(DEBUT THURSDAY) Playback - Playback

It is not often a song starts with a rap, particularly if the group is an all female group that isn't going for a "rapping idol" concept" and is only just making their debut. Fear not though, I will not let my dislike of awkward rapping get in the way--in fact, the transition from rapping to singing was actually quite good. The talent shown by the girls is good enough, but only time will tell if that talent is studio talent or if they can perform live with around the same talent. Recently, there's been a shift in popular opinion that if there are going to be so many idol groups, the ones that should survive should not just be the prettiest, but also have the talent. This song is a good start for a girl debut, but they are going to have to distinguish themselves if they hope to survive--and considering I have no idea who their agency is, they'll have to work harder than groups that come out of the big three/four agencies.

I have seen a number of people comment that "Playback" feels different from a usual girl group debut, and I have to agree....and disagree. I mean, all the typical debut idol song elements are there: catchy line that will follow you around for hours, a safe, cute concept, and a midtempo happy song. However, considering they aren't going for schoolgirl cute (a concept that is so tired for debuts I'm surprised it hasn't crumbled to dust), and the song is actually vocal talent-heavy, which does sort of set it apart (though Laboum and--especially--Mamamoo had debuts last year that were sort of down similar lines in terms of showing off talents in their debut).

They had some drama before they even debuted though, which may or may not hurt or help them. On one hand, they dealt with it swiftly and completely, but they weren't exactly getting pre-debut buzz for the right reasons. So even if they have the talent and the large agency behind them, their going to have to work hard to get past their predebut mess.

Check out their debut music video and "hit that playback!"