Back in February of this year, LE SSERAFIM made their comeback with the single EASY and mini-album of the same name. As part of the same mini-album is the side track titled Smart, which was re-released as a follow-up single a couple week after the primary release. Today, I will finally get around to reviewing the likes of Smart, which emerged as a very popular side track and another hit song for the group.

The chorus of Smart is probably one of the most recognisable elements in KPOP this year, for me at least. It is actually even more recognisable than LE SSERAFIM’s main song from the mini-album! But beyond from the chorus, I don’t remember that much from Smart. Listening back, I think I know why. To help articulate my thoughts, I pull out my linear line analogy that I have used in previously to describe these type of songs. If you travel along the linear line only, everything is relatively flat. If a song keeps to the same all throughout (just like the linear line), it too can be quite uneventful. And that is what I perceive to be the case in Smart. Smart was very consistent throughout and didn’t have enough variety to make it memorable. Smart‘s instrumentation has been described as an Afropop-inspired Amapiano sound. I think there is also a slight tropical vibe from it. While the beat and rhythm was good, the background was also quite light and didn’t have an anchor of some kind for me to grab onto. Similarly, the vocal work from LE SSERAFIM was pleasant and the melodies do have a ring to them. But there wasn’t much difference from how the song started and all throughout to the end. Also, I couldn’t tell the members apart. There were touches of autotune in Smart, but they weren’t used in a manner that really brought attention to the song. Overall, Smart does have a slight edge over EASY, thanks to its catchy chorus and melodies. But the rest of the song becomes lost, for the reasons I have described above.

For a light and simple track like Smart, a corresponding simple music video is justified. For the music video, we see LE SSERAFIM perform in a singular warehouse, with different pieces of tapestries of art hung up and lighting used to highlight the art pieces. The lighting also gives the music video some life and colour. In some parts of the music video, dancers dressed as students (or are they students that are dancers) feature in the background. They do not do much at first, but they help full the space towards the end of the video by also dancing to the song alongside the LE SSERAFIM members. Altogether, it feels very artistic and looks very sophisticated at the same time.

For both EASY and Smart, the choreographies stand out the most in their respective releases (relative to the music video and song itself). I actually can’t tell which I like more, nor do I have much else to say about Smart‘s performance that I didn’t say for EASY‘s performance. So here is a quote from the former’s review that I think applies here: “… the choreography is light and rather smooth, while also striking a balance to keep up with the rhythm and beat of the song.”

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 7.7/10