Quavo didn’t manage to find his way onto this collaboration, though, so SUCK IT!!
[Video]
[5.36]
[5]
Jessica Doyle: As Patrick pointed out before, “Treasure” itself owes a debt to another song, so there’s little point in getting indignant about “365 Fresh” being regurgitated Bruno Mars. But it is regurgitated Bruno Mars, presented by a concept that’s regurgitated Trouble Maker, right down to the death wishes and the implied threesomes. It’s not anything to get upset about; but it doesn’t do much to pass the time between CLC channeling 4Minute and Hyuna’s next summer solo.
[3]
Ryo Miyauchi: Triple H’s strict adherence to freshness as well as their “yes yes y’all”-type of crowd engagement follows the traditions of the Old School, but “players, champagne, showtime” can only be the religion passed down from the house of Puff Daddy. So “365 Fresh” intersects two past eras of hip-hop: the B-boy stance of the early ’80s and a throwback to post-disco glamour circa ’97. And the song’s success comes from how they mine what lies at the middle of the Venn diagram: a divergence from realness. The current iteration of their beloved genre, nostalgic or otherwise, rarely sounds this fun and silly.
[7]
Alfred Soto: A fascinating secondhand crisscross of black music: Puff-era triumphalism and Bruno Mars’ own late eighties biting, itself secondhand, not to mention a refrain that nods to Kool & the Gang. If it sounds more vibrant than Mars’ efforts, credit Hyuna.
[6]
Anaïs Escobar Mathers: The thing that pops into my head on my first listen of Triple H’s first single is that this is what Bruno Mars wishes he sounded like. That feels mean and I have no ill will towards Bruno but these sweet baby angels have the smooth beat and the humour just dark enough to be a bit subversive. This polyamorous Bonnie & Clyde or Thelma & Louise vibe feels right on track for Hyuna as she joins forces with E’Dawn and Hui from boy band Pentagon. The song and accompanying video embody the idea of “fresh to death” and feels timely in the world’s current state of uncertainty. Even a year ago, this sort of “live fast die young” vibe may have been a bit eye roll worthy but it feels wry and celebratory as we start each day looking into the unknown.
[9]
Thomas Inskeep: This collab between HyunA and a couple members of Pentagon is some co-ed funk-soaked ’80s fun: K-Pop rocking a Gap Band bassline, which serves it quite well. “365 Fresh” does, in fact, sound fresh.
[8]
Leah Isobel: I thought funk was meant to be more fun than this. No one sounds particularly engaged – the hook is supposed to be an exclamation point, but it lands with a thud. The production is just as lead-footed, with no sense of swing or dexterity. Maybe the idea is to do something with a light touch and a dead center, to contrast the opulent with the debased; the video’s second-rate Tarantino impression points in that direction. But it all just sounds so boring.
[2]
Mo Kim: Named like a generic brand and sounds like one, too.
[3]
Micha Cavaseno: The message here is a little bit confusing; on the one hand, using Bruno Mars-style funk-updates of an old Dennis Edwards’ tune while preaching in the first verse about fighting against artificial homogeneity and everyone trying to sound the same by becoming ‘chameleons’… I guess? Regardless, the whole team of Triple H sound perfectly at home, and the party vibes sound just the right amount of cocky so that by the end of the record they got you like: whoa.
[8]
Nortey Dowuona: Why? This is really just a poorly sung version of “24K Magic” with worse drums. Why? Because Paul Mooney was dead on. Why? Because the groove feels as if it’s been pumped up with helium and immediately popped under a sofa cushion. Why? Because some things just can’t work.
[4]
Claire Biddles: Is this… sung over an actual karaoke version of 24K Magic? Is that what everyone else has said?
[5]
Will Adams: It kinda sounds like they’re saying, “f-r-e-SMH,” which is fitting, because every moment I hoped to hear this admittedly charismatic trio try something other than a “24K Magic” cover, I was duped, and I shook my head in disappointment.
[4]
Madeleine Lee: Pentagon’s Hui and E’Dawn have different approaches to performing: the former is loudly eager to please, the latter chill and relaxed. As a group, Triple H needs to make these conflicting energies work with HyunA’s established presence, and the results are mixed. The trio achieves the right sense of effortlessness on “Sunflower,” but the post-“24K Magic” funk of “365 Fresh” (supposedly ’90s-inspired, which, not really) is trying too hard to be laid-back, while at the same time being too lethargic to be exciting. It’s still refreshing, in the way that a glass of pop is still refreshing even when the ice cubes have mostly melted into it and it’s starting to go flat.
[6]
Kalani Leblanc: Since Cube Entertainment lost both of their breadwinners in the same year, some wise guy came up with the idea to debut a subunit with Hyuna (the only remaining breadwinner) with two Pentagon members. Without thinking too hard, Triple H’s 365 Fresh is catchy until making the realization that the instrumental is shamelessly cut straight from Bruno Mars’ “24k Magic.” The special effort put in to make the Pentagoners sound special is hardly conceivable, since they sound like every other boy-group members ever — the thing Hyuna calls ‘her voice’ isn’t helping either. What makes 365 Fresh so catchy is not even their own. With all this said, 365 Fresh is as embarrassing as much as it is listenable, I wouldn’t willingly tell anyone I enjoy it. “24k Magic” is a solid [10] though.
[5]