Cherry Bullet was created by FNC Entertainment in 2019, which means that (at time of writing), it’s about to be their sixth anniversary. They originally had ten members: May, Chaerin, Yuju, Haeyoon, Jiwon, Bora, Remi, Mirae, Kokoro, and Linlin, but the last three left due to various personal reasons soon after debut. The group disbanded in 2024.

Here are my credentials: pretty few. I know a couple songs by Cherry Bullet and always meant to cover them, but I just never got around to it. Since they’ve now disbanded, I figured that now is as good a time as any to go through their discography. Let’s get into it!

Single #1: Let’s Play

Q & A takes off like…well, a bullet, I suppose. It’s quite minimalistic, with less of an instrumental than I was expecting, but the vocals make up for that. I really liked the “hey boyyyyy” section in the first verse; I wish it had repeated. Now it’s stuck in my head. As for the main hook, though, I wasn’t the biggest fan and I felt like the transition between verse and chorus wasn’t as smooth as it could be. The MV is quite fun, and really leans into the video game influences with this cool city pop aesthetic that I really liked.

From the single, I enjoyed the relaxed guitar and the sunny vocals in Violet.

Single #2: Love Adventure

Really Really seems tailor-made for spring, bubbly and almost bouncing along with an impressive amount of energy. I admit that it’s a bit hard to not compare this song to WINNER’s of the same name, despite them being very different in genre and overall style, but I did my best. Again, I have this issue where I feel like the transitions between the verses and chorus aren’t very smooth, despite both being good.

It’s not that big an issue, but it does make your mind register it, which usually isn’t a good thing. Otherwise, though, I thought this song was sweet and nice to listen to. I was a bit worried that they’d have an anti-drop for the chorus, but it’s fuller than I expected, not just relying on the instrumental. I also liked MV again, and how it managed to keep the video game influences while being mostly shot outside, which is a nice change of pace.

From the single, I enjoyed the rushing pace of Ruddy.

Single #3: Hands Up

Hands Up starts with the chorus, which is unusual, and I’m honestly not sure if it was a good idea here. It often works best when the chorus is the best part of the song (think Helicopter by CLC or Time For The Moon Night by Gfriend) but it’s not here. The song’s a departure from their sound so far, a harsher hip / hop trap working its way in. It I liked parts of it, such as the pre-chorus or the classical sample, but again, we have that issue of disperate parts not fitting together, just amplified here. I think this one’s a skip for me, sorry.

Single #4: Aloha Oe

Aloha Oe was one of the songs I’d heard from Cherry Bullet before, and while it never struck me then, I think it’s actually one of my favorites of theirs after listening to it in full. If Really Really is spring, this song is summer for sure. It’s propulsive and energetic, accompanied by this funky, brassy hook that I really liked. The transitions are smoother too, the chorus is catchy as hell, and the instrumental doesn’t take away from any of the vocals. It’s a great package all in all, and the MV is a lot of fun. My only gripe is that very short rap section, which interrupts the flow and just seems unnecessary.

EP #1: Cherry Rush

I confess that I had a funny feeling of deja vu the minute the song Love So Sweet started, which only ended when I realized that I wasn’t crazy and had in fact heard it before, having had a friend who was obsessed with it. I think I must have heard that hook a hundred times in the last couple of years.

Anyway, digression over; the song itself is peppy and bright, and a lot of fun, if you don’t think too hard about it.. The choreo is also really cute, and I like the crop top and pastel jeans outfits. But unfortunately, we’re back to the chorus and verse having an odd transition, and here it’s more clear than in some of the others, to the point where (at least for me) it’s tough to ignore. I will say, I really loved that high note before the final chorus and the last minute in general almost makes up for my little gripes.

From the EP, while I enjoyed the celebratory energy of Whatever, my hidden gem was easily the unusual, jazzy Follow Me.

EP #2: Cherry Wish

Love In Space was the first Cherry Bullet song I’d ever heard, and it caught my attention then and still does now. It takes the core tenets of their sound—the frizziness, the bubblegum pop, etc—and pairs them with a smoother synth beat that works quite well. It reminds me of Purple Kiss’ Autopilot, albeit more…well, spacey. (Sorry). The verses are fast paced and though there’s several different tempos, they all work together, and set you up for when the chorus comes rushing in to take you away. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s still a pretty good song. I challenge you to not head-bop along.

From the EP, I enjoyed the percussive Hiccups with its doo-wop influences, the bubbly sound of Kka Kka, and the great vocals in Broken.

EP #3: Cherry Dash

I didn’t realize at first that P.O.W. stands for Play On The World, but you know what, I should’ve. This is kpop, and kpop can never leave the possibility for an acronym alone. Never. It’s also their final song, unless they decide to do a Gfriend style reunion in a few years. The verses are alright, though I could do without the sing-talk, and the chorus is…something? It’s definitely unique, but I’m not sure if I like how it comes in and out like a malfunctioning speaker. I far prefer the second half of it, which has the main hook. It’s not a song for me, but it’s alright.

From the EP, I enjoyed the jazzy, Christmasy sound of Cloud Nine (my hidden gem).

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this. I knew almost nothing about Cherry Bullet, so as always, I had fun learning about them as people and their relationships with each other. I did my best to find interviews, but came up a bit short, to be honest; if anyone has one they’d like to recommend, let me know!

My Top 5 songs were Aloha Oe, Love In Space, Follow Me, Cloud Nine, and Hiccups, with Violet as an honorable mention. Cherry Bullet gets an 8.25 out of 10 from me. It’s not like any of their songs are outright bad; even the ones I had gripes with are definitely enjoyable. My biggest issue with the tracks were that the verses and choruses often just didn’t seem to flow, which I’ve mentioned, but also that even when they did, the songs didn’t feel very unique.

While they have a clear sound—-a fritzy, bubblegum, video game one—-and do it well, that doesn’t really change the fact that so many other groups do the same. And that’s not Cherry Bullet’s fault, but it does mean that someone like me, who listens to well over a hundred kpop songs a week, isn’t going to be won over. I’m sad that they’ve disbanded, though, because I do think they had the potential to carve out a clearer niche, and unfortunately, they won’t get the chance.

Next time, we’re onto another installment of soloist rankings—male idols, this time. Tschüss!