I had the pleasure of attending Jeon Somi’s meet and greet at KCON LA this past weekend and was quite taken with her abundant charisma. This seed of interest was sown with last year’s stellar dance single Fast Forward — a song that still gets me pumped to this day. But with that said, love for an artist’s star power doesn’t always transfer to the music itself. Somi’s had a mixed bag of title tracks so far, and new single Ice Cream further complicates things.
With only one comeback a year, it’s vital to knock things out of the park each and every time. I hoped her team would further steer her toward club queen territory, as there are moments where her stage manner actually reminds me of Madonna (not something I would say about just anyone!). Instead, they’ve pulled her right back to the novelty of her debut single. Ice Cream is far more Meghan Trainor than Madonna, and that’s a massive gap.
To my mind, the past few weeks have been very short on summer-themed K-pop highlights, so there’s definitely a place in the market for a cute, cheeky pop track that reminds you of hot days on the beach with dripping ice cream cones. The irritating toot toot circus brass of this song doesn’t accomplish that. The producers should have leaned into the tropical synths of the pre-chorus instead, but even with a different sound palette Ice Cream would be too inane to stick. Somi deserves a stronger vision for her artistic growth. I love her. I hate this.
Hooks
4
Production
5
Longevity
5
Bias
4
RATING
4.5