Song Review:: LOVEONE: FUNNY HONEY {Debut}

• Release date: 2024 November 22

• Album tracklist: FUNNY HONEY, FUNNY HONEY (inst.)

• Album runtime: 6 minutes

 I'm doing the debut first because there are a number of other releases today that are significantly heavy hitters, and rather than prioritizing one over the others, I'll simply do this one today. Looks like the maknae might be eighteen already, which pleases me greatly, and there's a seven year gap between oldest and youngest.

They're debuting under CMG Stars, which looks like it has been prioritizing duos over the last decade or so. Crush looks like he was a former artist of the company. There was a short-lived boy group that debuted in 2013 called M.Pire, and a slightly longer, short-lived girl-group that started out as a band called Kiwi Band, then BarbieD which debuted the end of 2014. The company currently has a duo called Minimani which debuted in 2021, and they apparently sing trot, among other things, which instantly piques my attention. You know I love some good trot music.  Hopefully these two groups can last longer than their predecessors, and I wish them both well. 

Ooh, it's been a hot minute since I did a small company's debut. I love debuts. I really do, and I hope all the best for them.

Ooh, a song that's over three minutes. Nice.

This feels like some proper disco music, which is a surprise and a delight, but it's still very mellow. We've got some orchestral strings behind the guitar and the drums. I am always a fan of this sound, and the fact that I get to just listen to it as the instrumental because it was included in the single gives me joy. The song starts off with a little bit of a fake out. I was honestly expecting fairy music from them, the gossamer, airy sound that is pretty but doesn't feel like it has a lot of depth. Instead, I'm pretty sure the instrumentals include a wood block. Do you know how long it's been since I heard a wood block in any music? I had to dig through the mental sound files to identify that one. I'm getting some early 3rd Gen girl group vibes off this song, or a song by Girl's Generation from the same time period. It's a very classic, timeless kind of sound, and I'm really enjoying it.

That fake out makes me laugh every time I hear it. I love it so much. The song is on the girls' vocal range, which lets their voices be well supported by their breath and doesn't require much falsetto except for a few strategic points. One of those points, I'm not sure she's hitting the correct note, and after that, the ad-libs are a bit wonky. But before that, it sounds very solid. So either she needs to not be the one doing those notes or she needs some more specific training on those kinds of notes, which isn't a bad thing as I've heard the difference more vocal training has done to Eunkwang and Changsub of BTOB, and they had incredible voices before. Professional athletes keep training throughout their career, even after they're successful. Musicians should do the same. Idols are both, which should require constant training, not just practice. But honestly? I'm hearing enough good things that, late-song wonky falsetto aside, I'm actually interested to hear what else they have in the future. The rapping is good. The song selection is good, especially for a debut. I'm more excited than I am concerned for the group, and I think they might have a shot at getting a song to make them popular, if this one is any indication, so I will be watching their progress with interest.

This is a really cute music video. It's part slumber party, part running through a field. The choreography looks good, matches the concept well, and seems like it will allow for live singing. These are all good things, and I didn't notice any weird vibes between any of the members, so either they get along well or they are very good at being professional. I am a little concerned about how small they seem, especially given their ages. I was expecting one of the members to have an arresting charisma, to be the It Girl for the group while they find their footing, and none of them seemed to have that kind of presence. But they're also a freshly debuted group. They have time to get comfortable in front of cameras and all the things that come with being an idol, but with their company's track record, they need to figure it out fast though and learn how to fill the space, even if they're small. 

With that in mind, I also took a look at their Music Bank performance to see if their live stage was different. And it's better. They still don't take up a lot of space with their presence, but it's better. They feel like they exist in the space this time. So that's good! Improvement! That's what I like to see. Wonky audio issues aside, it's a good debut performance. Also, at the time I'm posting this, the Music Bank performance had about 3x the number of views as the music video.