Also making their comeback on Monday was AB6IX, who returns with the new single 1, 2, 3 and special album, Complete with You. This comeback comes after AB6IX returned with CHERRY and MO’ COMPLETE (their second studio album since debut) in September of last year, and debuted in Japan with the Japanese version of CHERRY two months later.

1, 2, 3 is another fun and upbeat track that I quite enjoyed from Monday. It wasn’t my absolute favourite from the day in question, but it was definitely heading in that direction. Just like the song I had just reviewed, I find 1, 2, 3 to be wholesome and sweet, but these descriptors come about for different reasons. Put simply, 1, 2, 3 is a song dedicated to their fans (ABNEWs) and such feelings of wholesome and sweetness is a way the group is reaching out to their fans. I am quite sure the messaging and vibes from the song are making ABNEWs (and some potentially new listeners swoon over AB6IX). Personally, I am not as affected by this, but I still enjoyed the song nonetheless. I liked the funky pop nature of the song had. It, along with the beat of 1, 2, 3, was fun, upbeat and bright. What I thought made 1, 2, 3 even more likeable were the instrumental elements that gave the song a vibrant sense of colour. The guitar twangs in the chorus and brass in the post-chorus hook following the second and final choruses where the members became chanty with the ‘Let’s dance, 1, 2, 3, Let’s Dance, Left and Right‘ are prime examples of this. These are very typical when you think about it, but I thought they were well used in the song. The vocals and rapping quite solid, and were the main mechanisms to bring forth that wholesome/sweet combo. The bridge was quite cool, where 1, 2, 3 changes it up with a somewhat balladry-like approach. I liked how it wasn’t an extreme change to the song and how it cut the momentum briefly, but brought it back up for the final chorus. It also provided a bit of relief from the song, in case you felt the vibrancy and colour was a bit too much or repetitive, which I felt the song was also going towards. Overall, I feel that 1, 2 , 3 was another great and enjoyable song from AB6IX.

I was wary when I saw the ‘PERFORMANCE M/V’ part of the video’s title. I expected this to be a straight forward performance piece. But it ended up being a lot more. Sure, the performance plays a very prominent role throughout the video. But I quite like what else they did to the video. For example, I loved the curved corner rectangles at the start of the video and how it was used to introduce each of the members one by one. The black and white was also quite cool. The rectangles returned in a conveyor belt like use during the first post-chorus hook sequence. I thought this was a clever reuse of the style and pulls the video together nicely. Elsewhere, the video shows the different stages of preparing and going through with a serenade. When you consider the fact that the song was dedicated for the fans, I am sure an idea of a serenade from the members was given thumbs up. I just wished there was a bit more to the serenade in the video, as it seems a bit lackluster in terms of execution at least from my end and rushed to fit the song (maybe a brief interlude might have helped out).

Performance for 1, 2, 3 was great. The moves were relatively simple compared to their other releases, but they definitely worked well with the song. The whole chorus routine was quite fun to watch, and I liked when the later part of the sequence where the members move in a X shape just before Donghyun’s solo moment in the chorus. It just added a bit of sharpness to the routine.

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