he/him
Okay so nobody got it right and, as much as it pains me to eliminate this song so early, I feel like it's karma for that terrible post of yours @codecat. Without further ado, it's time we say goodbye to...
We held hands and ran
On top of the messy flower road.
8.201
Buddies: 10x4 (@codecat, @Attis, @RUNAWAY, @savilizabeths) 9.5x2 (@Slice of Life, @Music Is Death) 9.25x2 (@Wills, @Vixen)
Antis: 5x1 (@Serg.) 6.5x1 (@eliminathan) 6.75x2 (@Cotton Park, @BEST FICTION)
Hosts:
@junglefish: 9
@savilizabeths: 10
The title track of 'Parallel', Love Whisper was released in a weird time for the group. Having experienced kind of a setback after the release of Fingertip, a song that was very divisive among buddies, Source Music decided to go back in time and try to recapture some of the School Trilogy that made their flagship group a force in the K-Pop industry. Did they manage to do that? In a way, yes. Love Whisper is a bright song that immediatly brings to mind GFRIEND's hit Me Gustas Tu while not sounding as twee as the latter. It successfully incorporates every element that makes the GFRIEND sound and, in my opinion, is a great song. As someone who wasn't enamoured with Fingertip when it was released, seeing my favorite group go back to their roots was all I needed, so I was thrilled. At the time.
Looking back at it now, it's so very obvious that SouMu realized they should have waited a couple more singles before trying to change what had made GFRIEND successful and their attempt at course correcting the group's trajectory feels a bit cynical which, in turns, makes Love Whisper sound a bit hollow. Still, as I said before, it's a great song and definitely not one that should have left already! The production, as expected from Iggy & Yongbae is pristine, the girls sound good and we get some gorgeous moments from Yuju. I also love that dance break moment, infusing the track with some early '00s vibes. That along with Yuju's high note that arrives right after are my favorite parts of Love Whisper.
In the end, was Love Whisper a successful attempt at capturing what made GFRIEND so special? Yes and no. As I said before, it does a great job at being a GFRIEND song, it's only downfall is being released at a difficult time for a group struggling with its identity. Did it at least do well commercially? Well, the song and the corresponding EP ended up selling a little less than Fingertip so, while it wasn't a flop, it wasn't a hit either.
It's difficult to say what would have happened for the group if SouMu had decided to push forward with the new identity they had tried to carve out during the 'The Awakening' era. Maybe they would have managed to get the public on their side again and fill the void left by KARA, maybe not. It's also completely possible I'm just talking out of my ass and Fingertip was always supposed to be a one-off thing followed by a more typical GFRIEND song, but then my writeup would be much shorter.
Do you guys share my feelings for Love Whisper? Let's see:
@eatyourself (7) : I'm not a big fan of this one... This era felt like a poor retread for them and I'm glad they re-released the mini with Summer Rain and Rainbow.
@M24 (8) : My least favorite korean single from them… it's decent, I just feel like the chorus is not that good, only Yuju's parts kind of stop me from falling asleep. The outfits in the MV are a choice.
@Attis (10) : Clearly a course correction, though I won't complain because the song itself is amazing. It's so soothing and purifying.
@Slice of Life (9.5) : FFFFFFFF the way i couldve easily given this a 10 too! It has honestly grown so much on me yath!
Lastly, as a little bonus and just for funsies I went back in time to check what the forum had to say about Love Whisper on release day... Oh boy. Here's a little taste of what I had to deal with at the time!!! Names removed to protect the anonymity of those beasts:
I really like the new video for Me Gustas Tu.
Hmm, that GFriend song is incredibly bland. Let me play Pingatip.
The new GFriend is... a little disappointing to me. I'm devastated about it, but I have hope that it will grow on me soon. It lacks the bombast that all of their singles have had so far that makes them amazing.
I think it'll grow on me but it's not the best of their school girl bops. Rough & Navillera still knock so they didn't really top their best with this one.
This is such a step back for them. I don't mind that they've chosen to revisit their debut sound, but this had none of the excitement of their previous releases.
Love Whisper is boring.
We held hands and ran
On top of the messy flower road.
8.201
Buddies: 10x4 (@codecat, @Attis, @RUNAWAY, @savilizabeths) 9.5x2 (@Slice of Life, @Music Is Death) 9.25x2 (@Wills, @Vixen)
Antis: 5x1 (@Serg.) 6.5x1 (@eliminathan) 6.75x2 (@Cotton Park, @BEST FICTION)
Hosts:
@junglefish: 9
@savilizabeths: 10
5 voters: 36
10 voters: 41
15 voters: 50
20 voters: 56
26 voters: 62
10 voters: 41
15 voters: 50
20 voters: 56
26 voters: 62
The title track of 'Parallel', Love Whisper was released in a weird time for the group. Having experienced kind of a setback after the release of Fingertip, a song that was very divisive among buddies, Source Music decided to go back in time and try to recapture some of the School Trilogy that made their flagship group a force in the K-Pop industry. Did they manage to do that? In a way, yes. Love Whisper is a bright song that immediatly brings to mind GFRIEND's hit Me Gustas Tu while not sounding as twee as the latter. It successfully incorporates every element that makes the GFRIEND sound and, in my opinion, is a great song. As someone who wasn't enamoured with Fingertip when it was released, seeing my favorite group go back to their roots was all I needed, so I was thrilled. At the time.
Looking back at it now, it's so very obvious that SouMu realized they should have waited a couple more singles before trying to change what had made GFRIEND successful and their attempt at course correcting the group's trajectory feels a bit cynical which, in turns, makes Love Whisper sound a bit hollow. Still, as I said before, it's a great song and definitely not one that should have left already! The production, as expected from Iggy & Yongbae is pristine, the girls sound good and we get some gorgeous moments from Yuju. I also love that dance break moment, infusing the track with some early '00s vibes. That along with Yuju's high note that arrives right after are my favorite parts of Love Whisper.
In the end, was Love Whisper a successful attempt at capturing what made GFRIEND so special? Yes and no. As I said before, it does a great job at being a GFRIEND song, it's only downfall is being released at a difficult time for a group struggling with its identity. Did it at least do well commercially? Well, the song and the corresponding EP ended up selling a little less than Fingertip so, while it wasn't a flop, it wasn't a hit either.
It's difficult to say what would have happened for the group if SouMu had decided to push forward with the new identity they had tried to carve out during the 'The Awakening' era. Maybe they would have managed to get the public on their side again and fill the void left by KARA, maybe not. It's also completely possible I'm just talking out of my ass and Fingertip was always supposed to be a one-off thing followed by a more typical GFRIEND song, but then my writeup would be much shorter.
Do you guys share my feelings for Love Whisper? Let's see:
@eatyourself (7) : I'm not a big fan of this one... This era felt like a poor retread for them and I'm glad they re-released the mini with Summer Rain and Rainbow.
@M24 (8) : My least favorite korean single from them… it's decent, I just feel like the chorus is not that good, only Yuju's parts kind of stop me from falling asleep. The outfits in the MV are a choice.
@Attis (10) : Clearly a course correction, though I won't complain because the song itself is amazing. It's so soothing and purifying.
@Slice of Life (9.5) : FFFFFFFF the way i couldve easily given this a 10 too! It has honestly grown so much on me yath!
Lastly, as a little bonus and just for funsies I went back in time to check what the forum had to say about Love Whisper on release day... Oh boy. Here's a little taste of what I had to deal with at the time!!! Names removed to protect the anonymity of those beasts:
I really like the new video for Me Gustas Tu.
Hmm, that GFriend song is incredibly bland. Let me play Pingatip.
The new GFriend is... a little disappointing to me. I'm devastated about it, but I have hope that it will grow on me soon. It lacks the bombast that all of their singles have had so far that makes them amazing.
I think it'll grow on me but it's not the best of their school girl bops. Rough & Navillera still knock so they didn't really top their best with this one.
This is such a step back for them. I don't mind that they've chosen to revisit their debut sound, but this had none of the excitement of their previous releases.
Love Whisper is boring.
