EXO kicks 2018 off with their return to the Japanese market with Electric Kiss and their 1st full-length album, Countdown. The album contains all of EXO’s previous Japanese singles (Coming Over, Love Me Right ~romantic universe~, Drop That etc.) that they have unveiled during their concerts and other performances. Like their promotions in 2017, Lay did not participate in the comeback due to scheduling conflicts.

I love the instrumental to this track. It is the first thing that popped out at me when I first listened to the track, which had this heavy yet powerful feel to it. In a way, it is definitely really dramatic and it shapes the track into something spectacular. The instrumental asks for something rough and edgy, which is delivered through the vocals. I love the roughness of some of the member’s vocals, especially D.O’s, whom I think compliments the instrumental really well. Of course, the other members all sound often but I feel like D.O’s is a perfect example for this explanation. Per usual, Chanyeol’s and Sehun’s raps were on point in this song, catching me off guard with their raspy voices. Sure, there was definitely some editing to them but it is an electronic song, which makes senses. The chorus was definitely the main highlight of the song and I like how they approached it by inserting the ‘It’s going to be electric‘ line between each line of the chorus. And the bridge was also quite good. While this is just a Japanese release, if they were to come back with something like this in South Korea, I think they could even perform better than what they have already achieved.

I like the fast-paced nature and the flashy style they have gone for. It is really is fitting. I setting is also fitting, going well with the edginess that you can feel from the song. The video was quite good and had that cool factor to it, which went well with the song. I know this is rather short but that was the main comments which I wanted to make in regards to the video.

With the performance, I expected something with a whole heap of intensity. And while they did tick that box, I just don’t think the choreography as a whole was the best fit. I wanted something more to it which would have made me go wow. The formations and how they go into those formations were remarkable, especially during the chorus. Everything was quite sharp but it just didn’t seem enough to me.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8.3/10