Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
You know, I was gonna just wait until S2 Entertainment‘s new girl group debuted as a unit to cover them, but then KISS OF LIFE hit me with a “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” interpolation for member Haneul‘s solo and that felt like a direct calling.
The single is called “Play Love Games“, and while it was the worst of the four solos (partially due to the grating interpolation), I do not want to admit this and open it up to you fuckheads in the comments saying like “oh just like baseball then” or “that’s just like me and sports” or whatever discriminatory and hurtful things that will make me cry. Thus, I will instead say it’s genius.
Seriously though, there are four members in the group, and they all got their solo music videos. Presumably meant as a showcase of sorts, there’s also Natty‘s “Sugarcoat“, Belle‘s “Countdown“, and Julie‘s “Kitty Cat“.
Obviously former SIXTEEN and Idol School contestant (plus soloist) Natty is going to be a familiar face, Belle is noteworthy for having composing/writing credits for PURPLE KISS, LE SSERAFIM, and (G)I-DLE‘s Miyeon, and Julie used to be a The Black Label trainee. Perhaps most surprisingly, their creative director is Produce 101, Idol School, and I.B.I alum Lee Hae In.
Julie’s seemed purely like a vehicle to establish her rapper image or whatever, while Natty’s was solidly vibey and showcased her dancing ability well. Belle’s is the main one that caught my attention and could grow on me with its bouncy groove and rock-tinged edge, but they all effectively showcased the potential of the members and therefore the group (ignore the cringe screaming stuff). I’m cautiously optimistic so far.
Of course, with S2 in charge, I can never really be too hopeful. It was notably founded by former Cube Entertainment Founder Hong Seung Sung, which gave a lot of fans hope as he’s competent and has come off decent enough. Unfortunately, the company is best known so far for debuting HOT ISSUE and giving them one comeback and less than a year before disbanding them. Hopefully KISS OF LIFE gets more runway to establish themselves.
