Modern K-pop has dramatically switched its lyrical focus from external storytelling, centered on the “you” or “they”, to boastful screeds that fully revolve around the “I”. “I’m so badass.” “I’m cooler than anyone else.” “I’m UNIQUE.” This bleeds into the music itself, which is often more combative and hits like a structural punch instead of unfolding as a sequential story. This problematic approach tends to involve much more telling than showing, which is one of the biggest reasons I find so many of these tracks mind-numbingly dull.
P1Harmony’s new title track Unique is a perfect example of this issue. It’s essentially a meaningless platitude — the kind of catchphrase you’d see on a cheap printed children’s t-shirt at a big box store. The guys spend three minutes confidently telling us how unique they are while the song itself sounds anything but. Without an actual display of uniqueness, this concept loses all purpose. It simply spins its wheels, underpinned with percussive-heavy production that could have anchored so many other recent boy group offerings.
Even without all this subtext, Unique just isn’t that fun to listen to. It feels like an over-serious lecture about how cool P1Harmony is. Without engaging the audience on a personal level, there’s no reason to care about what the group thinks of themselves. No amount of “pow pow pow” or “la la la la la” interjections will fix that. By keeping us at a distance, they’ve sacrificed the joy a hype track like this can deliver.
Hooks
6
Production
7
Longevity
6
Bias
5
RATING
6
Grade: D-
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