Following winter’s excellent Killer, SHINee’s Key is back with new mini album Good & Great and its title track of the same name. Key is one of those idols I know I can count on to deliver a strong dance track, driven by his unique vision and effortless charisma. Good & Great retains most of those factors, though its edges have been smoothed.
This song takes me back to Key’s 2018 solo debut One Of Those Nights. Rather than opt for big, bombastic melodies or chugging synthwave production, Good & Great is subdued and hypnotic. The instrumental pulls generously from 90’s piano house, adding percolating electro squiggles for extra rhythm. On its face, the sound is quite generic — but it’s well-delivered and satisfying.
I’m most impressed with the rhythmic delivery of Key’s vocals during the song’s verses. The phrasing is much faster than I expected, adding a welcome drive to these segments. This allows the languid portions of the chorus to stand out. Ultimately, Good & Great feels a bit too repetitive for its own good and never really develops past its core ideas. But the combination of its lean production and magnetic performance helps it stand out within its well-trodden genre.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Are you planning on doing an in-depth review or atleast a buried treasure? Because the mini seems absolutely great personally….
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also the way things are going it seems both of key’s tracks are going to be on your top 10 of the year! a win for the shawols
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I’m not the biggest fan of Killer but I really dig this one a lot! Funk has been on a roll these past few years and Key really pulls it off well.
Also I watched the MV while getting off work and it was exactly what I needed lol.
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Man, Key never misses with his music. His past title tracks really set the bar soo high but I have a feeling this will become one of my favorite tracks of the year.
Also, are you planning on doing an in-depth album review for his new mini album later this week? 👀
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I’ll most likely have a buried treasure post, but I’m not planning on doing a full album review for this one.
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If you are please do Can’t Say Goodbye!!!!
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:0 My first comment!!! Let me say I have been reading your reviews for over a year!
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Welcome to the comments section!
It’ll take me a few more listens to determine which song I want to spotlight, but that one is definitely in the running.
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Definitely feel like Can’t Say Goodbye is an easy listen but Live Without You just grows me the more I listen. And CoolAs has mad personality!
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Key never disappoints, ALL his solo works have been a 10/10 for me. This one is not an exception. I’m going to listen to the full mini album right now!
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This man can do no wrong. He is somewhat both really popular and extremely underappreciated 🤣
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This reminds me of One Kiss a lot in a good way and this is such a summer bop (although this came out in September). So breezy and effortless
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Previews suggested it’s going to be okey-ish, but boi I was wrong.
I’m loving this!
It takes me back to his solo debut, and while this ep is not as strong as FACE, the single still slaps. Yup. Key remains my fave solo kpop idol.
PS CoolAs is 9.5, right? RIGHT?
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Uhm… This time to me it’s a Meh. I can easily guess that, given the schedule of his deliveries (either as a soloist and with SHINee), SM as usual focuses on quantity over quality, but Key IMHO deserves a little more caring, being the only artist left in house to have a peculiar and distinctive sound.
The whole ep is generically “trendy”, but “stunning” or at least “interesting” is another matter. I did adore his previous albums and had lots of expectations, but giving this stuff 2 full listenings seem enough not to have any will to give another.
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such a good album in general!
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Meh. I was expecting a decent score because of it be Key and Shinee related but if this had been released by anyone else it would have been judge correctly as a bit average with a lacklustre chorus.
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This one’s just fun right out the gate, and I love it for that. An easy, pick-me-up type of song that’ll probably get a smile out of me every time it comes up while I’m shuffling through a playlist. Sometimes that’s all I want. The whole mini album is solid, too. Much love for Can’t Say Goodbye, and I was sold on Live Without You three notes into him singing. Always a good day when Key drops new music!
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Key is always the best. This whole EP is so good. He’s one of the most consistent artists in music. I was so excited when he announced this and I was absolutely not disappointed.
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Key releases bangers and bangers only. Amazing album too.
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First time through, I thought this song might be a little slight relative to the rest of Key’s title tracks but it sinks its claws into you very quickly. Its groove is utterly infectious upon multiple listens and I literally can not sit still while it plays. I can’t dance or speak Korean but I want to sing and dance my way through the whole thing.
Also leave it to Key to craft a wonderfully cohesive and complete feeling comeback. From the b sides to the choreo to the MV, it all fits so well. The MV has got to be one of my favorites so far this year, its just so entertaining and creative. It reminds me a bit of Onew’s circle MV so I wonder if the same people were behind it.
As always Key is both good and great from start to finish!
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this is the first title song from Key that I feel nothing. Key’s strong character is still here in the concept, but the music is not for me.
(I already don’t expect too many from the dance sneak peak, and the full song is even worst)
Let me listen to the whole album and see if there’re songs that save me from this hell
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It’s good but not great though no one beats Key for his teasers and promos. This one is probably in B- territory for me.
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It’s four on the floor house and it’s Key. I’m biased. I think it’s great. As is the EP.
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This album is SO good. Though ‘I’m good I’m great I get paid’ has been stuck in my head for the whole week that it’s a bit surprising the song’s only dropped yesterday haha.
If you’re not doing a buried treasure for Coolas, here’s a shout out to readers browsing the comment section to check it out! This is one of the best bside songs I’ve heard in kpop all year 💯
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100% agreed about CoolAs, one of my absolute favourites this year for sure
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Hands down one of the best B-sides as I’ve heard this year as well. It gives me Jessie Ware-ish disco-funk inspired dance pop. I can’t see anyone else in K-pop doing this kind of sound but Key. He just has that flair
PS : One of my wishlist is that he’d do a collab with Kylie Minogue, but this’ll do for now
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Soundscaping. I think I would like the song better if the vocal was not EQ’d to death. The vocal performance volume has been leveled so every damn line is at the same damn intensity. I wish there were soft moments, medium moments, whispery moments, relaxed moments, and full volume declaratory chorus. But everything is bam right in face. It is almost exhausting to listen to at a normal volume, tolerable at half-volume.
For example, the section that starts at 1:21 needs to just soften up and coast along in the groove. Instead it is so insistent nervous energy.
The instrumental sounds fly, and I love the walking bass.
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