2026 has seen many debuts of groups from mid-to-small agencies, but few of these acts have had much to say. Debuts offer the chance for new sounds and ideas, or maybe even a look back at a style we haven’t heard in awhile. It shouldn’t be yet another excuse to peddle the same sounds clogging up an already overstuffed industry.
TUNEXX arrive from IST Entertainment and boasts members from last year’s Boys II Planet. This comes after the agency unceremoniously dumped their last boy group ATBO. I’m not sure what makes TUNEXX think they’ll garner any more loyalty, but here we are with I’m Alive (내가 살아있다는 증거). And really, we might as well not have gotten the song at all. There’s no reason for this to exist. It completely lacks an identity of its own, repainting hundreds of other chant-heavy boy group tracks with new faces.
At its best, a new K-pop song can be a thrilling experience. Being a longtime fan makes those moments more rare because you’ve simply experienced more music and the novelty has faded. However, this kind of post-post-post-NCT song makes me wonder if K-pop simply hasn’t evolved in the past ten years. I can’t believe we’re still selling this style of hookless slop and expecting anyone to be excited about it. It’s wholly unremarkable in every way.
Hooks
6
Production
7
Longevity
6
Bias
6
RATING
6.25
Grade: D
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