Saying goodbye is not so controversial…
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[4.83]
Ryo Miyauchi: Love and memories prove to be finite in Sistar’s farewell song, written in a form of a break-up note. It’s bittersweet coming from a group who celebrated one of the most tight-knit sisterhoods in pop, but it’s also a sign of growing up: here, they sing a deeper, more personal kind of loneliness than the one they sang in 2012.
[6]
Will Rivitz: The adult contemporary of K-pop: impassive, sophisticated, and boring.
[3]
Alfred Soto: Diane Warren was capable of prettiness, and “Lonely” is how I imagine a Warren-written K-pop ballad to sound like.
[5]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: Given recent farewell songs from Wonder Girls and 2NE1, that “Lonely” doesn’t play to Sistar’s strengths and opts instead for superficial melodrama is both unsurprising and disappointing. The track’s a slog, and Black Eyed Pilseung should have at least switched things up mid-song like they did with Niel’s “Lovekiller.” Imagine if Sistar left with a song that started off moody and ended with something chipper. The whole thing feels like a missed opportunity.
[3]
Thomas Inskeep: A big midtempo production, ballad-ish in nature, that’s pretty enough but never really goes anywhere.
[5]
Iain Mew: Instead of another farewell ballad, here’s a heartbroken ghost of a banger. Drops rev up but don’t drop; everyone sounds aware of the stage lights turning off around them. But while they’re still on, they’re going to seize their moment.
[7]