feels like she could have—and should have—pushed it so much further. To be completely honest, the repetition of the word “Check” throughout the track felt a bit overwhelming at times.
Overall, I find this to be a decent step up from “Wait,” even if it didn’t quite hit that standout summer anthem mark I was craving. It also unfortunately feels like another track that fell victim to the trend of shorter song runtimes. Still, Hyolyn’s presence is always appreciated, and I’m continually interested to see what direction she takes next!
Final Rating: 7.25 (7, 8, 7, 7)
LikeLike
This is cool, not very remarkable though. I think Y2K is reaching for the status of the 80s (in terms of how used it is for making new music). I think, most times, it is up to the producers to create something interesting using those inspirations.
The 80s are still being used but I feel like there’s a finesse and cooler vibe to what Doja Cat’s Vie was as an album, compared to, say Ava Max’s discography, or Zara Larsson’s stuff before Midnight Sun. It just really depends on the artist, so it’s up to them and their team to make great stuff under the Y2K trend, 80s revival or whatever trend.
LikeLike
the Crazy In Love influence is very clear and they should’ve gone in that direction for the song too. she is the first person I think of when someone says “k-pop’s Beyoncé” (performance-wise) but she continues to be given very average music.
LikeLike
The performance is certainly entertaining suited for summer season, but the song just really lacked the necessary punches to become a summer bop.
LikeLike
Hyolyn is one of those performers that I’m hoping will release an absolute banger that ends up getting played ubiquitously for months. She certainly has the potential for it.
Check has some understated charm. I enjoyed listening to it, but I’m not sure how enthusiastic I am to listen to it again.
My favourite from her is probably Layin Low. It has a subtle intimate mood that I really enjoy without losing energy
LikeLike
Make me lose my breath, baby boy! Can you keep up? Baby Boy!
LikeLike
At the rate we are going with the ratings on summer songs this summer, the song of summer just might be JYP doing his take on kpop latin tropical sounds.
Ah JYP. JY Papi 54 years young and living life to the fullest.
LikeLike