It has been over a year since I reviewed a YENA release. The last being 2024’s NEMONEMO, though she did make a comeback last year with Being a Good Girl Hurts, which I have yet to review. More recently, she made her comeback with her 5th mini-album, Love Catcher, featuring the lead single Catch Catch, which has been doing the rounds on my social media.

Catch Catch takes me back to the cutesy, fun side of KPOP that I didn’t really love all that much back in the day. But in the current KPOP climate, it stands out with its earwormy hook, light-hearted and energetic vibes, and bright, hyper/electropop instrumentation. And all of this comes together to create a memorably fun track. There are also second-generation vibes emanating from the song, which is another aspect of Catch Catch that ‘takes me back’ and must be acknowledged. Of course, it is YENA who is the vector for such a song. She has a reputation for the cutesy charm, so it makes complete sense that she is the one who brings us Catch Catch, and I honestly cannot think of any other artist who would successfully nail Catch Catch like YENA has. The rapping in the bridge was a complete surprise, which shouldn’t be the case given her role as a rapper in IZ*ONE, but it’s been a while since I heard this delivery from her. The only thing holding back the song for me is the verses. They don’t have the same hold on me, compared to Catch Catch‘s centrepiece, and I wish there was something to the verses that does just that.

The music video sees YENA teasing and running away from some serious-looking people. After responding to a distress call from a friend and blowing up the serious people’s hideout in the desert, YENA is branded a ‘public enemy’ and hunted down. Along the way, she uses her bright, cute charms to ‘persuade others to ‘escape’, though she can be spotted miles away. But when all else fails, she chooses violence to bring down the serious crew. I love the fact that they had a muscular man don the yellow retro dress to play YENA during the fight scene – quite hilarious. I also enjoyed the rest of the retro concept, styling and patterns in this video, which all felt very complementary to the song.

YENA turns up the cute charms to make the performance super engaging and fun. It definitely comes naturally for YENA, and this alone makes her pretty unique in the current KPOP landscape. The main point of the performance is super fun and catchy, hence why it has become the Catch Catch trend.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9/10