Kang Daniel was the biggest name from Wanna One and was expected to soar high in the industry upon making his solo debut with What Are You Up To. But certain events got in the way of that and his debut was fast forgotten due to a lack of promotions. He returned in late 2019 with Touchin’ but cut promotions short to focus on his mental health (good on him, though!). But it is 2020 now and it is time to turn over a new leaf. Kang Daniel kicks off 2020 with the release of his second mini-album, Cyan, which features the title track 2U.

The first that came to my mind upon my first listen to 2U was that everything was very easy on the ears. And this is a stylistic choice that I really am enjoying. With the amount of focus I am placing on current events, songs that are this easy on the ears are able to provide some brief but much needed relief to my mind before I need to refocus. The song’s main synth may sound pretty bland and plain at first, but the combination of the beat and the song’s melody really helps mitigate this. Together, I find the track to have a subtle groove, which I thoroughly enjoy. I do like his vocals, which feels fresh and gives the song a shot of vibrancy. There is a tad of smoothness that makes this song even more enjoyable when it comes to the melodic chorus. I do find it interesting that there was no rap-speak type of rap sequence, which I think would have suited the song perfectly. But what we got served in 2U is amazing already.

Kang Daniel works as the really fashionable and trendy janitor at a theater, which employs a pretty unfit security guard. No judgement here though, as I am equally as unfit as the guard. He seems to invite his friends to a night in at the theater. But after some time, he was caught by the security guard. Not sure if the whole thing was imagined by Kang Daniel, which may have been the case with that ending. Kang Daniel is still the janitor, didn’t lose his job but the security guard is very suspicious of him. I found the video to be lighthearted and not too heavy, like the song. It was enjoyable and matched the atmosphere of the song.

The choreography was pretty good. Everything was casual and easygoing, which is essentially the song (and entire comeback) described in two words. I like how the choreographers added more dancers as the performance progressed, seeming like a friendly and fun congregation was being formed. I particularly liked the ending of the choreography (onwards from 2:55 of the music video). I liked the interaction with the backup dancers and the casual vibes that literally came from this section of the performance.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9/10