When I look at NCT Wish’s overall concept, they seem like a group who should be tailor-made for my musical taste. Yet, when I average together my reception of each of their singles, they fall in the lower half of my own “Ultimate Artist Ranking.” At times, their music has felt overly precious to me. Descriptors like “kitschy” or “twee” carry with them plenty of risk. There’s the slimmest of lines between quirky (complimentary) and quirky (off-putting). This is all to say, I respect the vision and want to love Wish’s music more than I do.
Enter new single I Spy, which tests this line in a few ways but ultimately lands neither here nor there. This electronic pop song has a busy, compressed style that characterizes a lot of music made for the internet over the past decade or so. Every element seems to aim toward the same mid-range. The song’s intro, with its children’s game “I spy” reference, does not engender confidence and the melodies are rather monotonous throughout. However, the structure moves along with a swift ease and the group’s vocals sound refreshingly mature compared to past work.
Apart from some moments here and there, I Spy feels like something the K-pop industry would pitch toward one of its quirkier girl groups. The clipped style of the melody lines reminds me of countless songs within this realm, designed for ultimate catchiness. But without a counterpoint — some big melodic centerpiece or a sweeping interlude — I Spy threatens to devolve into a bunch on blabber. The song doesn’t really go anywhere and its repetitive nature lacks the structural oomph of Wish’s best work.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
Grade: C
Ah that’s too bad it didn’t work for you. I love it, and I’m so thankful that they kept Kenzie and Mr. incoomiiiiing in the b-side corner this time!
The song is very focused and satisfying. Using children’s rhymes is risky, but this is so light and works perfectly. What a great mix of bubbliness and driving intensity! And when the strings come in? 🥹 9
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speaking of b-sides, do you have any commentary with their song with The Carpenters’ sample?
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and I agree with your song assessment! of course since I’m biased. it got so much drive and the violins are what stand out to me personally
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Thank you. I’m not familiar with the Carpenters sample, but I quite like all the b-sides so far. How about you?
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I feel like with Wish, they lean a lot into the cutesy, aegyo-ful style that doesn’t suit their natural pitch so it always feels forced (for example, poppop and Dreamcatcher). Compared to TWS with a similar sound, their sound is like “super sugary chocolate milk with a shitton of chocolate syrup and a bit of Monster Energy in it” and TWS is like lemon soda, refreshing and sweet enough that never goes wrong. Or in other words, Wish leans too much into “cloying” in the sweet-cloying spectrum. Songbird seems to be the only Wish song that got the assignment right + melodies also plays a big factor in it.
As for this song, it’s meh. Rating’s the same.
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surprisingly liked it. I love the vocal layering in the chorus that SM does so well. I thought they balanced the NCT-isms well here, with the bridge and outro.
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This track brings to mind the bright, joyful energy of early NCT Dream! It has such a chirpy, fun spirit throughout. While it does lean a little childish in spots, it thankfully never crosses into feeling cloying or overwhelming. And as for that slightly out-of-place trap section near the end—let’s just pretend it was a figment of our imagination and keep holding onto the goodness! 🙂
8.25 (8, 8, 8, 9)
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I personally can’t get enough of the Wish quirkiness and this has become an immediate favorite. I understand the criticisms though, and the outro leans way too hard into the NCTisms that are best avoided in Wish songs. (8,8,9,9: 8.5)
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