This week started off with two Queendom 2 acts making their comeback. First up on the reviewing block is Kep1er, who makes their grand return with Up!. This is featured on the group’s second mini-album, Doublast. This comes after the group’s debut back in January 2022 with WA DA DA, and more recently, their participation on Queendom 2 (as already mentioned).

Up! comes out at the right time, capitalising on the current Summer season in which Korea (and Northern Hemisphere) is in. This is the time we want to hear bright and vibrant songs, and I feel that Up! hits that part of the brief with no doubts. The track also capitalises on the group’s youthfulness, and brings about a fun and upbeat energy to a mix (which is synonymous with the Summer season). Both goes hand in hand in setting up Up!. There are a few aspects in the song that I quite like. The synths used in this song are felt refreshing and didn’t feel like a repeat of what we have heard thus far this year in terms of Summer songs. Up! features some really cool rapping that adds some deepness to the song and keeps the song grounded. The chorus was brought a trendy pop sound to the table and was pleasantly catchy. I do think a stronger melodic hook would have been more satisfying overall, but what we got in Up! is perfectly fine already. On the other hand, the post-chorus felt weak and didn’t feel concentrated enough. In addition to that, I also felt that Up!‘s reliance on cuteness is a hit or miss I wished it was toned down as it is a bit too cliché. A summer track can be youthful, without the need to steer into the cute domain. The vocals were plain in comparison to the rapping. Even with the autotune, it didn’t do much for me. And finally, the second half of the instrumental break in the bridge felt forced. The brighter first half was fine and fits in with the rest of the track, but the more intense second half (taking on a dubstep like approach), was unnecessary and creates an imbalance with the rest of the song. But overall, Up! is a decent Summer track.

A very colourful and vibrant video accompanies the release. No surprises there. For the most part, the video was decent, alongside the music. I did see them trying to push a cutesy agenda, which I am not entirely a fan of. But at the same time, it wasn’t a terrible concept for this video. There were some scenes that I could have done without, such as the awkward laptop POV scene and the lemon charging scene. They felt very random and didn’t make much sense to me.

I quite liked what they did with the chorus in this routine, with the arm wave at the start and the two lines of members. As for the dance break, I liked how bouncy the first half felt. And as much as I disagree with the second half of the dance break, the routine was pretty good. The rest of the choreography otherwise felt standard for me.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.2/10