I guess RAPID Track Spotlight should be a monthly feature.

NCT Dream - Hello Future

Finally. Our review starts with a return to form, from the brilliantly talent NCT Dream. I mean NCT Dream is my favorite NCT group and no one can disenfranchise me from that. Hello Future is a beautiful electro pop song about world peace and building a perfect future. Surely, the song is filled with harmonic cascades of irresistible melody and cadence. I will repeat this.

Rating: 8

SOLE, Wonstein - Stay With Me

SOLE and Wonstein surprised me with this release. I only saw it on KBS2's Music Bank last Friday and I was immediately amazed at its luscious arrangement, towering instrumentation and almost languid production. The complement of honey sweet vocals to such magestic string accompaniment. The song is such a vibe for a bittersweet season.

Rating: 8

Jannabi - I Know Where The Rainbow Has Fallen

JANNABI is finally back! I mean 2019 did gave them an INSIDER Nomination for Song of the Year. This time, I Know Where The Rainbow Has Fallen is another critical hit in the hearts of our nostalgic listeners. Its deep cascade of a large string ensemble and its contemporary counterpart are ever so cathartic and beautiful. It is deeply personal to its core.

Rating: 8.75

LØREN - NEED

LØREN is from YG's sub-label, THE BLACK LABEL and I am quite surprised to hear this coming out from them. NEED is driven by your typical grungy and angsty pop/rock musical direction. The only thing that could be separating this from American music is its execution and lyricism. All of that I think hits the perfect spots for a great release.

Rating: 7.75

Lim Kim, DPR CREAM - Falling

LIM KIM is an interesting artist. She has been consistent in accruing critical acclaim and even won a Korean Music Award for Best Dance/Electronic Song. I think it is time for us to give Lim Kim a lot of credit with this latest release. It is another eerie and cacophonic song that gives a lot of darkness to its delivery. It's bridge is really particularly very great.

Rating: 8.25

ENHYPEN - HEY TAYO

Not gonna lie, I think it is catchy. ENHYPEN's OST for TAYO is not really something special but it is noteworthy for its every elementary grade lyrics, instrumentals and arrangement. It is designed for kids TV and I guess that isn't as bad as I would have thought this would be. Billy Poco is a disaster that I wouldn't even bother review it.

Rating: 5

From20 - Because It'll Be Faster for You to Forget Me Than Me Loving You

Last time, I reviewed from20 as another solid up and coming artist. I am still mindblown at the amount of talent this man possesses. His vocals are so warm and graspy. The production is from a place I adore, synthpop is really my weakness folks especially when its properly used. Because It'll Be Faster for You to Forget Me Than Me Loving You may not be as strong as from20 but it is amazingly strong.

Rating: 8

SOMI - Dumb Dumb

Dumb Dumb is stronger as ever. It might also be my favorite SOMI song and my favorite TEDDY song since DDU-DU DDU-DU. Dumb Dumb hits the perfect spots at its climax, unfortunately its very trap-influenced backbone is very annoying in the verses. However, SOMI's possessed like execution is so obsessive and great. I am really seriously happy for this!

Rating: 7

ASTRO - After Midnight

ASTRO's After Midnight is indeed a breath of fresh air from the worries the life has on us. I really love the absolute funk-filled verses, rap and chorus. It shines on another level of ASTRO's amaizng joyous discography. This is a proper homage from the legends of pop themselves. It almost throws me nostalgia. However, the overusage of autotune could sway listeners away, and the lack of a locking cadence may dismay some. Still, this is amazing!

Rating: 7.5

Miyavi - New Gravity

New Gravity's monumental and revolutionary approach to Rock music is a staple to MIYAVI's entire discography. New Gravity is a common MIYAVI song, but it is without a doubt, the most blissful rock release this year. Colliding with many rock figures, MIYAVI is the legend in this field and only legends can deliver legendary.

Rating: 9.5

Weeekly - Holiday Party

Holiday Party is no After School as it immediately falters in its ultra-barebones synthpop and talkbox instrumentation akin to Trap/Hip-Hop. I mean it couldn't even go worse than that. It is ploddingly elementary and very weak to its arrangement.

Rating: 6.5

THE BOYZ - Thrill Ride

I see that THE BOYZ really have matured in this comeback. The amount of skin I am seeing is really intriguing me. Anyway, this is a blog not a club. Thrill Ride isn't really a thrill ride as it borrows most of its energy from the neo-R&B style that NCT have really been famous for. I have a problem with THE BOYZ' recent musical direction as they mainly want to follow this neosound so much. Nonetheless, it is a show of talent and is quite jokingly novel.

Rating: 6.75

Ha Sungwoon, Don Mills - Strawberry Gum

Strawberry Gum is incredibly underappreciated. It is another smash hit in Ha Sungwoon's discography. It's hook is irresistably creative, fun and catchy. Strawberry Gum borrows all the elements of K-Pop R&B and combines them with the a unique Western synthpop production. It is full of funk and just pure joy.

Rating: 8

TEN - Paint Me Naked

When SM said TEN was going to release a pop punk single, I was really intrigued at where this song will excel, in its vocals? In its instrumentals? In its arrangement? Unfortunately, Paint Me Naked is a mediocre Billboard chart-topper that Justin Bieber must have sung in the past. It delivers no identity and is bland and mundane.

Rating: 5.75

Triple7 - Presente

Can the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild of Korea fire their members that repeatedly do cultural appropriation? This is one of a few blunders of Triple Seven's PRESENTE. I mean the chorus is powerful and bold, but the brass-riff is the worst thing I could here since (G)I-DLE's Senorita. I guess I'll take this very rare occasion to congratulation whoever wrote this because this is how you do a great Latin song.

Rating: 7.75

YOUHA - ICE T

After writing LOONA's Paint The Town and VICTON's What I Said, YOUHA has finally applied her idol style writing to her music. It sounds, like those groups, but a bit better. Yes, YOUHA manages to survive this apocalypse. I am surprised by it, the song does sound off-kilter, but in a cohesive way. It was meant to have random ass breakdowns and YOUHA repeatedly saves her career using her vocals and her magnificent arrangement.

Rating: 7

Hi-L - Too Too

This is a debut! I mean folks, Hi-L will probabbly win this year's Best New Female Artist because of the intensity this song produces. It is a summertime bop! It is by far the best new song in this year's awards season. It just exudes a fun, blissful and enjoyable performance that we have been missing these years. No more obnoxious trap breaks, Too Too is the perfect debut for the perfect season.

Rating: 8

Bz-Boys - Close Your Eyes

I NEED YOU TO FOCUS! Close Your Eyes is the perfect R&B song in the time of cadenceless music. Bz-Boys deliver a classic performance that not only makes your day better but they also offer the equilibrium when it comes to traditional and modern fusion. Its lavish instrumentation, emotional vocals and smooth arrangement is not only classic but perfect. EVERYONE needs to hear this! I may need to properly review this one.

Rating: 9

MAKAMAKA - Hey U

It seems that many people do not actually know what real happiness or enjoying your job is. This song is not really the definition of MAKAMAKA enjoying their sound, but a rather neoliberal pursuit of a novel release. Hey U is filled with a dose of unhinged fun and a bite of the carnival. It actually does not falter even to the execution. It is indeed a great summertime bop.

Rating: 8.25

Gaho - Ride

It's a fine Gaho release this time. It delivers enough vocal excellence, pure grunge rock, and a dose of your typical pop arrangement. It's not really something excellent. But it does do the job right.

Rating: 7.5

Dimash Kudaibergen - Stranger

OK. I HAVE NO WORDS. IF I CAN ONLY RATE THIS A 10. I WOULD ALREADY DO IT. THERE IS NO CRITICISM HERE. IT IS JUST PURE AWE. DISBELIEF. RESPECT. DIMASH NEEDS TO HAVE A GRAMMY NOW. GRAMMYS SUCK BUT DIMASH NEEDS ONE! SERIOUSLY. DIMASH DOESN'T DISAPPOINT ME.

Rating: 9.75

ATEEZ, Kim Jongkook - Be My Lover

This is exactly straight form SSAK3's playbook. With some minor trap modifications. At the very least, it still delivers a warm summer's fiesta to its avid listeners. I think it is fervently enthusiastic and very engaging to hear.

Rating: 7.25

CIX - Wave

CIX's Wave is supposed to be a perfect song of the summer. It has a brilliant songwriting, fluid cohesiveness and a scenic execution. However, it really leaves some of its marks unattained, it sounds like the song could have been more than this. Also, its MV ending leaves viewers very traumatized and worried. I mean how can you see Yonghee [redacted].

Rating: 7.5

INTO1 - The Storm Center

In my opinion, the song's funky electronic instrumentation could have been better than just this. The vocals also need to quit autotune. I think this, if fully realized, would have been incredibly on par with K-Pop legendary songs like maybe a SMP-lite or Sweetune-lite equivalent. It is just dissapointing but I guess it is also fine on its own.

Rating: 7

JO1 - REAL

JO1's REAL is indeed really strong and slaps. In an ordinary year, I could have easily scored this one higher. I mean 2021 is full of scrumptious tracks that many others are starting to feel like less of an amazement. However, JO1 really delivered this one down again.

Rating: 7.75

LUCY - Irrelevant Answer

Irrelevant Answer is more like Irrelevant Discussion to me. It simply is a fine song, nothing too ingenious, and nothing too futile about it. So it's really pointless to answer this said irrelevance.

Rating: 8

T1419 - FLEX

Yes, guys. I am ready for critical hatred on this blog as I am about to post my controversial opinion yet again. I seriously envy this song, and its creativity. It violently disrupts proper greatness in place for a quotidian EDM hook. A big F U to critics saying classical music is the ONLY proper music in the world. I am so hooked into criticizing myself and my fellows for our common hypocrisy in consistently attacking polarizing and even obnoxious records. It is a great masterpiece telling that high-octane production might be good but FLEX is better.

Rating: 7.75

Kwon Eunbi - DOOR

Door might be produced by Hwang Hyun and e.one but I am not bothered by what I am about to say. It just doesn't work like this. Kwon Eunbi's Door is taken from the classic Jazz fusion found in LOONA's playbook. I have to express my greatest dismay for this absolute rehashing of work. However, I am not hear just to criticize the song relentlessly, Door has its lock and target for its easily playable groove and an absolute original cadence in mind. It is fun though!

Rating: 7

MIRAE - Splash

After the amazing, KILLA which I even said was on track to win Best New Song in the INSIDERs this year, MIRAE really has dissapointed us. I mean who did this disservice to one of 2021's greatest? They really need to be scolded. Splash is not really that horrible, but it takes another look at the overused electro-rap that really borrows from NCT. Even adding some layers of BM-lite rapping. The overusage of such atrocious vocal effects is honestly worser than HYBE. I am sorry MIRAE.

Rating: 6.5

EVERGLOW - Promise

After a painful parting in last month's issue, I guess EVERGLOW saves us today. Promise is honestly the least I expected in to be excited. But I guess any collaboration with UNICEF is gonna hit twice as hard. Aside from the obvious message of the song, its production, arrangement, vocals and direction is impeccably exciting and hopeful. That is how you make an inspiring song. Promise is the perfect song for the future.

Rating: 8.25

 This free site is ad-supported. Learn more
​