[SINGLE REVIEW] EXID - Hot Pink

Watch the music video here:



Let's face it, EXID are trendsetters. There is no way to argue that point. It really doesn't matter that they come from a small company or that they don't have the largest Daum fancafe. Everyone pays attention to EXID, whether they intend to or not. I see "Up & Down" performed so often by street performers that I'm kind of glad I wasn't in Korea during the height of the "Up & Down" resurgence. I like the song, but every street dance performance I've seen involves that song--I can't imagine walking through Sinchon a year ago. I love that this comeback aligns itself with the 1 year anniversary of the return of "Up & Down."

As trend setters, EXID are under a lot of pressure to deliver now, and their first comeback after their explosion in popularity was designed to please those that wanted a sequel to "Up & Down," but had they did that again with this comeback, they'd be in danger of losing their relevance. "Up & Down" made them popular, but people get bored if they hear the same song over and over again.

"Hot Pink" is not only a song meant to reacquaint the public with EXID's sound, but it also serves as a rebalancing. Because their sudden surge in popularity was mostly due to a single member, the first comeback after was a little lopsided in parts to her. "Hot Pink," however, evens things back out a little, which in my opinion, is a good thing. there are some other groups that got really popular very quickly due to a single member that still haven't figured out that spreading the love is a good strategy.

In my opinion, "Hot Pink" is an EXID song. If I had been given a demo of this song and asked "which group would do well with this song," one of the first groups to come to mind would be EXID. The song isn't lacking in quality, and it has that EXID "catchy repetition" thing everyone fell for. My only problem stems from the fact that it seems to be going in many directions at once musically, and I'm going to put that down to how many people wrote/produced this song (5 people wrote lyrics, and 4 composed). There is such a thing as too many cooks in a kitchen, and I think this could have been better without so many hands. However, it could have been SO MUCH worse, so at least there's that.

Overall, "Hot Pink" is a good song. Catchy, strong vocally, and in a weird way, kind of cute. It could have been better, sure--but it looks like quality songs like "Up & Down" aren't a fluke for EXID, and I'm betting this song will do well for them.

PS: EXID's earlier songs are really good as well--don't forget them.

Score: 2.4/3