Niel, the main vocalist of the boy band, Teen Top has officially made his solo debut. He did release a pre-release at the end of January, titled as Affogato, which I didn’t hear about. Also, to launch his solo career, he was a part of the new TV show 4 Things Show, which (I believe) talks about the personal life of the stars. On top of that, he also used his members C.A.P and L.Joe in this mini album and also had Dok2 feature in his title track. I believe his solo debut has been talked about for some time, with rumours originating since last year on forums that I have been silently reading. Yes, I do that. I can never be motivated to create an account though.
The soft guitar sounds open up the song for us. We then proceed to get Niel’s vocals which are quite husky. I never thought that Niel would have a husky voice, but now he does. So for the first part of the song and the first chorus, we got this RnB kind of sound that actually matched the lyrics quite well. Afterwards, the song changed up a little. We started to get more of an electronic beat and more modern sound. Not complaining, though, as I quite liked the change between the two and how they manage to go well together. The rapping was pretty good (why am I even commenting on that part, Dok2 is always good). I just don’t like that pause right afterwards and the sounds that Niel makes immediately after the pause. Why did the song just have to stop there for that 1 second? Also, I don’t like the background vocals for the chorus. It felt awkward and kind of made me cringe.
I don’t know why I find many videos boring nowadays. This one is between boring and good though. We see Niel rock up in a van on a really rainy day. And then we get shots of him dancing by himself in the tunnel, with cuts to his model girlfriend, played by Yoo Seung Ok. We get flashbacks to the happy times. The music video does go back to the lyrics though which is quite good. When he sings “When you don’t pick up” (something like that, not 100% translation, maybe just 50%), they have scenes regarding mobile phones and etc. When the song picks up and starts to transform, we change to a different set of Las Vegas style signage. I don’t get the connection, but I actually liked that set a lot. Also the tunnel with the lights was pretty cool as well. The music video was quite dark and I am guessing that represents heartbreak and sorrow.
This dance has references to Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal. When I heard that, I was surprised and excited. Just, there was no “man leaning at impossible angle” move. I was very disappointed in that though. I found that his moves seemed much smoother. With the clicks in the instrumental, I was expecting some kind of sharp movement. But anyway, the dance was pretty amazing. I know Teen Top does mad dances, but I think they should try this style out. It looks very cool.
Overall, a pretty nice track. The music video was so so. The dance was well polished and professional looking. 7/10
Do “with u” by grizzly
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