I never know whether or not to write about K-pop’s CF songs. You can’t really approach a commercial advertisement with the same criteria as a title track, yet as a piece of music these songs often follow the same approaches as other K-pop songs and occasionally eclipse them.
TXT’s Open Always Wins is a collaboration with Samsung and sees the group continuing down a rock-inspired route. Notably, the guys contributed to the song’s English-language lyrics, though the vague banality of CF tracks doesn’t make that as big of a deal as effusive press releases might suggest. More than anything, Open Always Wins echoes many of the concerns I had with their most recent album. There’s plenty of potential here, but a short running time and general lack of follow-through makes it feel unfinished.
Open Always Wins‘ strongest moments are its chorus and post-chorus. The melodies here are catchy and anthemic. They call for a much more robust instrumental to give them the punch they need. The grungy production feels murky and colorless. This sentiment continues through an energy-dipping second verse and halting pre-chorus. Overall, the song is perfectly fine (especially for a CF), but requires several more drafts to nurture it into a fully-realized standout.
Hooks
8
Production
7
Longevity
8
Bias
8
RATING
7.75