Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
After all the build to this showdown of three groups, much to my surprise it may have been Lovelyz that came out on top with the dramatic “Destiny“.
Holy shit, man, can the intro to an idol group’s single get a more dramatic instrumental than that? The answer is no. If you told me that was the score to a key moment in a melodrama, I’d believe it, and that’s partially why it was memorable to begin with. The concept was immediately engaging, and the song had heavy J-pop influence, making it feel like something that would be perfect for an anime ending theme. Not sure how everybody else feels about that type of dramatic song with a tense build, but I definitely enjoyed it.
It’s not perfect, of course, as I thought the verses were a letdown compared to the crazy intro and explosions at the chorus and bridge, but that wasn’t nearly enough to put me off enjoying this as a whole. “Destiny” hits for me on both the nostalgia feel of it and for being an engaging listen with an instrumental that makes it feel important.
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While I understand that the music video concept for “Destiny” revolves around circles and spheres and all that, the visuals were adequate enough, and there didn’t need to be all that dizzying movement involved.
Despite my nausea, the concept was executed well throughout, which is about all one can ask for from a music video.
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With SEVENTEEN and TWICE, I’ve enjoyed title tracks they’ve released before, which is more than I can say about Lovelyz. However, while “Destiny” isn’t exactly something I would listen to over and over again, I did enjoy the tense nature of it and the J-pop influences quite a bit, and in the end this was their best title track to date for me.
