Next up on the weekend of reviews for solo artists is Kim Sejeong. This is the soloist’s first comeback since the official disbandment of Gugudan. For those who missed it, Jellyfish Entertainment announced that Gugudan would disband at the very end of 2020, after two years of being inactive. A number of the members have since left the company. One of the members staying behind is Kim Sejeong, who has established a pretty strong solo career ranging from acting to singing, whilst still promoting as Gugudan. We last saw Kim Sejeong through her release of Whale last year. Last week, she made her solo comeback with the title track Warning and her second mini-album, I’m.

Warning is a very pleasant pop song, with its main centerpiece being a catchy, bright and cheerful sounding piano riff that makes this song so enjoyable. The word ‘pleasant’ used here is a very positive compliment and does not describe the full extent of appeal for this song (which I have described some songs in the past). If anything, Warning could potentially go beyond that ‘pleasant’ descriptor in the right circumstances. As the song progresses, there is always something new to discover in the instrumentation as a result. Aside from that piano riff that I have already mentioned, Warning also includes a sprinkling of synths to give off modern vibes and sound effects to add some fun colour to the song. Kim Sejeong’s vocals were also very strong in the song. What I enjoyed the most is that she doesn’t shy away from different types of delivery. We see snippets of her rap-speaking just before the first chorus, just speaking for the catchy hooks of the song and also singing along with the rap sequence. Even her vocals do a bit of changing, depending on the part of the song in question. The rapping, courtesy of lIlBOI, added some oomph to the song that you would think the song needed at first. But it really cuts the otherwise really consistent momentum of the song. There is one more element that really grabbed my attention, and that is the main hook of the song. The simple spoken repetition of the song’s title was really addictive and reeled me into the song from the first listen. Overall, everything in Warning came together quite nicely. Within the song itself, there was a lot of variety, some of which have been explored by the soloist herself.

To match with the pleasant sound of the song, the music video opted for pastel colours as the main colour palette for the video. Everything from the sky, to the word Warning that appeared behind both Sejeong and lIlBOI in some parts, to the sets were all of the pastel colour. It made sense to me why such colours were chosen, as they don’t appear too pale or too harsh to the viewer. Sejeong acts in a cutesy manner for this video. It isn’t over the top and the video is still watchable, unlike other music videos where it is unbearable. Overall, a fitting music video for the song.

Unlike her past singles, Sejeong’s promotions of Warning also incorporates choreography. There really isn’t anything mind-blowing or ‘never done before’ in this routine. I don’t think it would be fitting for such a laidback song. Instead, the choreography opted for a satisfying and pleasing routine to watch. It also allows Kim Sejeong to focus on her live vocals, which is undeniably her main centrepiece of the entire comeback.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8.6/10