During the week, we saw the solo debut of Ryu Su Jeong, who may better known as a member of Lovelyz. Su Jeong is the second member of the group to undergo solo promotions after debuting, following Kei, who debuted under the stage name Kim Ji Yeon last year with I Go. As for Ryu Su Jeong, she made her solo debut on Wednesday with Tiger Eyes, which is the title for both her solo title track and mini-album. As this review is already a few days late, let’s get right into the review.

I am unfamiliar with the members of Lovelyz, so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect with these (and any future) solo releases. Kei’s genre choice was a ballad, which made sense (in a cliche way) as she is the group’s main vocalist. Su Jeong is the lead vocalist of the group, so I half expected her to follow with the ballad route. But she ended up going with a dance track. And I think it is very refreshing move. Interestingly, Su Jeong strays away from the more innocent and ‘lovely’ (pun intended) style we always associate with Lovelyz. Instead, she opts for a very mature sound and a complete 180 from the concepts in which we usually see Su Jeong in. It is definitely exciting and adds to that refreshing note. I think this is a great song. The consistent beat we get in the instrumental reminded me songs from Kylie Minogue. There is slight heaviness to the beat, which is a major difference from the iconic artist. In addition, there is a very subtle intensity mixed into Tiger Eyes, which was interesting. The chorus has a nice kick of energy, which keeps the song exciting. I also enjoyed how the bridge had those piano key strikes, adding a light element to the otherwise pretty bass heavy dance track. I liked how Su Jeong’s vocals don’t go into that powerhouse mode or really any powerful mode in that sense. Instead, her vocals go down a more subtle route, with her vocals staying relatively low. By doing this, Su Jeong adds an intriguing touch to the song. The ‘Tiger Eyes‘ hooks was quite memorable after a few listens and I really liked how Su Jeong gave that phrase some life. I feel like this song could have used a rap sequence of some kind to give it that added edgy dimension, which I believe will make Tiger Eyes even more exciting.

You probably could already read my mind ahead of the next sentence. The music video had that typical close up and choreography formula. But I can’t always expect for a music video to incorporate a plot line. What the director of Tiger Eyes does right is highlighting the mature change that Su Jeong is undergoing. I mean, we are seeing a Lovelyz member in a way we have never seen them before. And there is a little bit of mysteriousness in the music video. I feel like there is enough interaction between the close up shots (even though they do not necessary connect to one another) that allows that mysteriousness to come from.

I feel like the performance could have used some more catwalk like moments, as I feel like there is enough attitude into the song to really make that feel natural. That, with the right stage effects, would have made this a knockout performance. But what we got is very suitable for the song. My only problem is how Su Jeong would return to a more innocent image through Lovelyz’s promotions. Unless, this solo promotion is easing us into a very different Lovelyz…

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.3/10