Review: LOONA - Why Not?
LOONA might be in one of the most interesting situations in K-Pop. They have failed to receive large scale critical acclaim from the big award shows, they have a small base in their native South Korea but have one of the large international K-Pop fandoms. With that said, their last comeback 'So What' garnered positive success, was their biggest hit in Korea, yet garnered a split reaction in the fandom. So where to now for LOONA?
I do not think they themselves have decided, for 'Why Not?' is split between part Itzy-ism, some second-generation SM influences (Lee Soo-Man seems to have become a sort of mentor figure for the group). The song starts with the pre-pre-chorus for a split second before arriving in their epic pre-chorus, constantly in build and reminding us of 2nd Generation SM before suddenly pausing for the chorus. Then, Crazy Frog happens.
I think it is a new trend for you to have a drop in the first half of the chorus before moving on to a more spoken section because this song does this. We get at first a playground like cartoonish section, which for whatever reason works a tad bit, with a Crazy Frog hook (as it has been described) of "Dee Dah, Dam-Di-Dam-Di-Dum, Dum- Du-Di-Dum". We then get a weird spoken section where they should have gone for more melody like A.C.E did in 'Favorite Boys'.
This all sounds like I hate the track, but surprisingly, I do not. It is a recipe for disaster. But just like Itzy's 'Not Shy', 'Why Not?' somehow works better as a whole than it should. Maybe due to the pre-chorus, or maybe the climax. Whatever the case, this track is way better than it has any right to be.
"They have failed to receive large scale critical acclaim" - This one is maybe false in South Korea, last year's National Insider Awards (yes that is my award show - based on Industry people, music critics and impact well just like the GRAMMYs) LOONA won Record of the Year. Why? because IZM said it was one of the best songs in 2019, my fellow critics also said it is the best with a 2 point gap between the second place, which I won't reveal; it also outpaced A.C.E/Stray Kids battle in the ROTY category last year. However, the Music Critics Circle (Critics' Choice music version) awarded Stray Kids, ROTY. The Golden Tune (Golden Globes music version) also said Stray Kids. So there seems to be also confusion in the awards sector.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, yes I have created these award shows based on perception and I will continue this even if no one sees it. Why Not, I hated in first listen but now maybe an 8. I'm all in for LOONA world domination.
You should really create your own blog to put down this data, it is pretty interesting!
DeleteYa the reason I said they failed to receive critical acclaim is they failed to win at the MAMAs, MMAs, and I know IZM did like them, but I found them an odd one out. That is why I said large scale, but I fixed it now to better clarify the point :)
Also, what was second place for your record of the year award, most critic and insider awards gave it to Boy with Luv (which makes sense for impact), so I guess that is second place, possibly :)
DeleteOk before I reveal the truth, SOTY was ATEEZ - WAVE; AlOTY was TXT - The Dream Chapter: Magic; Artist OTY was BTS; and Best New Artist was TXT. Pop Duo/Group Performance was THE BOYZ - D.D.D.; Pop Album was TXT; Rock Performance was N.Flying; Best Music Video was LOONA - Butterfly. Now the 2nd place was actually CROWN by TXT ;)
Deletengl, surprised that Wave won SOTy, definitely one of 2019's international highlights though and a near eternal grower, it was my most played summer song in summer 2020! Also, Nap of the Star deserved MV of the year despite how good Butterfly's MV was....
DeleteCool list!!!
Well Magic Island was supposed to win but the a = 0.05, d < 1.96 was not higher than I though so...
DeletePoor Magic Island, the song is an unsung gem...
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