KARD is at a point in their careers where the members are exploring solo activities, alongside group activities. Their last group comeback was last year’s Touch. Since then, BM has continued solo activities with Freak (ft. B.I) — he made his solo debut in 2021 with Broken Me. And as of last month, JIWOO made her solo debut with Home Sweet Home and her debut mini-album, (EX)IST.

For JIWOO, I personally associate her with R&B, and hearing that Home Sweet Home taps into that genre makes perfect sense. Her husky vocals and rapping are on full display, while the song’s moody atmosphere becomes quite stilling. The hefty, pulsing yet sparse beat that dominates the background creates an alluring tension that builds into a promising crescendo. But the anti-drop chorus robs us of what could have been an awesome chorus. The same hefty, pulsing yet sparse beat returns, and, combined with the song’s lacklustre repetition of the title, Home Sweet Home slips into neutral drive. And with the sparse beat being a constant feature of the song, the track becomes quite forgettable and, over time, repetitive. The saving grace of the chorus is JIWOO’s charisma in the second half of the centrepiece. And the saving grace of Home Sweet Home overall is the instrumental break – it continues the alluring tension mentioned before, but does so in a slightly different manner than the rest of Home Sweet Home (which is much appreciated).

If you haven’t looked into Home Sweet Home‘s lyrics yet, you will find they are about inviting someone over for some sensual activities. And the music video definitely delivers on mature shots of JIWOO. Nothing explicit, but the imagery of JIWOO definitely embodies some of the descriptors I have used for the song – charismatic, alluring. She looks damn good throughout the video. The music video is also quite minimalist, drawing on the song’s spareness. The best part of the video coincides with the instrumental break, when we are given more and treated to the sexual chemistry between JIWOO and the dancer. It was brief, but definitely memorable.

There has been little promotion for JIWOO’s solo debut, but she did perform the track at the Taipei stop of their Drift tour (some fancams are available). There isn’t much of a routine until the end, beginning with the dance break, when JIWOO bring forth a sensual vibe to her performance. Between this and the dance break in the music video, I think there is enough to give a performance rating.

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