Though Hui is most well-known as the leader and main vocalist of Pentagon, he’s also the pen behind some fantastic K-pop tracks from other artists. We have him to thank for Wanna One’s Energetic, for example. Because of this, I’m always interested to hear his solo work. He knows his way around a good pop melody, and new single BINGO draws upon that skill.
This year has been very light on summer bangers — the kind of pinwheeling pop songs that used to be a stalwart of the season. BINGO throws its hat into the ring, bursting forth with a bright energy. Stabs of celebratory synth brass and an incessantly peppy beat place us in familiar summer territory as rhythm guitar adds a dose of funk. This is about as upbeat as you can imagine and may irritate those who find it too cheesy.
I’m on the fence about the B-I-N-G-O part of the chorus, mostly because spelling out words is usually quite annoying in pop songs. Apart from that, this track is pretty airtight. I love the second half of the hook, where Hui draws upon peaks of falsetto to give BINGO an exciting dynamic. I’m also heartened by the presence of a bridge, made even better by Hui’s powerful vocal. It’s always nice (and increasingly rare) to hear someone sing with full intention on a new K-pop track.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
wait is wanna one’s energetic a 10/10 song for you now
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nothing revolutionary and i agree with your sentiment on the spelling in the chorus, but i really vibed with this otherwise. i enjoyed it enough to where i’m actively listening to his first mini album because i want to hear more of his voice. strong showing from this dude
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In this unprecedented kpop summer drought, I guess even a mid dance summer song like this can satisfy some actual thirst
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It’s like a cooler Dynamite, arguably better because the lyrics are hidden behind Korean and not the suboptimal rhymes of Dynamite.
Hui does a good job selling it too without over selling it – he can get sometimes too theatrical, and here the tone is just right.
Semi-related. The last BINGO song I had on my kpop playlist was BINGO by 24K which was on my workout playlist for years. Essentially, every time the B I N G O came around for the drop was my reminder to pick the pace back up again. Also high on my workout list list was everything by Teen Top. The intensity was loud enough to drown out whatever the gym had on the speakers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0cCUbmLvJw
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