Welcome to another International Song Reviews post. Last time I covered Japanese and Western releases from NCT Dream, Jackson Wang, Amber Liu and TVXQ. This post will cover Japanese, Western and Chinese releases from Kep1er, DRIPPIN, P1Harmony (who collaborated with British pop trio New Hope Club) and WayV, of which were released earlier this year (or in the case of WayV, released in the final days of the 2022).

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I Do! Do You? – Kep1er

Language: Japanese
Release Date: 15 March 2023
Album: Fly-By (2nd Japanese Single Album)

I Do! Do You? is a neat track. The instrumentation is very groovy and cheerfully upbeat, tapping into the current trends of KPOP (not sure is this is a trend in Japan though). Their vocals strikes a balance by bringing in a cutesy and youthful tinge without ever stepping into cutesy territory (which is a direction that I would believe the song easily be directed towards. More definition would not have hurt to give the song more boldness The melodies and hooks are catchy and fun, complimenting the grooviness of I Do! Do You? that I already highlighted. But I do find I Do! Do You? to be somewhat linear and it gets slightly boring as it progresses, as it is just a repeat of whatever we heard earlier on in the song. A pleasant single, overall. The music video sees one member falling for a guy, with the rest of the group envisioning themselves in the main members’ stories. The rest of the group helps her get ready for the party, but is left heartbroken after the guy ends up asking another person out at the party. This leads the group to stick up for their heartbroken member and leave the party in unison. I read somewhere that this video does feature some shoplifting and violence, which I thought was a funny takeaway (but factual, as they do occur) from the video. Asides from that, it was a fun and enjoyable video to watch. As for the choreography, I thought it was okay. The moves were rather soft and this leads to the choreography looking a little weak. I am not looking for sharpness or over-the-top energy. I just think the moves could have been slightly stronger to look better from our point of view as the audience.

Overall Rating – 7.4/10

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Hello Goodbye – DRIPPIN

Language: Japanese
Release Date: 15 March 2023
Album: Hello Goodbye (2nd Japanese Single Album)

DRIPPIN’s Hello Goodbye continues the group’s clear distinction between their Japanese and Korean releases. Just compare the likes of bright pop rock sound in Hello Goodbye with their darker and intense SEVEN SINS Korean comeback from earlier in the year. However, I do feel like we stepping closer to what DRIPPIN usually releases in Korea with the more prolific and heavier presence of rock in the song, particularly around the choruses. It gives the song’s strength and power, which is something DRIPPIN does focus on when they promote domestically. The vocals and melodies were, once again, nice. I found this department to be fairly straightforward, so I wished there was a more interesting element in it. You can hear the positivity and vibrancy behind their vocals, but it doesn’t feel enough. The filter over the opening of the second verse was a step in the right direction, but it did feel a little cliché. The one thing I do think Hello Goodbye does lack outright is something memorable. Yes, the melodies are nice, but there isn’t anything really pulling me back that isn’t the satisfying rock energy in the instrumentation. And there are other songs out there that delivers both that rock energy and that memorable element(s), so Hello Goodbye has a tough job. As for the instrumentation, it is great to see the smiles on the members’ faces and the group hanging out/having fun. But there isn’t anything else to the video, which makes it one of those where you only got to watch it once. As for the choreography, it was a good showcase of what to the group has to offer in terms of lighter tone and vibrant energy. But nothing really stands out to me.

Overall Rating – 7.5/10

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Super Chic – New Hope Club & P1Harmony

Language: Western
Release Date: 24 April 2023
Album: Super Chic (Digital Single)

I like how unexpectedly fun and feel-good Super Chic is. The old-school vibes of Super Chic felt nostalgic. The vocals from both New Hope Club and P1Harmony were light-hearted and breezy, with the falsettos and higher pitched tones being a memorable aspect of Super Chic. The melodies were quite smooth and flowed along quite well, while the hooks were catchy. I particularly enjoyed the entirety of the pre-chorus, which was punchy in comparison to the rest of the song and had notable lyrics about sweetness. The rapping in the bridge, which was partially in Korean, was a nice change of momentum. But the two groups made it work and blend it in with the rest of Super Chic by maintaining a pace that is aligned with the rest of the song and the rappers didn’t stray away too far from the rest of the song. Overall, Super Chic was a great collaboration that I don’t mind bopping to. The music video shows the two groups coming together to record this song and then behind the scenes shots of P1Harmony’s concert in New York City (which New Hope Club supported the group at). But this wasn’t the first and last time the pair had joined forces, as the two groups have performed with one another before and P1Harmony also supported New Hope Club’s Seoul stop of their tour (which occurred after the release of Super Chic).

Overall Rating – 8.5/10

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Phantom – WayV

Language: Chinese
Release Date: 28 December 2022
Album: Phantom (4th Mini Album)

I return to 2022 briefly to cover the final song of this post – WayV’s Phantom. It was the first release by WayV in over two years and also follows on from the announcement of Lucas’ hiatus (which later concluded with him leaving WayV/NCT). I found Phantom to be quite an intriguing single that was pulled off well by the WayV members. The thumping percussion in the verses had nice rhythm and I liked how the pre-choruses ramped up the song towards the choruses. The choruses features the cliché yet fitting choir vocals and orchestral strings in the background to give off a heavier and more profound suspenseful feeling, while the synths helps bring a modern textural feel to Phantom that compliments the intensity and mysteriousness that Phantom is endeavouring in bringing to our minds whilst listening to the song. The deep vocals in the verses and the flow of the vocals elsewhere was helps glides the song along, despite the instrumentation. I do feel like Phantom lacks a more impactful rap sequence that could have delivered the song more bite. What we got from YangYang was great, but I wanted more of it. As for the music video, I quite liked the sets for the solo and choreography scenes. It works well with the concept the group was going for and brings forth a creepy and mysterious atmosphere. Choreography-wise, Phantom had intensity, and the members’ brought charisma to the stage. While it is doesn’t top the likes to their more widely known routines like Kick Back, it was a strong showing, as always.

Overall Rating – 8/10