CSR made a splash with their debut last year with their bright Pop? Pop! single and their subsequent comeback in November 2022 with ♡Ticon (which I have yet to review – will do so in the future). Just over four months on, CSR made their return with their second comeback, Shining Bright, and second mini-album Delight.

To me, the opening of Shining Bright took me right back to their Pop? Pop! debut. The super engaging electronic thumps just had such a nostalgic feel to them, which was pretty much the major drawing point of their debut single. A nostalgic feeling also comes through again later in Shining Bright via the melodies in the choruses, as well. However, we don’t hear much more of electronic thumps in the song. Instead, Shining Bright‘s verses take on more of a pleasant pop appeal, with the occasion hints of the true form of Shining Bright, which is later revealed to be a pop rock motif in the choruses. But CSR, via their delivery of Shining Bright, gives the pop rock more of a sugary sweet vibe. The combination of the two creates a highly sweetened and upbeat tempo, which I quite enjoyed. The vocals do push the boundary a bit with how sweet they are, but never did I think CSR went overboard. We do get close, as there were times in Shining Bright where I thought it might have been a better move to tone down the cutesy energy, such as the shoutier moments of the choruses and at the end of the second verse raps. But it didn’t necessarily ruin the song for me, so I don’t feel as strongly about this compared if it had disrupted the flow or been overwhelming. Some good moves in Shining Bright include toning down the pre-choruses ever so slightly to help accentuate the choruses, the presence of electric guitars towards the end of the song to tie everything together and the piano ending (which just gave Shining Bright a pretty ending). Overall, Shining Bright works extremely well for CSR and is a great addition to their discography.

The music video for Shining Bright was a pretty one. Just like the song’s title, there was a brightness to the video, which in combination with the post-production, helped make the abundance of colours throughout quite vivid. The members’ visuals were also highlighted in the video. I did wish there was more to the music video, as I felt I have summed up the video in just the couple of lines above quite succinctly, which sometimes is a good thing. But other times, it is not such a good thing. I am unsure on where this video lies on the spectrum.

I quite enjoyed the choreography for this comeback. It looks super expressive and energetic, which matches well with the song. The members do an awesome job on stage with delivering the lively choreography and also live vocals at the same time. It is wholesome and fun routine to watch altogether.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.7/10