Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
BOYNEXTDOOR got off to a somewhat slow start on the anonymous “But I Like You”, though considering they had triple title tracks, I figured maybe that really was more of an intro and the next two would improve on it. Instead, “One And Only” arguably takes a step back.
I get that they’re going for the boy group version of the high teen trend, but the only thing they seem to have figured out is the playful verses and light energy, though even that can come off contrived. Worse, the melodies are just not there and the chorus is just boring, quite frankly. But bad music can be excused, tons of groups debuted with horrific shit. More concerning is that the members still come off as generally anonymous, and I’d like to see something that’s supposed to set them apart at some point.
Also, stuff like the “naturally snatched” line is just cringe to me, I’m sorry. In general, I agree with the sentiment that a certain level of cringe and/or terrible English is part of K-pop. It’s a charm in a way. But I do feel like when groups themselves are trying very hard to be so cool and/or super serious, it doesn’t have the same impact. Comparing that kind of bad with like inventing “jopping” or “shut your tongue” or “I’m so hot they call me vampire” is malpractice, to be frank. Rant over.
