The Singles Jukebox

Pop, to two decimal places.

(G)I-DLE – Latata

That sounds like the New K-pop Girl Group Klaxon!


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[6.50]

Jessica Doyle: New multinational Cube girl group with a witty debut video and a song whose chorus relies heavily on onomotapeia… we’ve seen this before, and I’m tempted to pessimism, but on the other hand CLC and Pentagon have also put out their respective best singles to date this year, and Hyuna put out two of her respective best singles in 2017, so maybe the harbinger of things to come here is not the relative emptiness of the song but Minnie’s relishable slide away from the primary key.
[5]

Alfred Soto: With its trop house accents and beats as sharp as the voices, “Latata” can be as onomatopoetic as it wants. 
[7]

Leonel Manzanares de la Rosa: The right track (a very current tropical-pop production, with lots of clattering percussion and enough space to truly bounce) for the right vocal performance (gritty, yet youthful and sensual) for the right concept (a group built around Jeon Soyeon). Strong debut. No nonsense.
[7]

Iain Mew: “Latata” is well represented by its two contrasting hooks: “I love ya,” a four syllable vocal tropical wave, and “latata,” much more percussive and in-your-face. It would be easier to decide on one or the other to work with, but they carry on filling the space with both, and more besides. A song stuffed full to the seams works for them and suits a debut, the overall impression being of how much possibility lies ahead. 
[7]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Kim Tae-ho aka Big Sancho announced his departure from Cube Entertainment at the end of April. He was one of the label’s most crucial in-house producers: he crafted 4Minute’s “Crazy,” the CLC song that begged immediate comparison, and played a role in every Hyuna single since “Red” except “Babe.” That last point is amusing since (G)I-DLE’s “Latata” is the producer’s first attempt at tropical house, and comparing the two tracks illuminates why this is so drab. Most of it comes down to how bloodless this is, placing it alongside similarly forgettable songs from K.A.R.D, Blackpink, and Winner. While the chorus certainly hits hard, it doesn’t reach the sensual ecstasy that the lyrics strive for, and the titular line undermines this goal in favor of hollow rhythmic functionality. While Minnie’s haunting melisma and the ghastly vocal sample that hides underneath it are certainly exciting, the rest of the song is far too impenetrable and familiar to allow any of the girls’ personalities to shine through — hugely damning considering this group has Jeon Soyeon. Still, I know my musical biases prevent me from ever loving a song like this; tropical house is one of the least exciting Western trends to find its way into K-pop and I’m only gonna be impressed if the genre is creatively used (as with “Babe”) or its presence feels absolutely earned.
[5]

Mo Kim: K-pop has played enough with the tropical house sound in the last few years that “Latata” comes across as familiar, even comforting. What propels it, and excites me most about (G)-IDLE moving forward, is the immediately distinct quality of this six-piece’s voices: the girls sing of “igniting a moment,” and heat emanates from Soyeon’s laid-back confidence, Soojin’s smoldering intensity, and Yuqi’s surprisingly powerful alto. It’s a slow but memorable flame of a debut, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that it registers full marks on the “doing choreography in the shower and almost dying after slipping on shampoo suds” scale.
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