I got into P1Harmony at the beginning of their Killin’ It era. After listening to their older music, I can see that Killin’ It was a turning point in their musical direction, as it was their first full album. They still make music in a style that is unique to them, but it seems like they have begun trying something new. I have seen people complain about their newer music not being the same as their older sound and how it sounds a bit “gimmicky,” which I personally don’t agree with because 1. Their newer songs have garnered them significantly more recognition than their older songs did (especially since they were mostly known for memes, which is a pit that many K-pop groups struggle to make it out of) 2. They are genuinely evolving musically (especially their rappers), and I do not believe that they are just trying to do what is popular in K-pop now. From what I’ve heard, they are still P1Harmony, and they are still developing their lore, which began in their pre-debut movie.
About the Title Track
Now that I’ve gotten all that out of the way, let’s talk about “DUH!”. “DUH!” features a traditional Hip-Hop sound (the one that sounds like a high-pitched police siren at the beginning of the song). Young Posse also did a similar thing in “ATE THAT,” which drew heavy inspiration from the GTA 5 soundtrack, or in BTS’ “If I Ruled the World.” I especially liked the pre-chorus because it really took you out of the song for a moment and I just really liked the tone and delivery of Theo‘s parts. I like to see the pattern that P1Harmony has started since their Killin’ It era, where they have a specific hand gesture dedicated to each era. I hope they continue this trend because it makes the eras even more memorable to me, and I also think that it’s a creative aspect that I don’t see a lot of K-pop groups doing.
The B-Sides
The promoted B-side of the EP “Pretty Boy” takes inspiration from Afro-beats without sounding too copycat-like or just following trends as other K-pop songs have made me feel (*cough* Smart by LE SSERAFIM *cough*). I also like the message that the song puts out, as it is supposed to speak on the issue of East Asian men being infantilized and fetishized for their “pretty” looks. The song is an expression of confidence and communicates that there is nothing less masculine about a man who is “pretty”. This song is interesting to me because it talks about an issue I have never seen mentioned by K-pop groups and is sometimes even normalized by them. I also like this song because it was mostly written and composed by Keeho, the leader of P1Harmony. The only part of this song that disappointed me was the fact that it was just below the 3-minute mark in length.
“Murmur”, the third song on the EP, reminds me of Leslie Odom Jr.’s “Standards”. It also reminds me of the song “Alright” from P1Harmony’s EP Sad Song. This song gives a message of not caring about what people say about you behind your back or “in the shadows” with lyrics such as “Say it to my face. Don’t act up from the shadows. I know your words are low-grade fake news. No words baby, nothing but a murmur.” Even if you know you have haters, their words don’t matter to you because they’re to scared to say them to your face.
“Flashy” might be one of my favorite songs from the EP, as it uses the signature P1Harmony “everybody sing together” sound in the post-chorus. It is something I hear a lot from P1Harmony, especially in their older songs like “Everybody Clap”, “Black Hole”, and “Follow Me”. The post-chorus really made this song stand out for me. The post-chorus also reminded me of the post-choruses in Pentagon’s Naughty Boy.
Though “Over and Over” didn’t really stick out to me as much as the other songs did, I thought it was still a pretty good song. Like “DUH!”, it also had a magnificent pre-chorus that I could listen to “over and over” again (see what I did there?). However, the chorus doesn’t exactly provide a satisfying feeling after listening to such a good pre-chorus, and maybe would have sounded better if it were sung instead of chanted. Still, I get what the song was going for, and I still enjoy listening to the chorus. Maybe the stuff this song lacks for me has something to do with it being only 2 minutes and 54 seconds long, but I could be wrong.
“Work” may have a chorus, but the song seems to flow like a Disney Land river attraction, taking you in different directions. I don’t think this song would be as good of a title track as “DUH!”, but I would have loved to see what kind of choreography could have been created with it as a promoted B-side. The unique combination of sounds and melodies used in the song allows it to stand out significantly in P1Harmony’s discography.
Closing Remarks
To close this out, I would like to say that listening to how P1Harmony’s music has evolved since their debut in 2020 is so interesting to me, and I would definitely recommend everyone reading this to listen to their debut EP, Disharmony: Stand Out, if one wants to get a feel of how their music may have changed.
Bibliography
“This Is the Highlight Scene P1Harmony Claim Their Moment with DUH!” Tmrwmagazine.com, TMRW, 2025, www.tmrwmagazine.com/en/news/p1harmony-claim-their-moment-with-duh. Accessed 10 June 2025.
“Genius English Translations – P1Harmony – Murmur (English Translation).” Genius, 2025, genius.com/Genius-english-translations-p1harmony-murmur-english-translation-lyrics. Accessed 10 June 2025.
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