Over the past few weeks, ARTMS have payed around with expectations. Rather than simply debut a video and song as normal, they first dropped pre-release track Born Stunner via an unexpected Instagram reaction video. This is a great way to build buzz and conversation, but at the end of the day the actual music must be solid if the group wants to keep listeners’ attention.
This year, I’ve become convinced that the K-pop industry has become incredibly insecure. Why else would so many groups have to constantly tell us how great/attractive/strong/etc they are? In 2026 alone, we’ve been forced to endure dozens of such songs. It’s now become a formula: take some “experimental” hyperpop production, find a quippy catchphrase and repeat it over and over again in the most obnoxious tone you can muster. For ARTMS, those catchphrases include gems like “I said, “Okay, okay, okay, okay” (I’m stunner)” and “Watch me step into the club like I’m your trauma, trauma.”
I just don’t understand who enjoys listening to this. If you’re a big fan of this specific style of song, please let me know why it resonates with you because I’ve reached an impasse. All a song like Born Stunner reminds me of is that annoying, self-obsessed friend who says things like “I don’t look for the drama. It just follows me around!” as if they’re some sort of victim. It’s an insufferable mentality and these songs are a brutal soundtrack to our SNS-and-meme-driven world. As a song, Born Stunner doesn’t even boast any strong moments (or any real semblance of melody), so it plunges to the bottom of this undesirable slop pile.
| Hooks | 3 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 3 |
| Bias | 3 |
| RATING | 4 |
Grade: F
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
“It appears K-pop agencies have taken a very slow bus and are just now arriving to last year’s “Brat summer.” I beg of you, K-pop … don’t take on this particular trend. You’re not well-equipped to pull it off in any way that feels authentic.” – Nick when reviewing Gnarly
The K-pop industry was definitely not equipped to handle this trend. Probably the worst trend in K-pop, no highlights and lots of slop.
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Agreed. Ugh.
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Nick podrias darme tu opinion de esta cancion? Skylar en este EP me encanta es una mezcla entre Lady gaga y Slayyyter
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This has genuinely been the worst year for music in kpop and it doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.
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Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only crazy person thinking this. I mean, I don’t want to write negative reviews, honestly!
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i blame AI, some of these lyrics are clearly generated and it’s not subtle.
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Summer releases have been particularly bad. Kpop used to be my YT/Insta algorithm, but these days I’m back to waiting until you write your reviews to see who had a comeback and if I’m remotely interested in giving it a listen🫤
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I am wrestling sometimes with similar thoughts. If kpop is moving in a way that I don’t like, should I try to adapt? Or move on? I mean, listening should be a joy not a obligation!
I have just tried to fall back on older hits and wait it out. Usually something comes along that gives me hope again, and some new tracks for my growing playlist.
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Honestly, at this point, music quality has gone so down I’ve begun reading reviews *before* listening to songs–something I never used to do as it’d ruin the song for me. But as more and more songs dip into garbage territory, I’d rather not waste my time.
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I am not that invested in K-pop as I was before, so I cant really judge this year as I have not listened to about 99% of releases. 2019 and 2020 were my personal least favourite years, cause the entire “atmospheric future bass/trap/ trop pop” trend was so mindnumbingly boring. We had some serious highs in those years though, mostly due to Twice, TXT and WJSN.
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no
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i actually thought it was decent
then the chorus hit and I was taken aback a couple ways
easily the worst post loona track by far, latencys debut at least didnt use sing talk
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Outside of JYP and SM, I feel like every single company dropped at least one dud, if not an absolute abomination. And I thought 2020 was pretty bad in terms of music quality…
In other news, I’ve been listening to many other songs in previous years and they’re miles better than 95% of the songs this year, some of which I’ve bumped up to a 10 and will reveal it when Nick drops the Legendary song inauguration later this month(?).
Anyway, uhh, this kinda sucks, just listen to Icarus or Virtual Angel instead
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anyway enough of this garbage, its the THIRD BAD MUSIC PARTY TIME!!!
drop your 5.75- rated songs in the replies below, it doesn’t have to be kpop!
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(The above one is more so a 0 for me)
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I have a “worst songs of all time” playlist that’s pretty long and will someday be enormous. You have inspired me to add “Honey I’m Good” and “Untitled,” both of which are travesties.
At the top of my list are 3 songs by P!nk: So What, Raise Your Glass, U + Ur Hand. So What is far and away the worst of these in my opinion but they’re all basically the same song.
OneRepublic is also a repeat offender. All the Right Moves is actually the first song I ever added to this playlist but Good Life and I Ain’t Worried are also crimes against humanity. As with P!nk, these three songs are pretty much the same. (Bonus: Apologize which is technically Timbaland ft OneRepublic. This group seems to exclusively make extremely repetitive falsetto music. Great for people who like that which is apparently a lot of people?)
Save Your Tears by The Weeknd is insanely bad. I remember hearing it at a bar and thinking: There’s no way anyone is looking up this song and listening to it on purpose.
I fucking hate Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye and Fight Song by Rachel Platten. I’m putting these 2 in one sentence to emphasize my lack of respect for Gotye and his xylophones.
Unwell by Matchbox Twenty and The Reason by Hoobastank— there was a period of time when I was in middle school and these 2 songs were INESCAPABLE. I have a distinct memory of turning the dial on the car radio and being unable to find a station that wasn’t one of the two and they’re both HORRIBLE
ME! by Taylor Swift ft Brendon Urie: I remember when this song first came out my friend and I were getting brunch and we both heard it for the first time and we were both like “is this from Sesame Street?” Side note: if I had listened to Taylor Swift’s last album she would probably dominate this playlist but I’m not subjecting myself to that on purpose… I’ve heard the reviews or, well, the memes really.
Of course there’s also Bad Day by Daniel Powter and 7 Years by Lukas Graham. The same song 10 years apart. Genuinely can’t say which is worse.
There are only 2 kpop songs on my list I think and they are Permission to Dance by BTS and Dreamers by Jungkook from the mothafucking 2022 World Cup soundtrack. There’s plenty of bad kpop music but I used to be a very serious ARMY so I take this personally. Also to be on this list I need to have been subjected to the song against my will. If I hit play on a bad Katseye song that’s usually my fault.
Finally, lest I am accused of recency (anti-)bias here is a brief and incomplete list of older songs that have worsened the quality of my life.
I Just Called to Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder
I Knew I Loved You by Savage Garden
True Colors by Cyndi Lauper
Fight for your Right by Beastie Boys
Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship
We Are the Champions by Queen
Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard
I Love You Always Forever by Donna Lewis
Anything for You by Gloria Estefan
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The fact that Ice Spice isn’t on that playlist is fascinating.
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I’ve not been subjected to her very much. “Fart” is obviously insanely bad but it’s not like I was hearing it at the grocery store LOL. if she was a bigger artist then maybe….
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Extremely amused to see Melanie Martinez on these lists of yours not once but twice. 14 y/o redditor girls would have a fit if they saw this.
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fuck melanie martinez and crybabys
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I feel so old and chronically offline… I had to google what “crybabys” and then what any Melanie “scandal” was to see if there was a reason (besides the obvious shit music).
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There’s no competition here for me
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Anyways, I’ve been on a rabbit hole that is the crunckcore genre thanks to those lists of “worst songs in RYM”. You know, that one fusion of screamo, electro and hip-hop that was the rage in late-2000s paired with godawful screaming, bad sing-talking passed off as “rap” and some awful, yet at times hilarious, lyrics about sex that looks like a horny high schooler’s fantasies. If that doesn’t raise your arm hair, then I’m sure the names Blood On The Dance Floor (the lesser said about them, the better) or Brokencyde (the pioneers of this genre) will.
Anyways, with that being said, I’d prolly rather listen to a Brokencyde song talking about making their pp hard (their words, not mine) or wanting a girl to shake ass than another kpop group talking about how great, stunning, iconic by mistake they are.
4.5 (3, 7, 4, 4) for me
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What an awful kpop trend this is….maybe these kind of songs would usually resonate well with the related fandom whose artists endured hell of hate trains like HYBE girl groups or casual listeners who knew the drama, but groups like ARTMS just did not have the necessary ammo to make others emphatize with or tune to the song. The song itself is just bad, one of the most awful productions this year. There is no beat, hook, or melody to enjoy. I don’t want to call it trash but…..
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im sorry this isnt nearly bad enough to be a 4 (i feel like itll be a still nirvana/what a life type deal tbh) cuz the production is actually interesting but god that chorus is so grating. so its like a flat 6.75-7 for me
n actually this kinda sounds more like an itzy song to me than a katseye song i swear so much of the time ppl hear an electronic/danceable kpop song n think “gnarly dupe”
at the very least u gotta admit that mv is phenomenal
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After hearing in the song’s previews that ARTMS would take on this type of hyperpop-influenced style, I was actually pretty excited. In my opinion, they could be one of the few groups to pull this off.
As per the song, I can hear some interesting ideas and sections in the production, but I just think it falls short. There isn’t any melody that is particularly catchy or worth repeating. It just feels like we’re going through different sections and nothing really sticks.
There had been a couple of k-pop projects that have that “dance-pop” or “hyperpop” influence and just sound way better and have more interesting ideas. At the top of my head, I can think of Yves, V8, Yena and some of the b-sides on ITZY’s discography.
I still believe that ARTMS have potential to deliver a great song in the style. And I also want to believe that we got one of the bad ones as the first single lol. I found both their album and EPs from last year pretty solid, so the album might have a few solid tracks.
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itzy also having the only kpop song to ever be produced by sophie (rip legend)
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If you just made it through the last 3 reviews and need your ears cleansed, please enjoy my current favorite ear cleanser (to remind you how good pop music can be): https://youtu.be/XWR6pHRsyDE?is=-G0hZSQ6Tq5zh1s0
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As someone who shamelessly enjoys Chat by Girlset, I feel it’s all about what impression you want to make and if your production will pull it off.
Here all I hear is an attempt to some aggressive rap track with a vaguely EDM bass who’s in need of strong sounds but also actual rap talent. The voices are so digital, autotuned, compressed together, it’s like a demonic nursery rhyme. There’s nothing human about it. No melody, no actual vocals, no storytelling, just noise and “vibes”.
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what happened to Jaden Jeong, this song is ridiculous
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So I’m certainly in the minority when I say I really do like this, it has energy and the girls are charasmatic so they can pull off this concept. Production wise, the song has a massive advantage combining genres such as trap, deconstructed club, Miami bass etc. Hook wise I found it catchier than most of these spoken songs idk something about the hook just sticks for me.
8.5/10😌
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I really like it! The production is a lot of fun and the hook is solid apart from the “trauma trauma” part. I’d give it an 8.25
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what i don’t understand is: why artms, of all groups?
at least “blue blood” is coming.
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a perfect example of how shitty girl group songs are getting
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this would be passable if there was a melody (i mean I could parse one but like, a clear melody please), a bridge, and a more chugging beat. you could at least give pinky up the benefit that there was singing in it.
5.5 (4, 8, 4, 6), I can’t bash the genre, it’s what helped me find my identity through other artists, but this could have actually been a track with effort and not a throwaway of a b side.
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jaden jeong is high as a kite off of his own supply and it shows here. i have no qualms with the genre they’re going for, but artms is not the group that comes to mind when i think of this kind of sound.
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You don’t have fun like I do. It’s an overall 9/10
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honestly the “brat” trend just feels like an extension of where fourth gen kpop was going before the pandemic. I agree it’s not very pleasant, but not in a way that’s particularly bad. There are a couple here and there I wish would’ve been held onto and fleshed out more. I probably would skip this if you popped up
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