Winner
Everyd4y
YG Entertainment
The cancer of K-pop is prevalent on the title track of Winner’s sophomore full-length album. Everyday is another exercise of the degeneration of the genre – all tropical swag and lacklustre production.
There used to be a time when K-pop was in a splendid niche of its own; think eclectic weirdness and unapologetic camp. Unfortunately none of those qualities are present on the title track.
What you get instead, is a nonchalant and formulaic lead single that abandons all fun in pursuit of Billboard Hot 100-skewed sophistication. Sure it signals a more global sound, but at the same time it does feel like a step back for the group and also for K-pop.
In many ways, that template extends throughout the bulk of the 12-track collection. The heavily auto-tuned Hello is especially cringe-worthy due to its bizarre trap influences while the riotous La La sounds too teeny-bopper for a four-year-old idol group.
If anything, the quartet (Taehyun departed the group in 2016) does better on slower (sans auto-tuned) jams such as the acoustic guitar-driven For and sentimental For You. Both songs bring to mind the boys’ impressive sonic styling on their ballad-driven debut album 2014 S/S.
Elsewhere, rapper Mino imbues a sexy vibe on Turn Off The Light, a slow-boiling bedroom banger with smooth velvety R&B touches. It’s a scintillating redemption in an otherwise sad excuse of a K-pop record.
Another glimmer of brilliance comes in the form of the moving Movie Star. With its soaring pop-rock chorus, the song holds testament that this once promising group is not a lost cause after all.
