Do you like SM’s current musical direction?

It's not recent though?

I don't mind it, it all depends on the song I guess

Tradition or non-traditional, if it sounds good, then it sounds good :)

Both Next Level and IGAB have non-traditional structures but I don't really like Next Level and I like IGAB.

Yes, I generally like the experience of being "uncomfortable" and not knowing what to expect next when listening to a song. It makes it have more replay value for me.

Yes It's funny cause most of EXO title tracks' structure is normal and they are my only faves in SM.

Quote from TheBotter

No, besides one or two songs SM is putting out by far the worst big 4 music this year imho.

Worse than YG?

Yes, i like it.

But yeah it's probably a niche, not everyone going to like it

I see it as "undercooked". You can get food poisioning from eating undercooked food just because you are hungry and will eat anything.

I mean...look at their own artist reaction to their demos

Quote from killingtime1934

I mean...look at their own artist reaction to their demos

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Stop spreading this without actual context. They were reacting to the fact that the song is hard to be sung. They even said the only member that could pull it off was Taeil. The person is behind Sticker Yoo Young Jin and the guy IS REALLY demanding as a producer and composer. And the demo they heard was sung BY HIM.

They were afraid of not being able to sing the song and achieve YYJ's standards. One of the guys lost his voice after the recording session. Watch the whole video at least.

I would say no but it depends....sometimes it's just really feels like radom noises put together soo

yes i love it, i wouldn`t want every song to be like this, but ever since IGAB i always like when one of their groups release a "weird structure" song

but also ppl like to act like every sm song has weird structure when actually most don`t

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I mean...look at their own artist reaction to their demos

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they were shocked hearing all those high notes and how hard the song is to sing, they joked right after about thank god they have Taeil.. the reaction wasn`t cuz they though the song is bad

At this point we all know SM can make good music, it is just a matter of who they choose to give it (most probably their priority group atm)

It really depends on how it turns out, but I'll say yes.

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I think it only works with Aespa and in general, it only works for girl groups IMO. Something about men with deep voices singing over crazy beats turns me off IDK, I think only SHINee pulled it off with DCM.

I don't see how Don't Call Me is crazy lol, it's literally the same repeating beat (which is not some mindblowing stuff) with different distorsions, silences here and there and a piano on the bridge, not to mention it's structure is quite normal

Yes and no. I like it for some song and for some I don’t.

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But SM also released

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The best song of the year

Agree.

Bambi as a whole is amazing. But this song is another level. I used to think All I got was the best until I actually read the lyrics of this.

Hmm. I disagree that it’s a recent trend. Just in the time I’ve been in Kpop, non traditional structures seem like a pretty consistent thing across many SM groups. And this is just going to end up being one of those “nEw mUsIc iS wOrsT ever”-“oLd mUsiC iS chEezY aNd bOrINg” back and forth but I’ll still jump in here because I’m a masochist.

To answer the question, I enjoy it. Like a lot of musical genres, Kpop can become corny - and I appreciate a greater diversity of styles and sounds. This is something I continue to enjoy about hip hop - the way it can reinvent itself right when it’s at peak cliche.

I think it’s a smart way to differentiate the musical groups. For example, NCT 127 released the very conventional “Superhuman” (and I love that song) and everyone kept complaining it sounded like a Shinee or EXO song.

In contrast, no one compared “Kick It” to those groups because that was a distinctive sound to NCT 127. Similarly, no one is confusing aespa with RV. (People use “it sounds like an NCT song” now as a shorthand and, usually, mean it is an insult, to refer to these non-traditional songs but no one really thought Don’t Call Me was anything other than a Shinee song, did they? Because it doesn’t actually sound like an NCT song at all.)

For all the concern around it, it typically only represents one or two songs on any given album. The rest of the albums are actually quite conventional, although well executed but the tt do what they’re supposed to do and grab attention by standing out - you will not confuse an NCT song with another group.

However, with the exception of one other song (the cheekily named Bring the Noize), the bulk of the Sticker album is actually quite conventional. 🤷🏽‍♀️

It’s also ironic to me that people complain that Kpop is boring or that groups release safe tracks (RV and EXO), yet then complain about songs that are non-traditional. Again, I appreciate there’s enough room for both styles in Kpop so we have a wider range of options.

yes, sm groups are what keeps me interested in kpop these days.

Well, as for the main question: I love progressive rock which is as non traditionally structured and experimental as it can get, so NCT's music direction is right up my alley. No complaints from me.

It’s a hit or miss for me but when it’s a hit it’s too good and new sound I appreciate exiting.

Idk if this makes sense but every now and then I stop enjoying most songs in the world (new songs in particular). Because of how predictable all songs can get that it feels like it’s a song I’ve heard many times till it got boring. It’s a really horrible feeling to go through lol. So songs that have unexpected structures and melodies bring back the enjoyment once in awhile for me and the predictable “boring” ones doesn’t bother me anymore because there is diversity in new songs I have heard in general.

Yes and no? Generally I dislike it but there are some exceptions like I used to really like Red Light (does that count? not sure)

I don't mind some groups doing it because it fits those who do like it tastes but I would be upset if it took over kpop, as you put it "the future of kpop", because it's not my style and 95% of the time I won't enjoy it very much

No, I actually hate it so much. I'm legit scared for the future of not just SM, but Kpop

It’s hit or miss for me

Ye the crazier the better

Quote from Tic_tac_toe

I think there is a healthy middle ground between being too outlandish and creating generic pop music. Ofc not that there’s anything wrong with the outlandish musical direction. Maybe I should say outlandish instead of song structure since NEO schooled me on it

Edit I meant @quarkie yall neos are cloning each other and confusing me

It's just odd to me to see it described as outlandish musical direction when it's not anything that hasn't been happening in Western music for the last 20 years. Like I get that kpop moves at its own pace, but like Timbaland and Pharrell were doing this kind of stuff in the late 90s/early 00s. Sure, that music at the time was ahead of its time but..I guess I don't understand the collective freak-out about it?

Particularly when every "Hot Sauce" is balanced by a "Dive Into You."

And every "Sticker" is balanced by a "Magic Carpet Ride".

SM keeps doing what's it always been doing..?