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Published:
2025-07-04
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ONE HIT WONDERLAND: "Soda Pop" by Saja Boys

Summary:

They popped onto the scene in 2025 with one hit single and fizzled out just as quickly - what happened to Saja Boys? Forced by the whims of Patreon subscribers, YouTube Music Reviewer Todd in the Shadows covers the rise, fall (and possible sabotage?) of KPop's briefest boyband, while desperately trying to untangle the innuendos of "Soda Pop".

Notes:

Todd in the Shadows is a real music reviewer whose gimmick is never showing his face and being very tired. You can find his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@ToddintheShadows

I am unfortunately not Todd in the Shadows, but I tried to do his voice justice.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

INTRODUCTION

[A silhouetted man in profile sits in shadow against a gray wall, playing a keyboard. He wears a dark hoodie, and has no other discernable features. He plays an instrumental piano chorus of Saja Boys' "Soda Pop". The man stops playing, his hands falling into his lap, and looks down.]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: [Loud, defeated sigh]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: Look, you guys are going to get me killed for this one, okay?

[SHORT CLIP FROM THE SAJA BOYS' LYRIC VIDEO, "SODA POP"]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: I swore I was never gonna cover this song. As a general rule, I don't review Kpop unless I absolutely have to because, honestly, y'all scare me. I've seen the fans crash government sites, I don't need them crashing through my front door because I said Jungkook was better than Jimin or whatever. Also, it's just too soon. The band itself is officially dead, but for all I know, that Jinu guy might come back as a solo artist in six months. Heck, that "Mystery Saja" might already be back in another band. It's not like we ever saw his face or learned his name - but I guess I can't fault him for that. Maybe I've been "Mystery Saja" all along! Ha ha, no. If I had a fraction of the royalties for this song, you bet your ass I wouldn't still be here doing this shit. But no, I am beholden to the whims of Patreon because my dog needed dental surgery and one of you sadists requested "Soda Pop," which means I'm getting murdered by rabid Saja Boys fans and will never be able to release the Best List of 2025 five years too late or whatever, which honestly is a relief.

[CLIP: SAJA BOYS PERFORMING "SODA POP"]

JINU: 'Cause I need you to need me
I'm empty, you feed me

ALL SAJA BOYS: so refreshing

BEFORE THE HIT

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: Okay, this is gonna be a disapointing section, because I couldn't find shit on Saja Boys before the hit. At first I thought it was because I don't speak Korean, but I've spoken to some Korean fans, and no, none of this information is public in Korea either. Now, that's never stopped fans before, because, like I said - scary. But the stalkers’ efforts were pretty frustrated because none of these boys even used their own names, except for possibly the leader Jinu, and I've seen speculation that's actually a reference to some court bard from the 1600s.

[An image of Jinu from Saja Boys and a historical painting of a minstrel holding a bipa. The faces do look similar, but since the painting is a bit stylized, it's difficult to tell.]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: Normally I'd say that's a stretch, like the meme about Keanu Reeves being immortal, but based on their final performance -which we'll get to - it's clear they did take a lot of inspiration from Korean history and fashion, so maybe it's possible? Since all the rest of the boys have aliases related to Kpop archetypes, it would make some sense for the leader's name to be a reference to traditional Korean music. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it and the rest of the boys were nameless vessels to launch Jinu's solo career, which backfired. For all I know, these boys were bred in a Kpop lab to take over the world with the purest distilled Kpop boyband energy ever known to man. I mean, look at them. You've got Romance Saja, the romantic one, Abby Saja, the one with sexy abs, Baby Saja, who is supposed to look cute and innocent, but that one gif of him sucking on hot sauce like a bottle haunts my nightmares, Mystery Saja, the mysterious one, and the leader Jinu. Not sure what his schtick is. But someone decided to build the most Kpop boyband ever to Kpop, and we don't even know who. The band's producer is listed as "Gwi-ma," but as far as I can tell, that company doesn't exist anymore, and doesn't seem to have ever produced another band. So the thing about the Saja Boys is that there is no "before the hit" or "after the hit" there is only -

THE HIT

[CLIP FROM THE "SODA POP" LYRIC VIDEO]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: Saja Boys - forgive the pun - "pop" into both the Kpop and global music scenes immediately with their multi-platinum hit "Soda Pop" in June 2025, out of absolutely nowhere. And when I mean nowhere, I mean they didn't even have a decent budget for a music video.  And I looked for one!  They did release a lyric video which is almost a music video, and is mostly them performing a concert on a random street. The most expensive thing about this video would almost certainly be the Huntr/x cameo, and no, I don't buy into the fan theory that Saja Boys never existed and were a fake band to set up fake drama to boost Huntr/x's sales, Huntr/x were already topping the charts and did not need the help. If you ask me, I think someone in the Saja Boys band or management knew Huntr/x personally and collaborated to manufacture drama for Saja Boys' benefit, not Huntr/x's. But even riding the coattails of the most popular girl group in Korea is not enough to explain a hit this big. Part of it was sheer emptiness of the international 2025 charts, which were just waiting for something new to replace the monster pop hits of 2024. And for that, they got "Soda Pop," which I simply must accept was also bred in a lab to be the catchiest song in existence.

[CLIP: INTRO TO "SODA POP"]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: And, sorry to disappoint… some of you who want me to tear this song to shreds, but there are some elements that I actually like. The can opening sound is clever, the synth is… well, it's silly, but it's supposed to be dumb harmless catchy fun, and it gets the job done. This song knows what it's about… at least instrumentally. Lyrically? Well…

[CLIP: "SODA POP" FIRST VERSE]

JINU: Don't want you, need you
Yeah, I need you to fill me up

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: [long sigh of defeat]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: We're gonna have to talk about the elephant in the room, huh?

[IMAGE: THE SAJA BOYS POSING IN PASTEL OUTFITS]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: There has been a lot of speculation on the Saja Boys' sexualities, mostly from fans outside of Korea, and I need to remind you all that what is coded as gay is different in different cultures. In Korea, these outfits and general "vibe" all read as "straight". I also need to remind you that we know absolutely nothing about these artists personally - they are all playing characters based on Kpop archetypes… and whatever "Jinu" is doing. And yes, I know their fans are called "The Pride," but that's apparently because "saja" means "lion" in Korean. I make no claims or speculations about the actual artists, who are all clearly very private people. My analysis is only about the song itself. That being said:

JINU: Yeah, I need you to fill me up

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: "I need you to fill me up"? Look, I'm a straight man, and I have no idea what cisgender heterosexual act usually results in the man getting "filled up". Don't get in the comments - I don't think I want to know. The songwriter is credited as "Jinu" and it's possible he just didn't know that this would sound… well, extremely gay to an American audience. Or maybe he did - no one has managed to get an interview with the guy since the band broke up, so we just don't know. Moving on!

JINU: Yeah, I need you to fill me up
마시고 마셔 봐도
성에 차지 않아
Got a feeling that, oh, yeah (Yeah)
You could be everything that
That I need (Need), taste so sweet (Sweet)
Every sip makes me want more, yeah

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: Okay, maybe this is a "Watermelon Sugar" or "Despacito" situation and is actually about cunnilingus. Oh, you didn't know those songs were about eating out? Wake up, sheeple! Anyway the lyrics are just vague enough that Kidz Bop let them through unchanged while at the same time feeling quite suggestive.

MYSTERY: Lookin' like snacks

ROMANCE: 'cause you got it like that (Woo)

ABBY: Take a big bite, want another bite, yeah

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: Ow! What kind of sex are you having, Saja Boys? Perhaps this is a reference to the proud tradition of eating ass.

MYSTERY: When you're in my arms, I hold you so tight (So tight)
Can't let go, no, no, not tonight

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: Fun fact, the only lyric that Kidz Bop changed was "hold you so tight" to "make sure you're alright." Guess biting people was fine.

JINU: 지금 당장 날 봐 시간 없잖아

ROMANCE: 넌 내꺼야 이미 알고 있잖아

JINU: 'Cause I need you to need me
I'm empty, you feed me

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: [Sigh] I return to my earlier point about filling people up, and suddenly it sounds like a different type of butt stuff. What type of sex is this song about?

ALL SAJA BOYS: So refreshing

BABY: My little soda pop

[CLIP FREEZES ON THE SAJA BOYS MIMING DRINKING A SODA WITH THEIR FINGERS TO THEIR LIPS]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: I wonder if the song was originally "Lollipop" but it got changed for being too sexual when men do it.

ALL SAJA BOYS: You're all I can think of
Every drop I drink up
You're my soda pop
My little soda pop
Cool me down, you're so hot
Pour me up, I won't stop
You're my soda pop
My little soda pop

[CLIP OF TODD IN THE SHADOWS' SILHOUETTE, WITH HIS SHOULDERS BOPPING IN TIME TO THE MUSIC. HE CATCHES HIMSELF AND FREEZES]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: "cool me down, you're so hot," that's not how physics works! But I have to admit, the chorus is catchy. Now you know I don't think TikTok is a good judge of music, but there is a reason this was one of the biggest dance trends of 2025. It's such an earworm - I was singing it, you were singing it, don't even deny it, and I swear I'm not just saying that because the fans broke into the white void where I record my videos and are pointing a gun at me off-camera.

BABY: Uh, make me wanna flip the top
한 모금에 you hit the spot

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: Is that… a remix of "I'm a Little Teapot" in the background? Why? What does that have to do with anything? Also, on my first listen I swear I heard Baby Saja say "Imma cum when you hit the spot," but no, it's just Korean for "in one sip", and I guess I just have a filthy mind.

BABY: Every little drip and drop, fizz and pop, ah
소름 돋아 it's gettin' hot

ABBY: Yes, I'm sippin' when it's drippin' now
It's done? I need a second round
And pour a lot and don't you stop
'Til my soda pop fizzles out

[CLIP OF THE SILLOHOUETTE OF TODD IN THE SHADOWS WITH HIS HEAD IN HIS HANDS]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: This song is about sucking dick. It's about sucking dick. Did Kidz Bop know? Did they -

ROMANCE: 꿈 속에 그려왔던 너

MYSTERY: 난 절대 놓칠 수 없어

ROMANCE: 널 원해 꼭

ABBY: I waited so long for a taste of soda
So, the wait is over, baby

ROMANCE AND MYSTERY: Come and fill me up
Just can't get enough
Oh

ALL SAJA BOYS: You're all I can think of
Every drop I drink up
You're my soda pop
My little soda pop (Yeah, yeah)

[CLIP OF TODD IN THE SHADOWS, WITH HIS SHOULDERS BOPPING ALONG TO THE RHYTHM]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: Help - I can't stop - my shoulders… they just keep moving! It's like I'm possessed!

ALL SAJA BOYS: Cool me down, you're so hot
Pour me up, I won't stop (Oh, oh)
You're my soda pop
My little soda pop

JINU: Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
You're my soda pop
Gotta drink every drop

[CLIP OF TODD IN THE SHADOWS OPENING A CAN OF SODA AND TAKING A DRINK OF IT IN TIME TO THE MUSIC]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: So that was "Soda Pop" by Saja Boys. And now I'll disappoint and anger everyone by saying my main thought on it is "meh". I don't love it, I don't hate it, it's just not for me. It's a catchy bop - but it's almost too polished, too overproduced. The one thing the song has going for it - besides being an earworm - is that it seems to have a genuine sense of playfulness, and it allows itself to be a bit silly, a bit wink-wink, nudge-nudge about the innuendo. I have never heard a song so soullessly corporate and so fun at the same time. And before you murder me - this was clearly not the type of music they wanted to make, as evidenced by:

THE FAILED FOLLOW-UP

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: Okay, here is the part of the video where I get genuinely mad, because not a lot of people know this, but Saja Boys almost had a follow-up, and it was good. So, the Saja Boys explode onto the international music scene with "Soda Pop," promote it for two weeks, and immediately break up after winning a bunch of awards. But unless you were in Seoul or following the band very closely, you might not know that they actually gave a free concert right after the awards show, and here's where the involvement with the girl group Huntr/x gets especially weird.

[CLIP OF HUNTR/X PERFORMING "TAKEDOWN"]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: As mentioned before Huntr/x (who unlike Saja Boys are still around) were the largest kpop girl group in Korea at the time, and had done a number of appearances with Saja Boys, clearly trying to help Saja Boys get their career off the ground. Huntr/x have a very… weird performance at the Idol Awards show where there seems to be some conflict onstage, and afterwards there is a rumor that the band has broken up. No one seems to know where exactly this rumor came from, and the band itself has never spoken about it, and honestly? I suspect it was a publicity stunt, because Saja Boys immediately announce they are hosting an impromptu free concert in Seoul that night to make everyone feel better about the breakup. Now, you can't just put on a concert in one day. Where did they get the venue? When did they rig the special effects? No, this was clearly a publicity stunt teaming up with Huntr/x, who showed up at the concert and performed jointly with Saja Boys, having not broken up at all. But I don't want to talk about Huntr/x anymore, I want to talk about the song that Saja Boys performed at the concert, because instead of playing their multi-platinum single "Soda Pop" they debut an unreleased song, a song that, in fact, will never be released and exists only in bootlegged recordings of this concert, because I am convinced that this song itself killed Saja Boys.

[CLIP: A SHAKY VIDEO TAKEN FROM A FAN'S CELL PHONE OF SAJA BOYS PERFORMING "YOUR IDOL"]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: This song, which fans call "Your Idol," because, again, it was never officially released, is a dark, scathing, satirical takedown of idol culture and the Kpop industry. They critique the way that stars are put on pedestals, the way that fans engage with Kpop music as a way of avoiding the problems and difficulties in their own lives and in the world at large. They almost liken pop music to a drug for the masses. And look at this performance - it's dark, and weird, and threatening, with no hint of the cotton-candy characters they've been playing until now. And instead of the cheerful, corporate mass-appeal of "Soda Pop," the music is more experimental, metal, and electronic. And I like it. This is the music of a band who gives exactly zero shits about mass appeal, and makes music because they are passionate about it and have something to say. This is what Katy Perry's "Chained to the Rhythm" was trying to be. I wish this was the song that everyone knew Saja Boys for. But after this performance, none of the band members were ever seen in public again, none of their social media profiles were ever updated again, and any online presence Gwi-ma ever had was wiped from the internet. So here's my theory: Saja Boys went rogue. They were supposed to perform "Soda Pop," but instead, they performed a song that Gwi-ma didn't want them to release, a much more niche song that's straight-up insulting their fans. And I admire the balls, the dedication to their art, but someone higher up pulled the plug on them fast, and whatever happened behind the scenes was so messy that Gwi-ma itself imploded. When whatever NDAs expire in fifty years or so, someone will make bank with their tell-all book. And that was it, the end of Saja Boys.

DID THEY EVER DO ANYTHING ELSE?

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: No.

DID THEY DESERVE BETTER?

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: Yeah. Oh yeah. Five young men plucked out of obscurity and molded by this mysterious Gwi-ma company into these stereotypes of both Kpop artists and Asian men which they clearly chafed at -

[CLIP OF MYSTERY SAJA BARKING LIKE A DOG]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: - and the minute they break out of their pastels and their characters and release something dark and weird that they seem passionate about, the minute they release a critique of the industry, of idol culture, they are dropped by their label, basically shot dead in the water. They had something to say, and the Kpop industry made sure they didn't get a chance to say it. That being said, I'm not sure if they want better. Like I said at the beginning, one or more of them might come back for a solo career under new management, and I'm actually surprised that Jinu guy hasn't already, since this all seemed like a marketing ploy to launch him specifically as a star. But it doesn't seem like any of them particularly liked being Kpop stars, judging by their last performance and their weird behavior -

[SAME CLIP OF MYSTERY SAJA BARKING LIKE A DOG]

TODD IN THE SHADOWS: So maybe they are somewhere out there on a tropical island, coasting off the "Soda Pop" royalties in obscurity until they die. Would that I could do the same. Unfortunately, my dog has cavities again, so check out my Patreon. Better yet, check out this week's sponsor, Nebula…

 

Notes:

Many thanks to my friends who beta read this and lent me their expertise on Kpop and on Todd in the Shadows!