Here I am, slowly catching up on reviews once again. If you noticed, I didn’t release an album review yesterday. That will be released later today! But today, we are here to have a closer listen to Eric Nam’s Runaway. This is the male soloist’s first release since Miss You back in October of last year. More recently, Eric Nam started a podcast called K-Pop Daebak, which talks about the recent releases in the industry. I personally have not listened to it yet but since it is growing in popularity, I might start once I have more free time.

It seems like the industry is slowly approaching the warmer seasons. Runaway is best described as a tropical based dance track, which has been KPOP’s go-to sound for the Summer season for past few Summers. But it uses some acoustics within its instrumental to really make this track feel different from the rest of other typical tropical dance tracks. Together, Runaway ends up being laid back and refreshing, which is perfect for the fast approaching heat. Eric Nam’s voice was very calming and delicate, which I think suited that laid back and refreshing vibe. The melody was very nice and the chorus was very catchy in my opinion. I think the only disappointing aspect of the song has to be the shortness of the track. I am not sure how it would turn out if it was longer but I did want more, as it went by quickly. Overall, Runaway was a pleasant track that gets me excited for the Summer season of music ahead. Note that I am currently suffering in the cold as Australia is currently in Winter.

The music video was filmed with a home video concept. You know, the home videos we all have of a holiday in another city or country with our family. The one that we don’t want anyone to see because you were doing some weird because you were with family (i.e. those you are most comfortable with). I thought it was a nice video. It was light, matching with the song’s overall vibes. While the song talks about wanting to run away with your significant other, Eric Nam and his friend in the video is shown to be running away to have fun. I also liked how the majority of the video was shot at night and the lighting also helped with making it light and refreshing video.

The performance was nice. The main focus was on his vocals and the choreography comes second in this case. I thought the dance moves were relatively simple and that goes well with the light and laidback vibes of the song.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10