One of the comebacks kickstarting the week is KickFlip’s Eye-Poppin’, the lead single from their 4th mini album, My First Kick. It follows on from their pre-release single Twenty, released a couple of weeks back, as well as their digital single album, From KickFlip, To WeFlip, which celebrated their 1st anniversary earlier this year.

Eye-Poppin’ sits well with the rest of their lead singles, channelling pop-rock energy from the onset and maintaining the energy that is often associated with the blend of genres. If anything, Eye-Poppin’ leans more toward the rock side, with rock elements in the instrumentation driving the song forward and lending it a somewhat electrifying edge. Nonetheless, a dynamic backing. The same can be said of the members, who definitely sound prolific throughout Eye-Poppin’. KickFlip has a good range, from deep raspy rapping tones to bright vocals, and Eye-Poppin’ helped highlight it all. I really liked the use of pauses throughout the song, which just gives the subsequent parts more of an edge. I also liked the song’s outro. I just wish the melodies and hooks were a little more developed, as they felt lost amongst the instrumental. It would have been better if they were an ear-equivalent of something “eye-popping”, which would have been fitting for the title of the song. But overall, Eye-Poppin’ is another punchy track from the group!

The music video shows the members competing with one another to get their crush’s attention by trying to look their best and stand out, which reflects well with the idea of wanting to be eye-catching to their crush, as expressed in the lyrics. Like the song, the music video is full of colour and energy, also complementing this aspect of the song. They don’t really succeed, as they all try to do the same thing: look cool and compete for the camera (i.e., the stand-in for their crush). So in the end, it looked like everyone had the same screen time. I liked MINJE’s reaction to them all wearing the same white hoodies. Heck, they also eat their burgers the same.

The choreography looks energetic and dynamic, which suits the song. There is also a fun and light-hearted nature to it, which again complements the group’s youthful charms. Nothing really stood out on its own, but it was a strong performance nonetheless. But the best part of their first stage was their stable vocals and rapping, which were on full display and deserved acknowledgement.

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