A couple of months back, PARK JI HOON made his solo comeback with his seventh mini-album Blank or Black and the title track Blank Effect. Apologies for the delay in getting around to reviewing that track, but there is a reason for this delay which I will touch on in a moment. Blank Effect is PARK JI HOON’s first comeback in six months following the release of NITRO and The Answer in October 2022. It also follows the high praises he earned for starring in the successful K-drama Weak Hero Class 1, which turns the tables against PARK JI HOON’s widely known cute image (more on that a little later, as well).

In the intro paragraph to this review, I alluded that there is a reason to why I am reviewing Blank Effect four months after its release back in April. And the reason is very simple, I just forgot about the song’s existence. And listening to Blank Effect for the purposes of writing this review, that forgettable impression of the song still stands. Not only that, but I had hard time writing about the song today – there is barely anything notable to mention. Blank Effect lacks foundation without anything in the song sticking out as being memorable. This easily could have been resolved with a meaty melody or hook would really grab my attention. But even that was lacking. Even when it comes to the instrumental, aside from the fact that Blank Effect is dark and intense, there isn’t much to remember it by. PARK JI HOON, himself, was decent. His vocals had the subtle touch of hoarseness and this brought a really nice texture that works well with the dark nature and intensity of Blank Effect. Beyond that, there isn’t much else to mention for Blank Effect.

The music video for Blank Effect is much more interesting than the song itself. The video sees PARK JI HOON in a much darker and more mature lense, which probably captialises the darker turn his image took through his leading role on Weak Hero Class 1. The lyrics are about showing the true side of you as you get deeper into a relationship, with the video exploring PARK JI HOON’s transformation into a darker and more manic person as the video goes on. I applaud his acting in this video, as he does an amazing job of conveying this desire and emotions. The ending was particularly creepy, with PARK JI HOON catching on fire to complete the transformation mentioned above. There was also a some steam coming from the video with his interactions with the women in the video. The red-orange lighting also brings forth an evocative vibe, as well.

The lack of anything exciting or notable in the song did mean I didn’t pay attention to the live performances when the song was first released. And truthfully, upon watching a couple of the performances for Blank Effect today, I won’t be paying attention to them any time soon. The performance just didn’t have anything to it, and felt lethargic. I wish there was more to the song to really help out this routine be better and compelling.

Song – 5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 5/10
Overall Rating – 5.9/10