VICTON is officially back with their first studio-length album since debut. Titled Voice: The Future is Now, the group launches right into promotions with What I Said as the title track. This comeback was originally scheduled for early December, but the members came into close contact with a person with COVID-19 days prior to their comeback. ‘The company, Plan M Entertainment, decided to postpone the comeback to allow the members to quarantine and ensure that they all had a clean bill of health (which fortunately, they did) for promotions. This follows Mayday, which was released in June of last year and Han Seong Woo’s solo debut with Sacrifice.

What I Said continues the Latin trend that has been going around the industry for the last few years. While this would definitely elicit a groan and a eye roll from some (which does include me), What I Said manages to stand out with the more energetic nature of the instrumental. I think it is better described as an explosion of energy, thanks to the layered instrumental of brass and thumping percussion. The song features a powerful dance pop vibe in the song, which really helps distract me slightly from the Latin influence that is undeniably there. And if you know me, I do like my vibrant pieces of music. So that really enhances What I Said for me. The members do a really good job of matching this vibrancy. From their vocals to the rapping, everything was definitely popped out at me. I liked how their vocals and rapping added an edgy vibe, which fits in with VICTON’s matured profile that they opted for in 2020. I also liked the energy they channeled through the vocals and rapping, giving the song some more power in another form. The hooks of the song made the song even better, giving it that memorability factor that I always looking for in these song. I did find the second verse the most interesting, with the start of verse reminding me of the ‘I Like It Like That‘ sample which was made recognizable most recently through Cardi B’s I Like That. Hanse’s rapping and Chan’s solo moment right after were very captivating and extremely intense. Overall, What I Said might be a bit cliché in some regards. But this is easily overlooked with everything else that VICTON pulls out of the bag.

Personally, I am not exactly sure if the music video sets have much meaning. They look quite extravagant, sleek and definitely something that feels like it was thought out. Furthermore, I am quite sure they reflect parts of the lyrics. But I just can’t seem to pinpoint the exact meaning or message behind the music video. I am always interested in reading theories, so feel free to comment any below that you may have figured out or heard from other viewers/fans. But I can say that the sets are stunning (as already touched on). The camera work looked cool and the video highlighted the visuals of each of the members. I also like their outfits in this video, especially those black jackets and gold detailing.

While the choreography is a great representation of all that energy, intensity and power that I mentioned in the song review section of this post, I felt the choreography was lacking depth and dynamism. I just wanted more with this choreography, something to make me go wow. The synchronization was good, but it just wasn’t paired with jaw-dropping moves that would have enhanced their performance even more.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 7.9/10