Another group to have joined the ranks of rookies in 2025 is NEWBEAT. They are a 7-member male group, consisting of Park Min-seok, Hong Min-sung, Jeon Yeo-yeo-jung, Choi Seo-hyun, Kim Tae-yang, Jo Yun-hu, and Kim Ri-woo, under Beat Interactive. They debuted in March 2025 with the single Flip The Coin from their first studio album, RAW AND RAD.

Flip The Coin sees NEWBEAT debut with a hip-hop song that draws on 90s influences. And at a glance (which has been my exposure to the song until today), Flip The Coin nails the era and then some. The rapping, a major method of the song’s delivery, was pretty strong. But upon further inspection, Flip The Coin has its flaws. But before we get to those, I will mention that I enjoyed the detail in the instrumentation: the piano in the background of the first verse and final chorus, and the grungy electric guitars and brass during the bridge. They gave Flip The Coin some extra flair. Back to the flaws: since the 90s influence has been done so many times, the song needed something hooky to draw me back to it. Listening back to it, I can see why I never remembered much of the song. There was just nothing memorable or catchy enough in Flip The Coin to bring me back. Furthermore, the shouty motif didn’t help; it drained the song of its ability to connect and thus appeal. As a result, Flip The Coin was left behind and didn’t capture too much fanfare from me.

Truthfully, I have no clue what the music video is about. We see the members play two versions of themselves: a futuristic one and a mythologically inspired one. Both sides appear to be competing against each other at the peak of their worlds, though I have no clue what. I have no idea what the turntable that requires a tooth to operate is meant to represent. Past the confusion, the visual aspects of the music video are what I thought were cool. The post-production work was very detailed and cool-looking. I also liked the dark nature of the music video. It gave off a mysterious, intriguing vibe. I also liked the fast-paced camera work and transitions, which made the music video dynamic to watch.

As for the performance, I quite liked the intensity and energy the members brought to their routine. You could see the bouncy hip-hop influences come to life in the performance. The bridge was definitely the coolest moment of the routine, with the performance turning into a brief yet exciting hype dance battle.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 7.2/10