ILLIT is facing backlash over their new title track “Do the Dance” from their third mini album Bomb.
The track dropped on June 16 KST and hit over 15 million views on its music video in less than three days. While the song is viral on social media, criticism is growing fast.
A TenAsia article highlighted fans’ complaints about a repetitive vocal pattern, the “ddu-dda-ddi” sound. Listeners say it’s overused, pointing out it also appeared in their last release “Tick-Tack."
The song’s similarities to “Tick-Tack” go beyond vocals. Both tracks share the same 4/4 rhythm, heavy bass, video game-like sound effects, and electronic pads, raising questions about ILLIT’s artistic growth.
This sparked heated debate on Instiz, where netizens are split:
“I don’t listen to their songs because they’re always the same…I heard people saying this song was good, so I gave it a listen as soon as it came out. But it was again the same as last time, so I turned it off.”
“The song is good, but this time it has a retro vibe, so it’s quite different from their previous songs. I think (the vocal patterns) are just their signature like tripleS does with ‘La la la’ in their songs.”
“I loved the instrumental part at the beginning of the song. But when the lyrics started, I immediately got turned off.”
“I liked the previous song and this song as well. I’ve been listening to it constantly.”
“I feel so too.”
— “If you say the song wasn’t that good, everyone treats it like a hate comment, which is a bit…”
The controversy shows no signs of cooling as fans weigh in on ILLIT’s sound staying stuck in familiar territory.
