Tag: DOYOUNG (NCT)

Similar to JUNGWOO with SUGAR the other week, DOYOUNG also made a comeback the day after beginning his military service on 8 December 2025. The new single, titled Promise, follows his second studio album, SOAR, led by the single Memory.

Unsurprisingly, DOYOUNG offers Promise as a ballad, a parting gift for his fans while he goes on hiatus to express his gratitude for the love and support he has received. Given his past work, I trust DOYOUNG to deliver an engaging ballad. And he does just that in Promise. The vocal performance in this one is spectacular. DOYOUNG is a formidable vocalist, and so such a performance is definitely within expectation. I particularly liked how his vocals build in Promise, helping create the engaging song as hoped. The melodies were charming, and I liked how they gave Promise some variety, avoiding becoming an overly consistent ballad that just repeats the same elements a couple of times and then calls it a day. As for the instrumentation, the backing is more typical of a ballad, with piano, strings, and percussion. But it complements DOYOUNG by building alongside his vocals. Overall, Promise is a beautiful ballad which I am sure fans and listeners will find comforting.

The music video centres on DOYOUNG returning home (presumably after an extended absence), rediscovering an old houseplant, setting it aside, and then going on with his life. One rainy day, he hears something fall to the ground outside and discovers the houseplant there. He takes it back inside, realising that he has taken it for granted, and begins to look after and care for it. That includes drawing some eyes on the pot (cute) and bringing it around with him as he goes on about his daily life. When it comes time for him to leave again, he realises the conditions will be harsh for the plant, so he builds a contraption to control the plant’s climate. The plant gifts him a flower, which he puts on a ring and takes on his adventures outside the house. At the end, he returns home with the plant, and another flower is in bloom. I think the parallels between the houseplant and his fans throughout the video are apparent, particularly at the end, when his fans will be waiting for him upon his return from military enlistment.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9/10

Making his solo comeback yesterday was DOYOUNG, with his second studio-length album titled SOAR and the title track Memory (안녕, 우주). This new release follows his official solo debut with YOUTH and the single Little Light, which earned him nominations for Best New Male Soloist and Best Album in the 2024 KPOPREVIEWED Awards.

Cast your minds back to Little Light. The debut track was described as “a band song with powerful guitar riffs”. The new single, Memory, leans further into this sound profile, incorporating more rock energy and drive. This makes the heartfelt song more prolific and intense, which elevates its appeal to a whole different level. Memory also benefits from DOYOUNG’s sweet yet powerful vocals, which complement the rock energy and contribute to the song’s drive. The combination of rock energy and intensity, paired with DOYOUNG’s vocals, in Memory is captivating. The melodies flow beautifully, which contributes significantly to the stunning output that is Memory. Put these pieces together, and I think the best way to describe Memory is “straight-forwardly pure”. I couldn’t find any faults in the song, so it earns a perfect rating from me.

Memory speaks to the hope that even as time passes by, the memories we make will remain forever. In the music video, we see DOYOUNG live a very sterile life. That is until he spots a dead bird. He tries to ‘delete’ the memory of the dead bird. But the memory of the dead bird breaks through and recurs in his mind, leading him to remember memories of a dog he once had. And while the immediate memories he remembers first are the passing of his dog, we later see other happier memories of when his dog was alive. In the end, he considers formatting his memory (i.e., deleting everything to start afresh). However, I think the post-title screen suggests that he chose to preserve those memories with his dog, keeping them forever, as the lyrics express. I liked the touching story within the music video, as well as the summery yet emotional vibes being portrayed. The glitchiness at the start, which was part of the video, did catch me off guard. It made sense conceptually, but I don’t think it added much value to the broader video. Similar comments can be made about that giant creature in the sky.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.6/10

It is a new week. And that comes with new comebacks and debuts. Kicking it off this week is DOYOUNG’s solo debut with the single Little Light and his first studio length album YOUTH. DOYOUNG becomes the fifth member of NCT after TAEYONG, MARK, TEN and JAEHYUN to have some sort of a solo career outside of their NCT works, which spans across NCT, NCT U and NCT 127 discography. If I also read correctly, we will be expecting more NCT solo works this year. We already have TAEYONG’s TAP and TEN’s Nightwalker (which I have yet to review) this year, and JAEHYUN is preparing a solo album himself.

But today’s focus is on DOYOUNG’s Little Light. The track is described as a band song with powerful guitar riffs (according to SOOMPI), which is an accurate description for Little Light. I would have also thrown in a ‘refreshing’, ‘revitalising’ and/or ‘uplifting’ descriptor into the mix when describing Little Light. When I first heard the song, I thought how nice some strings would have been in the background (particularly at the end of Little Light) and that led me to think of LUCY’s work (a South Korean band that I have reviewed before who is known for their use of strings in their band tracks). It turns out that Little Light is co-written by Cho Won Sang from LUCY! As for DOYOUNG, he sounds really nice. Not only does his vocal tone showcases those extra descriptive words I mentioned at the start of this section, I like how he presents himself throughout Little Light. There is a bit of a range with some some powerful notes, high notes and even some falsetto. Each were well used and at the right time, furthering Little Light as a captivating track. I do wish there was a bit more consistency within the melodies in Little Light to make it feel more cohesive. But as it stands, Little Light ticks off many boxes for me, especially the idea of it being a band track with a refreshing vibe.

The lyrics to Little Light talks about how a little light can lead someone to their hopes and dreams . Certain lines of the song speak about how it needs to be lit, is it can be the dimmest light you can ever find, or even be a star in the sky that is miles away etc. It is all quite clever imagery and presents to us the idea that little light can be something different for all of us. In the video, DOYOUNG goes searching for his little light, which he does come across a number of times. He goes chasing after it, but he loses sight of it just as many times as he spots it. But as it is his little light, it does come back to him to lead him forward. DOYOUNG went through windy conditions at one point, and also trips and grazes his face/hand. At one point, he almost gives up on his search. All of this represents the tribulations and journey we all must go on that is life. But in a happy ending, he finds his light and follows it to a hidden area that has even more little lights. While not shown, these lights somehow take him home. But before we think it all a dream, DOYOUNG notices his hands (and we can see his face) are still scraped, which alludes to the fact that journey he went through the previous night (i.e., life) still occurred. I also notice that the little light in the video is green in colour, which is also NCT’s colour. And I have a feeling that all those little lights that become one big light might be reference to the NCT fanclub. I also enjoyed the scenery and the aesthetic of band instruments behind him in the scenes where he is singing into a microphone. What a stunning backdrop.

Song – 9.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.3/10