Eunhyuk (Super Junior) – KPOPREVIEWED

In preparation of the upcoming return of Super Junior’s most active subunit, Super Junior D&E, with their first studio-length album (which also marks their 10 year anniversary as a unit), Donghae and Eunhyuk have released their first major solo songs since their debut over 15 years ago. Today, I will be reviewing their solo releases ahead of their official comeback in November. Now, it is Eunhyuk’s be.

If I had to compare the solo tracks from both Donghae and Eunhyuk, Eunhyuk’s be is definitely my pick. I find this song to just be more captivating to listen to. Eunhyuk may not be the Super Junior that is most known for his vocals, but he does an amazing job in be. We get some good vocals from Eunhyuk throughout the song, with him slipping into falsetto territory when we get to the chorus, which helped made the song stunning and aesthetic. When I heard be for the first time, I thought the song was going to be rather monotone. But I judged too quickly and the parts that we did get that were neutral contributed to the overall aesthetic of the song. For the instrumentation, the song falls within the pop domain. It was quite atmospheric to listen to, and also contributed to the overall aesthetics of the song. be‘s strongest part (and highlight) has to be the instrumental break. In the midst of the song, you get this rather choppy and random assortment of synths that forms the instrumental break, which pulls back your attention to the song. I really enjoyed how fitting it was with the overall aesthetic of be, and how cohesive it felt. It also added a level of dynamism and edge to the song, which made be even more captivating. It isn’t original technique, but it was definitely a well-used one.

I really liked the message behind the song, which was to his younger self (but it can be applied more broadly to everyone else). It was a simple message to not give up and to push forward, and that his adult self (present day Eunhyuk) would also be a part of his younger self. It is a bit of an abstract idea. But it simply says that your successful self is within you, you just need to push forward to discover that form of yourself. In the video, we see Eunhyuk dance (and is interchanged) with a young boy often, giving a visual representation to his message. At the end, we see Eunhyuk present self ascend to the sky, who looks back and smiles in such a proud and caring way. For the choreography scenes, I quite like the shots with the white stairs, as it felt complimentary to the message. But the one in the carpark and Eunhyuk dressed in green just didn’t fit the aesthetic in my opinion.

The choreography for be looked very cool and interpretative to a degree. I particularly like the swirl that is made with his and the dancers arms at the start of the choruses, and the dance break.

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

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The next SM Station release is officially here. While SM Station focuses primarily on ballads and softer sounds, there have been instances of more energy packed songs. And such songs tend to be quite good. This time around, SM Station shares a collaboration between Super Junior members Heechul, Shindong and Eunhyuk who rap alongside Solar from Mamamoo.

The song is quite funky, a little unexpected. But then again, it should have been expected as the song features 3 people, of whom I regard as the funniest members of Super Junior. The song opens up as like any type of song with a solid vocal intro from Solar herself and everytime she pops up in the song, she blows me away. Solar’s addition to the song keeps it from going over the top if I assume the raps lyrics from the 3 male artists are comedic in nature. what does catch me off guard is the raps and instrumental. Shindong, Heechul and Eunhyuk’s rap-talking is nice but they do feel cheesy (and I don’t know what they are talking about). The funky drop sounds foreign but it makes me laugh with its brightness and energy. It is quirky but it suits the 3 members quite well.

I like the flashy style of the music video. The gold colouring is nice and I thought the retro vibes brought together by the cam-recorder and old fashion televisions looked quite cool. From the lyrics, Killagramz makes an appearance in the video, alongside Shindong, who seems to be parodying him. Nucksal also makes an appearance and is also parodied by Heechul (I think it is them. Not confident). It made for a fun atmosphere.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10