While it may not be that wise to release your new comeback during a week where all music shows are cancelled, you do ensure that all spotlight is on you without having to compete with a ton of other artists. I assume ONEUS will promote Say Yes! after the Chuseok holiday is over, but for now the song arrives like a welcome deluge of rain on a parched K-pop desert.
Before even listening to this song, I noted its composer R.Tee, who has crafted many dance hits in the past. And more than this, I noticed that the song’s credits aren’t clogged with ten or twelve collaborators. Refreshingly, Say Yes! seems to be the work of a singular vision. No wonder it holds together and actually has a point of view.
The song’s opening verse moves between uplifting guitar strums and sharp, stabbing synth. From here, Say Yes! moves into a melodic chorus before dropping its biggest and best calling card — a euphoric post-chorus that offsets its chanting with a wonderfully dynamic synthline. I love the relentless energy here. It’s the kind of sonic boost we rarely hear in K-pop anymore and puts a very welcome exclamation mark on the track. Better yet, Say Yes! is a complete song, hitting the three minute mark with a full bridge, build-up and payoff. It makes a conscious decision to grow and change as it unfurls, progressing into a fantastic second verse that maintains and builds momentum. It’s the strongest thing I’ve heard from ONEUS for quite awhile.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 9 |
Grade: A-
A 9 rated song?!? Yay!!! 😍
Hve yet to listen to it but the preview I heard sounds good!
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*Have
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Am I seeing this right? A 9+ rated kpop song in like… *checks notes* almost 4 months? Nick, are you okay? Do you have a fever? Do I have a fever? Are we all collectively hallucinating?
Okay, jokes aside, this is great! It would have made a banger summer track but I guess kpop 2026 is intent on fucking with us and dropping all summer-coded bangers before and after the season (at least according to Western standards).
8.75 just to be safe.
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My goats have finally returned whole T_T ive been praying on this day thank you kpop god
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Niiiice, we have a SONG here! It’s great, I love the sense of building energy the whole time. My only complaint is that I wish that post chorus drop had more of a lower end to it. I think it would hit harder with some more bass! Still, leaps and bounds better than 80% of kpop songs this year. 8.75 (8, 9, 9, 9)
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I should mention September and October in 2020 were both strong months in an overall weak year. And given this year is following a similar trend, we should be getting at least 6+ 9 rated songs.
(I hope I’m not wrong)
Anyway, I’d say this is a joint second best ONEUS song with Life Is Beautiful, I think Valkyrie is still my absolute favorite by them(a 10 for me). But this is excellent nonetheless.
Same rating as Nick
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I agree!! I feel like this is the grown up version of Life is Beautiful.
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Groovy and a nice repertoire of tones. The post chorus wants to be something you sing from the rafters but falls just short. Going to listen to their full discography in a couple weeks and my rating about this one might change in a month or two 🤔
8.5 (8,9,8,9)
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I literally leapt for joy as I heard this song for the first time :,) I’m so excited for ONEUS’ new chapter
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I share your joy…such a consistent group!!!
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Absolutely!!! It’s practically perfect! You said it exactly as I would, a full song, no excessive/unnecessary autotuned vocals (I can actually hear all their different tones…nice!!!), a short intro, nice first verse, great prechorus/chorus/postchorus, a sinple bridge, and a post-chorus outro with a little extra vocals in the background. The second verse is also my favorite. Loved it….9
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**simple
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