When a music hits massive in Ok-pop, the trade tends to drive that very same sound into the bottom over the subsequent few years. With aespa’s Supernova and Whiplash each main hits in 2024, it was solely a matter of time earlier than pounding membership beats and spoken-word perspective lodged itself inside the lady group oeuvre. STAYC’s new single Bebe stands out as the most clear instance but. It’s a step in the fitting path… with some main reservations.

To get us again to an thrilling place in Ok-pop’s lady group sound, two substances are important. First is a jolt of vitality, in distinction to the muted palette that’s lorded over the trade for years. Second is dynamic melody, changing the “I’m so cool” sing-talk that has had a equally iron grip on so many latest songs. Bebe will get the primary half proper. Its manufacturing is high-octane and glistening, holding momentum excessive proper from the beginning. On this approach, the observe jogs my memory of Kara’s good 2014 single Mamma Mia — an emblem of what an enormous dancefloor smash can attempt to be.

Sadly, that is the place the comparisons finish. Bebe is almost all sing-talk, and a few components work higher than others. The primary verse is brisk and thrilling as the ladies’ vocals match the pace of the instrumental. I’m much less satisfied by the refrain, which feels extra like an excuse for individuals on the web to say “she’s serving _____!” than a correctly conceived hook. The drawling supply doesn’t work for me and Bebe rapidly turns into repetitive quite than thrilling. With out a correct chorus to seize maintain of, even the dynamic instrumental begins to fade right into a chintzy background thump. It’s a disgrace, as a result of so few lady teams try this tempo and the music may have been unbelievable.

Grade: B-