Honoring our commitment to fair and balanced coverage by checking in on the other side of the KPop Demon Hunters aisle…
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[4.57]
Ian Mathers: Well, maybe not.
[5]
Joshua Lu: Literal demons trying to steal souls via braindead pop music is such a hilarious “2008 illuminati conspiracy” concept to throw in a children’s movie, but it works here precisely because “Soda Pop,” the fake boyband’s debut song, is so thoroughly generic (imbued with the corporate sterility of, like, ENHYPEN singing the theme song for a children’s show) that it feels a little evil. It accomplishes its goal too well; even removed from its source material, the forced cheeriness of the song is eerily uncomfortable.
[3]
Leah Isobel: Because of the plot demands of the film in which it features, “Soda Pop” rests on a shininess that must be revealed as deceptive and must, therefore, be detectable as deceptive to the audience. In the movie, I’m sure it works just fine. On its own, this makes the song way too sparkly to pass as contemporary pop music — it lands closer to Backstreet Boys than Stray Kids — while simultaneously defusing any structural attempt to make that level of polish feel justified. In other words, this is the worst key change I’ve ever heard.
[4]
Aaron Bergstrom: The most important lesson of KPop Demon Hunters is that you should never be ashamed of who you really are. The second most important lesson of KPop Demon Hunters is that demons make better music.
[7]
Nortey Dowuona: This is all it took to take y’all’s souls? Damn, we are screwed. Me, I was out when the lumbering percussion swallowed the bridge into the last chorus. Ian Eisendrath, you have much to answer for.
[3]
Claire Davidson: Ian Eisendrath, the executive music producer for K-Pop Demon Hunters, has stated that the lyrical frothiness of “Soda Pop” was intended to be something of a double-edged sword, invoking the addictive potential of the titular substance to subtly parallel the Saja Boys’ ulterior motives in the film. That’s a cute gimmick, and I’ll admit that the song’s combination of chiming keys with a deeper, shuffling rhythm in the bassy synth pads does keep the track appropriately buoyant, even if its inclusion of whistles and can tabs popping make “Soda Pop” sound like it was released precisely in 2015. Yet the everything-and-the-kitchen sink approach that shapes the song — including both a trap breakdown on the second verse and a key change on the final hook — makes “Soda Pop” feel so scattershot that the song doesn’t even have a strong enough foundation to dupe the audience with its more nefarious subtext.
[5]
Will Adams: It’s nice to find the rare kindred spirit who also believes that Omi’s “Hula Hoop” is underrated, but this could’ve used more fizz.
[5]
In the context of the movie, “Soda Pop” sounds much different from the Huntr/x songs we’ve heard so far, “How It’s Done” aggressive and “Golden” resolute. This is a love song, and love is stupid to kids. But I think it is supposed to be good, and I don’t think the Saja Boys are supposed to be bad—the hunters are all attracted to them. And for the American audience, the frame of reference here isn’t other kpop, it’s Disney songs. This isn’t my favorite song from the soundtrack, but I think the context is a little different than people are saying.
I dunno, I think BTS’s Dynamite still wins for worst key change I’ve ever heard, as it’s paired with sticking to the downbeat. Soda Pop at least has a teeny bit more rhythm. And also if you told me Dynamite was a means for demons to devour human souls I would believe you.