Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
BAE173 have been around since 2020, but their sound had yet to really capture my attention. Enter “Fifty-Fifty“, which seeps with passionate energy but avoids falling into the anti-melodic pitfalls of their contemporaries, instead providing something closer in feel to a second-generation boy group’s execution.
On that note, the best thing I can say about “Fifty-Fifty” is that the composition of its chorus reminded me a lot of INFINITE. With its moody soundscape and dramatic strings, the melody is a breath of fresh air, and the chorus is punctuated by an addictive hook centered around the titular “fifty fifty” lyrics. Even leading into that section, the pre-chorus sets things up well, and the utilization of layered vocals give it a fullness that help it meet the drama of the instrumental.
Meanwhile, despite the rap-heavy verses, it avoids devolving into shouty effects-laden mess, and still maintains a general air of melodic rhythm throughout. While the track does take a while to get going, and almost hits a rut at the start of the second verse, once the second pre-chorus starts it becomes amazingly easy to get lost in the song. From there, it’s a non-stop vocal adrenaline rush (including a bridge!), and they make it difficult not to dance a little bit along with them.
While “Fifty-Fifty” is not without issues, on repeats it’s definitely been easier to ignore any quibbles knowing that the back half of the song is going to be blissful. It possesses that touch of K-pop flavoring that many have been missing lately, and I’m certainly hoping that BAE173 continues down this path, because somebody needs to give the hags what we want.
