Song Review: Dayoung x Jay Park – Flirty

Dayoung has carved out a nice little career as a soloist, which is probably for the best since it doesn’t seem like Starship Entertainment will ever promote a WJSN comeback again. Her material has pulled strongly from 2000s R&B, making her team-up with Jay Park feel like a natural pairing. The two join forces on digital single Flirty. This is an absolutely fine dance track. The two have decent chemistry and the light, percussive groove casts a few sparks. However, it’s not remotely exciting or ear-catching. I guess I just miss when K-pop sounded like K-pop (ie: like nothing else in the world). Thought Flirty has writing credits from Dayoung herself, it sounds like the kind of demo that could have been pushed on any artist in any part of the world. Flirty‘s barely-there melodies are flat and dull. The production mostly just stays out of the way. It’s nothing more than a vibe, and a brief one at that. With only two minutes to play with, there’s no space for Flirty to build toward anything. This makes the track feel more like a stopgap release than a highlight with real effort and intention put into it. Where’s the unique stamp we used to associate with K-R&B songs like this? ...