You know what’s not cute anymore? Car’s still in the shop. ILLIT’s “Not Cute Anymore” came out a couple of months ago. It’s an incredibly impressive pop song. It has this kind of, like, light, lithe, rocksteady vibe to it. I also hear it as a little bit of a pointed rebuke to how a lot of girl groups are framed in K-pop. Innocent. Sweet. And maybe it’s a bit of a broadside in the ongoing K-pop war between NewJeans and their parent label, Hybe. I don’t want to stoke conspiracy theories, but it is notable that a group that debuted under the same conglomerate not long after NewJeans’ debut, and which in its earliest moments were critiqued for having some stylistic overlap, that they’re coming out with a song that seems to indicate a new sonic direction feels pointed to me, especially now in 2026, in the wake of the ongoing legal battles between Hybe and NewJeans. Of all the Hybe-affiliated girl groups that aren’t NewJeans, ILLIT to me has always seemed to be the best. I was a huge fan of their 2024 single “Magnetic,” and they’ve had a number of songs since then that make it clear that they stand apart from the pack. I’m hopeful that other people’s drama won’t get in the way of ILLIT’s future. I think the release of a song like this is especially suspicious. But cuter. Oh, I’m home. Fuck you in oh one. What? No, I can’t let you go down on the ceiling. My head and your head. I’m just. I’m not kidding. Oh, my. Also confirmed again. I’ll make sure to tell you when I get super stressed. Come pull your mushroom book and then I’m on a song. Oh, I don’t like cherry Coke. I’m like, get Amy on your counter. I’m counting on you. I can’t swim. I know you’re not a child. Mercury. Oh! Oh, cute. And, But, I got to go. The, the sun and I didn’t control, A song like, you know.
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