[Review] iKON - My Type

Rounding out the rookie corner this week is YG Entertainment's newest group iKON. Originally the Team B that lost to Winner, this set of trainees had to wait an extra year before their debut with "Welcome Back." While a year is certainly a long time, iKON had to be careful to not be similar to their now-sunbaes, but maybe the YG flag would be enough to give them (more than) a pass regardless.

Let's start with the good: "My Type" has smooth written all over it. The song isn't too slow or too fast. It hits the elusive sweet spot and you can hear the hip-hop (or is that R&B?) resonating in the background even if the main vocals are slower. The iKON voices aren't too bad, and I do appreciate the fact that they cure rapper syndrome right away by giving Bobby and B.I the chorus. They are a considerably large group, so leaving out the rappers could've happened, but thankfully it didn't. Not sure who the main vocalist of this group is, but Junhoe should comprise that role. He has a voice full of depth and it's not as high-pitched as the others. Out of both the trainee groups, his voice is the most interesting and has the most potential.

Perhaps the influence of his non-iKON appearances have overwhelmed me, but Bobby's rap was pretty forgettable. Now obviously this song can't be put in the same realm as his Show Me The Money performances or "Born Hater" but I definitely was expecting more from him. Mino showed that he could still have solid raps after an official debut so a shame Bobby couldn't do the same. B.I on the other hand was a pretty big miss. His voice reminds of G-Dragon but he's (a) got a higher voice and (b) simply not as good as his sunbae / mentor. Oh, and that part at 3:00. Never again. Never. Again.

We're treated to a pretty classic MV. Yet another group of boys find interest with one girl. When will the idols of Kpop ever learn? Probably never. Actually, wait a minute. Didn't one of Big Bang's latest videos gave everyone their own girl? I guess it'd be tough giving all 7 members (except it wouldn't be). Almost the entirety of the video shows the group hanging about and doing seemingly arbitrary dance moves out on a basketball court / athletic area (I did see traces of a track field or something similar). I laugh every time they race by on their scooters. It was silly when Sistar did it and it's still silly now heh. Other than that, there weren't too many specific / individual interesting things that stood out to me for the video. Stereotypical videos have been getting painful for a long time now but I'll manage. It's the audio that intrigues me the most anyway.

I would still call this song the little brother of "Empty" by Winner though. I just can't shake the feeling of familiarity from my head no matter how many times I listen to either. Not to say this is a bad resemblance, as "Empty" was an excellent track. Decent vocals and a decent set of raps equal a decent song, naturally. In the grand scheme of things, it's a pretty average debut that will be bolstered heavily by the YG name.

[ Overall: 80 / 100 ]