Song Review:: STAYC: ...I- GPT

• Release date: 2024 October 30

• Album tracklist: GPT, Meant to Be, GPT - Instrumental, GPT - Acapella

• Album runtime: 13 minutes

 I've heard them perform, and I'm vaguely familiar with them, but otherwise I don't know much about them, so I need to take a minute to look at the group. Ah! Yes! I remember that xikers's Seeun did a challenge or something with STAYC's Seeun. They pass the maknae age test, so we are good to go and golden!

Also, can I just say, I really love that we get both the instrumental version and the acapella version. That satisfies a lot for me. 

Five seconds in and I'm in love with the song. I really hope that it continues with the old timey sound. I'll be sad if it doesn't.

It does not, which is disappointing, but the instrumentals that continue feel like a natural continuation of the intro. Going from something that sounds like it comes from The Lawrence Welk Show to something that sounds more disco is well-done and rather clever. That was well-done. The instrumentals also sound somewhat like the little I've heard of Ditto by NewJeans. It took me a couple of minutes to figure which song I was thinking of. This is a cute little dance number.

This song also has a lot of the airy qualities that I've come to expect from a girl group song recently, except the members aren't spending most of their time with breathy vocals. These aren't bold vocals as they're breathy-adjacent which keeps them in the same vicinity as many of the other girl groups, but they're supported by the breath, which does a lot for the song. I never thought I'd say this, but I think the song could benefit from some rapping. Still, even without it, there's a slight edge to the vocals that really holds the song together and shakes off some of the lethargy of the recent trend with girl groups.

The costumes are fantastic. There are definite nods to older fashion with them, and the ethereal white does as much to the air of the whimsical as the rest of the styling does. But oh, I love the story. Given the lyrics, I'd argue that while the music video goes with the literal falling in love with an AI, the point of the story is dealing with loving someone who only responds, but never initiates. And even though it hurts, as is evident by the end of the music video, it's both for the best and will also be made easier when you stick with your support system and your friends and family.