In preparation of the upcoming return of Super Junior’s most active subunit, Super Junior D&E, with their first studio-length album (which also marks their 10 year anniversary as a unit), Donghae and Eunhyuk have released their first major solo songs since their debut over 15 years ago. Today, I will be reviewing their solo releases ahead of their official comeback in November. Now, it is Eunhyuk’s be.

If I had to compare the solo tracks from both Donghae and Eunhyuk, Eunhyuk’s be is definitely my pick. I find this song to just be more captivating to listen to. Eunhyuk may not be the Super Junior that is most known for his vocals, but he does an amazing job in be. We get some good vocals from Eunhyuk throughout the song, with him slipping into falsetto territory when we get to the chorus, which helped made the song stunning and aesthetic. When I heard be for the first time, I thought the song was going to be rather monotone. But I judged too quickly and the parts that we did get that were neutral contributed to the overall aesthetic of the song. For the instrumentation, the song falls within the pop domain. It was quite atmospheric to listen to, and also contributed to the overall aesthetics of the song. be‘s strongest part (and highlight) has to be the instrumental break. In the midst of the song, you get this rather choppy and random assortment of synths that forms the instrumental break, which pulls back your attention to the song. I really enjoyed how fitting it was with the overall aesthetic of be, and how cohesive it felt. It also added a level of dynamism and edge to the song, which made be even more captivating. It isn’t original technique, but it was definitely a well-used one.

I really liked the message behind the song, which was to his younger self (but it can be applied more broadly to everyone else). It was a simple message to not give up and to push forward, and that his adult self (present day Eunhyuk) would also be a part of his younger self. It is a bit of an abstract idea. But it simply says that your successful self is within you, you just need to push forward to discover that form of yourself. In the video, we see Eunhyuk dance (and is interchanged) with a young boy often, giving a visual representation to his message. At the end, we see Eunhyuk present self ascend to the sky, who looks back and smiles in such a proud and caring way. For the choreography scenes, I quite like the shots with the white stairs, as it felt complimentary to the message. But the one in the carpark and Eunhyuk dressed in green just didn’t fit the aesthetic in my opinion.

The choreography for be looked very cool and interpretative to a degree. I particularly like the swirl that is made with his and the dancers arms at the start of the choruses, and the dance break.

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