“SOS” feels like a strange but fitting title for this Fifty Fifty comeback (re-debut?). With controversy and calls for boycotts swirling around this new configuration, everyone involved — from past members to current members to agency underlings — likely have “SOS” swirling around their heads. I’m sure some will be upset that I’m writing about the song at all, but I’ll remind you that no one is forced to consume the group’s music. As with pre-release Starry Night, I’m unlikely to revisit it myself.
SOS is perfectly serviceable pop — dreamy and melodic and oh so careful to paint within the lines. Like it or not, we’re lodged in an easy-listening (dare I say adult contemporary?) phase of pop music and that vibe has hit K-pop’s girl groups especially hard this year. SOS bleeds into a dozen similar 2024 tracks, each one a soft haze of aural anesthesia. I feel my mind drift halfway through the song and I’m beginning to think this is by design. SOS isn’t trying to engage or provoke. It seeks to blend into a playlist of “songs I can listen to while I study/work/cook dinner/etc.” I respect the utility of music like this, but for me pop songs have never been a casual afterthought.
This approach to songwriting is also difficult to review. I mean, SOS is objectively pretty. It’s too restrained to make any big mistakes and the girls sound pleasant — if a bit bored. From a pure production standpoint, the music is successful. However, nothing here is begging for a repeat listen. I wouldn’t turn it off, but I certainly wouldn’t rush to turn it on either. That’s pretty much our streaming/playlist era in a nutshell. So with this in mind, I must give SOS the most boring, neutral rating I can.
Hooks
8
Production
8
Longevity
7
Bias
7
RATING
7.5