Red Velvet’s group work may be quite infrequent at this stage in their career, but a full album from member Irene should tide some fans over. She made her solo debut in 2024 and has also been active in a sub-unit with fellow member Seulgi, but a full project like this affords extra opportunity to develop her own sound. That sound seems largely tied to the dancefloor, though I wish title track Biggest Fan remembered that Irene is a singer as well.
You all know how I feel about this “talking over a club beat” epidemic in K-pop. I love upbeat material, but have become so frustrated that these dance beats have somehow taken the place of melody. To me, melody is the single best predictor of longevity. It stands the test of time. And with regards to melody, Biggest Fan is a pretty big offender. Very little (if any?) of the song is actually sung. Instead, Irene skirts through the brisk club beat with various cadences of talk. From verse to chorus, Biggest Fan hinges on attempts to create catchy catchphrases. Unfortunately, I’m not in the catchphrase business. Otherwise, I’d be reviewing novelty t-shirts instead of music.
I’m a big fan of Biggest Fan‘s production and wish it had an actual song to support. The beat is bright and buoyant and carries its propulsion through its entire runtime. It’s a nice mix of disco, electro and more modern dance sounds. But at the end of the day, production is rarely what I remember about a song, and Biggest Fan‘s irritating sing-talk hooks are unlikely to grow in the way that Hearts2Hearts’ similarly talky RUDE did. A requesite “La La La” conclusion doesn’t add much to the recipe.
Hooks
7
Production
9
Longevity
7
Bias
7
RATING
7.5