Not a Rihanna answer song…

[Video][Website]
[5.25]

Patrick St. Michel: Trevor Link — who you should read if you are interested in learning more about Korean pop — wrote this line recently about gender in K-pop: “K-pop appeals to me because the girls can act hard and the boys can act soft.” JoKwon’s “I’m Da One” highlights this view pretty well The music itself is lithe, featuring cartoon-like “oooohs” and whistling and JoKwon’s already high-pitched vocals Auto-Tuned into something even more cutesy. The song even fits in a geography-centric cheerleading chant. The lyrics drive it home further. “A child-like heart, I got power / I don’t need scales or swords, I don’t need it,” JoKwon sings before guaranteeing that we will be “happy.” Yeah, he wants the the girls to follow him, but he also implores the boys to “shake it,” ultimately more concerned about everyone having a good time. The confidence here reminds me (full disclosure, a heterosexual dude who doesn’t act traditionally masculine and has been ostracized because of it) of one major reason I’m drawn to K-pop: good-sounding fun trumps bullshit.   
[7]

Will Adams: As bright, sticky, and unappealing as a lollipop that melted in the sun, “I’m Da One” proves that there are producers out there willing to approximate a David Guetta remix of “Moves Like Jagger” and then lift the ungainly city shout-out from “On the Floor.” Being extremely derivative isn’t commendable on any level, but at least rip off good songs if you’re going to do it.
[3]

Katherine St Asaph: Like “It’s a Small World, After All” recorded solely with Tinkertoys. Points docked because I’m going to be humming this fucking thing all of Tuesday.
[3]

Brad Shoup: I just talked about melodies that do what I hope they will — it’s a wonderful feeling, and I’m sorry that I haven’t acquired the means to describe this in compositional terms. One day, friends. For now, here’s another: starts with dear, sweet Eurochintz, and ends up on the devotional tip. The track deserves a bit more than a percussive electronic skank, perhaps, and the bridge has stitches showing, but the melody is rich enough to satisfy.
[9]

Iain Mew: Moves in busy little circles of uplift to pretty good effect, but neither his slight voice or the whining synths are quite enough to do the chorus justice. I must also admit to being a little disappointed first time round that the rasped “yes!” didn’t herald a Tinie Tempah guest spot.
[6]

Jonathan Bogart: The thinness of his voice is half the point: the strain as he hits the high notes on the chorus fits the cheap plastic production far better than any Usher-style mastery would. That cheap plastic production is its own delight, though it doesn’t get any better than the swinging whistle-hum hook.
[6]

Anthony Easton: Wish the last few seconds of whistling were larded through the rest of the song, like raisins in rice pudding. Points mostly for that hope. 
[3]

Alfred Soto: After “Moves Like Jagger” it’s too soon for anybody, not even a decent K-popist, to put over a whistle hook.
[5]