Heize’s Unrecognizable Look In New Music Video Sparks Debate Over PNATION “TikTok-Fying” Its Artists

Singer Heize recently made her much-awaited comeback with the single “Vingle Vingle,” which has already taken over the Korean music charts.

The song is a dance track, a marked contrast from Heize’s discography so far, which is more R&B and indie adjacent. But it’s not just her sound that the singer has switched up with this release. Heize, usually seen in softer looks, turned it all around with a bold and futuristic glam for the “Vingle Vingle” music video. This change in her appearance is closely tied to the video’s concept, where she portrays a social media influencer and sings and dances to impress her audience.

But fans are divided over this new sound and appearance of the artist. The naysayers are disappointed primarily at PNATION, Heize’s label. They feel that the label has typecasted all its artists into making a specific type of music that has the potential to go viral on TikTok. Many pointed out that Jessi, a former labelmate of Heize, released similarly TikTok-able songs during her years with PNATION. This new track is a very abrupt departure from her usual sound, and some fans are skeptical if Heize was willing to try out this style of music or if it was Psy, the head of the label, who brought the idea to the table.

• “PSY at it again, huh?”
• “IDK, it’s kind of fun to see Heize try something like this.”
• “I can’t believe I’m listening to Heize perform a song this cringey… At least her voice still sounds great.”
• “I definitely like her older stuff better.”
• “I had no idea she dances…? Since when? Maybe it’s because I only know her older stuff…”
• “It’s fine if she’s the one who really wanted to try this… but we all know this is right up PSY’s alley.”
• “The song’s whack… but so is her entire style for this… I haven’t seen Heize in a while, and I would not have been able to recognize her if y’all didn’t tell me.”

• “Watch the MV, guys. It’s funny.”
• “I loved her ‘HAPPEN’ era… What happened?”
• “Why so… tacky? I don’t understand music these days. It’s the same melody over and over again. None of them stand out to me. They’ve all gone meaningless.”
• “This is so disappointing…”
• “This song wasn’t really made for Heize. Anyone could’ve released this. Heize is losing her spark, her color. There’s nothing setting this apart… T-T”

The other half of the listeners are happy to see that Heize is experimenting with fun releases that are far from her established comfort zone as an artist. International fans especially seemed to love that the singer is not afraid to experiment with her range as an artist and show that she can pull off different genres even after becoming such an established name in the industry.

• “But she CAN release music like this once in a while. This is fun!”
• “But it’s OK that she’s trying new things. LMAO. Let me remind you that Heize is the one who brought this song to the table and asked if she could give it a go.”
• “Let her do what she wants, guys. Haha. I’m sure she expected the conflicting reactions when she released the song.”
• “I’m OK with this, though.”