Song Review: Hearts2Hearts – Moonride

Brand sponsorships are plentiful in K-pop, and every once and a while they result in an original song and music video. Such is the case with Hearts2Hearts’s team-up with Kia. The “moon” in Moonride refers to a new dark trim offered by the company and makes me expect an equally beguiling song. Alas, this Moonride turns out to be another drive through K-pop trends that won’t die. Yes, this is officially the 2,764,283rd girl group track that borrows heavily from UK garage beats. The production pulls in lounge elements for good measure, crafting a relentlessly subdued track over which the girls deliver seesawing, sing-song melodies. The highlight of Moonride is certainly its chorus, even if it sounds like many other SM girl group tracks of the past. I like the vocal layering in this segment. It adds character to an otherwise predictable hook. Unfortunately, this is immediately followed by an irritating “backseat of the car” repetition that makes the Kia tie-in painfully apparent. In the end, Moonride primarily becomes these two moments over and over (the verses are too forgettable to count), causing the song to quickly devolve into the commercial jingle it’s designed to be. Hooks 7 Pro...