Song Review: Allergy by (G)I-DLE

I was much more taken with the pre-release ‘Allergy’ at first listen than I was with ‘Queencard’. Acting as a prequel for the latter, ‘Allergy’ takes a more sentimental tone that attempts to appeal to people worldwide struggling with their insecurities, hence becoming ‘allergic’ to the mirror as a result. The insecurities were shown to stem from the large influence of social media today, which had only grown more intense after the pandemic.

Allergy excels in the chorus, which is one of the strongest melodies I’ve heard in K-pop all year. Not to mention, the English lyrics flow very nicely, which is a big contrast to the heavily criticized rap in an earlier title track, ‘Tomboy’. This gives it strong, and long-term appeal, as both its chorus along with its accompanying melody are timeless, with the issue being spoken about likely staying relevant for the decades to come.

However, even as Minnie does her best to make the opening verse less cringe with her admittedly fitting pronunciation (the Billie Eilish thing going on) in the context of the song, the phrase ‘I hate Instagram, I hate Tiktok’ feels out of place and awkward. I think it could have been moved somewhere else in the song so the message isn’t lost but it would have been executed in such a way that would feel more appropriate. It is probably a personal vendetta against this, but I still have something against it.

I do like the production for the most part, especially in the chorus, but over time, it does seem to wear itself thin. This seems to be the reason why the number of times I play Queencard and Allergy has become inversely proportional. I think it suffers from a similar issue with Queencard of not going all out, even more so, that time does not seem as kind to it with the former.

Thankfully, due to the great vocal delivery from the members, which feels quite emotive, it keeps the song compelling despite its lacking areas. The rap is also well done, as expected from Soyeon.

Overall, Allergy is a good song that could have been great. It needs a bit more reinvention. I think Soyeon still has tons of room for growth, especially as a producer. She has had her moments here and there, but I still don’t think she has hit her peak yet.

Hooks – 9
Production – 7
Vocal Delivery – 9
Rap Delivery – 9
Overall – 8.5