KISS OF LIFE’s ‘Midas Touch’ is shaping up to be one of 2024’s most memorable K-pop song singles. Ever since, it is safe to say that the general K-pop community have since been keeping tabs on what they would do next. Their latest single, ‘Sticky’, is a perfectly pleasant summer song that fails to wow but does its job regardless.
‘Sticky’ was released the same date as BABYMONSTER’s and STAYC’s most recent singles, but I intentionally restrained myself from writing about it back then because it wasn’t exactly compelling. On one hand, there is nothing that the song really does ‘wrong’. Its melodies perfectly match with the season, and the vocal arrangement really helps fill in the minimalist and somewhat sparse production, utilising their voices as an instrument. KISS OF LIFE’s skillset is enough to bring out the best in this song. It works. I can see what they were going for and it did it. And expectedly, the girls performed the hell out of this song. Julie in particular is an absolute star (I’ve been saying this ever since my review of her solo song, ‘Kitty Cat’) and deserves all the attention she is currently getting for her stellar dancing.
However, looking at the track of singles that KISS OF LIFE released in their past comebacks, ‘Sticky’ sticks out like a sore thumb in the sense that it doesn’t really contain elements that made them sound distinct from the rest of the other girl groups of the moment. Even songs which I am not too big of a fan of, such as ‘Shhh’, had a certain attitude and bearing that sort of gets lost in Sticky’s ‘perfectly pleasant’ construction. In this sense, I can see why several fans of KISS OF LIFE have expressed their disappointment towards this release. It is a tad too generic to match the branding of music that they have been carefully curating ever since their debut.
Not to mention, I fear that the main hooks present are too one-note to have real longevity. I can sense that it would grow to be a noteworthy summer song of 2024 (specifically), but would it be compelling enough after the summer months pass and another year passes by? Truly good summer songs are worth coming back to the summer after and beyond. ‘Sticky’ does not strike me as such a song, even as its hooks are slowly sinking into me these past few days watching videos that utilise this song as the background music. I would be glad to be proven wrong, but really, there is only two melodies in the entire song that stick with me, and they don’t do much to develop, unlike the likes of the best summer songs such as SISTAR’s ‘Touch My Body’, which has a gloriously rich set of melodies that has since become timeless. I hope to be proven wrong.
Overall, ‘Sticky’ is definitely a step-down from ‘Midas Touch’, but by no means is it an offensive piece of music.
Hooks – 7
Production – 8
Vocal Delivery – 9
Overall – 8
K-pop Evaluated 
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