Tag: HIGHLIGHT

One of the comebacks that is starting off this new week is HIGHLIGHT’s BODY, which comes from their latest mini-album Switch On. This is HIGHLIGHT’s first release since a while back – their AFTER SUNSET and Alone era from November 2022.

BODY returns HIGHLIGHT to the fun that they began with when they rebranded from BEAST to HIGHLIGHT. I really enjoyed the lightness of the track and the playful vibes that are given off from all aspects of the song. It all begins with some catchy whistling that recurs throughout BODY during the first half of the choruses. And the whistling is also paired super well with the catchy choruses. And the chanty anthem-like first half to the chorus is super addictive. The melodies in the second half of the choruses felt simple and didn’t needlessly complicate the song, while the vocal work felt substantial and stylish. This same simple and stylish principles was also channeled throughout the vocal work in the rest of BODY. The first verse came off very suave and chic, while the instrumental break we get as part of the bridge has this fun brass synth like element that kicks the energy up a notch. For me, the only misstep in the entirety of BODY is the second verse, which went for a typical trap-based sound. I wished this was not the case, as it does dull BODY a bit. But aside from that one dislike I have about the song, BODY is definitely a great track that I will probably have stuck in my mind for the rest of the week (and possibly beyond)!

A fun music video is definitely what is needed to complement the likes of BODY and that is what we get. Everything felt lighthearted and I liked the comedic touches the members bring to the video. Some of those comedic touches are part of the group shots (like the ones where they are wearing sunglasses) or in the background of a members’ solo shot, such as those that form part of the second verses and bridge. My favourite has to be DOOJOON playing the trumpet very passionately, and the other members can’t hold back their laughter. On the flip-side, the music video also plays towards BODY‘s stylish side, which is also done through other solo and choreography shots by way of styling and their handsome looks.

Parts of the choreography takes a literal approach, where the members and dancer shaker their body with the music and lyrics of the song. The dance break we get also looks very fun, while the rest of the routine continue to highlight the group’s performance abilities that made the group widely known in the past and despite the members being above 30.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.9/10

As mentioned yesterday, I am back on on the reviewing train starting from today. And I kick things off with a review for a comeback from last week. HIGHLIGHT, the 13-year-old quartet (formerly known as BEAST/B2ST), returned on 7 November 2022 with the new single Alone and their fourth mini-album After Sunset. This comeback follows the group’s comeback with their the single DAYDREAM and fourth studio album of the same name.

HIGHLIGHT goes down the funky and groovy roots of KPOP with this new release. More particularly, the mature side of those roots. This isn’t anything new in this day and age (Alone checks many of the boxes of such releases, such as heavy bass, funky guitar work etc.), but I do still find Alone alluring to a degree. The key part in that sentence is the ‘to a degree’, however. There could have been so much more potential to the song had Alone became more dynamic as it progresses, just so the song can be even more riveting and ear-catching. Instead, it just stuck to a neutral drive for majority of the song, which ultimately dried up Alone‘s appeal. It was a massive missed opportunity, in my opinion, for the melody to not really develop and concentrate. I was also quite disappointed when Alone just looped it back to the same initial chorus in its final moments, instead of a final hurrah to close out the song. A suggestion I kept on thinking about whilst listening to Alone is that the song could have benefited from a more hard-hitting and full-fledged rap sequence. I know former member Junhyung’s departure was a big blow for the group at the time, and I appreciate that HIGHLIGHT has not forced any of themselves to fill in the shoes of main rapper that Junhyung’s absence has created. But I feel after two releases with no substantial rap sequences, it is time we reintroduce the element back into their repertoire, just so Alone is more dynamic. We do get a rap-speak like motif from Doojoon in the second verse, but it just wasn’t enough to scratch that craving. On a more positive note, Alone does display a solid set of vocals from the four members. I liked it when the members went with low tones and this subsequently brought forth husky and raspy vocals from some of the members. Overall, I think my thoughts from the DAYDREAM review stands for Alone – ‘… sounds like your typical dance track. Nothing more, nothing less.’.

Alone depicts the darker side of falling in love, which is an interesting topic to approach. Visually, we see the world around the members come literally crashing down or breaking apart, which is largely caused by the absence of their partner. Based on the lyrics, I don’t think the members have broken up with their partners. It is just the members are completely infatuated with their partner, that even a small absence can lead to disastrous outcomes. I did like how the sets were largely simple in this video, with the focus just being on the members and whatever was to be destroyed in the set. Also, HIGHLIGHT looks amazingly stunning throughout this video. They do not look like they have been around for 13 years whatsoever.

The choreography looks great. It focuses on that mature side of the song that I pointed out earlier. Nothing too mind-blowing individually. But as a whole routine, it looks sleek and neat.

Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.3/10

It is a new week, with all new releases and comebacks making their way to us. First up this week is HIGHLIGHT’s return with DAYDREAM, the lead title track and the title of their 1st (or their 4th, depending on how you look at it) Korean studio album. For those who are wondering why ‘4th’, HIGHLIGHT released three studio length albums under their previous group name BEAST, with their most recent one dropping in 2016 (Highlight, featuring the title track Ribbon). This is their first comeback since their 2021 release of The Blowing and Not The End.

As it stands, DAYDREAM sounds like your typical dance track. Nothing more, nothing less. It is not a bad track, but it just doesn’t really offer anything new to the string of new releases we have been getting or the music scene nowadays. The verses were rather plain, so much so that it ironically makes me daydream/lose focus from the song (I blame this more on the instrumentation though). There are a few good aspects of DAYDREAM that manages to push the track into likeable territory for me, and so I don’t find the song to be as boring. For example, I quite liked the heavy punches that the chorus instrumental gives the song. It definitely wakes you up and gives DAYDREAM into a dynamic profile. The stripped back and suspenseful start to the final chorus, even though is a technique found commonly throughout songs released over the years, was actually my favourite part of the song. As for the vocal work, HIGHLIGHT did a great job. They were quite emotive, which worked well with the lyrics of the song where they express their desire to not wake up from a daydream to face reality of life without the one they love (taken from SOOMPI). The melodies were pleasant and enjoyable. I just wish DAYDREAM was a lot more appealing else going on in the other sections that I didn’t find as engaging or have not mentioned. Maybe a bit of rapping could have spiced up DAYDREAM.

Seeing HIGHLIGHT in whatever form, whether new or old, is quite nostalgic. And this music video is no exception. I liked their visuals and the various closeup shots they had in the video. The sets and scenery looked cool and visually appealing. However, the music video is simply just that and choreography shots. I did notice some visual effects in the video, which I presume is to give off a daydreamy effect. But I don’t think they hit the mark, at least in my opinion.

The choreography looks good. I liked the looks of the chorus routine and how it matches with more upbeat and charged sections of the song. I am interested in the snippets of footwork. I doubt they would be as iconic as their 2011 Fiction release, but I had a bit of a throwback vibe thanks to what I saw in the music video. Not exactly sure what the slower moments of the track would look like, but I presume there will be some contrast to hopefully make the chorus pop out on stage.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.2/10

Kicking starting this week is HIGHLIGHT. It has been two and a half years since we last heard from this second-generation group in 2018 through the release of Outro and Loved. At the time of that release, HIGHLIGHT was a quintet. Since the group’s hiatus due to military enlistment (which all members have now officially completed), the group reformed into a quartet after the departure of the group’s main rapper, Junhyung, due to a scandal in 2019. The group’s lineup now features only Doojoon, Kikwang, Yoseob and Dongwoon. Today, HIGHLIGHT makes their long awaited return with THE BLOWING, which features the title track Not The End.

Not The End is very fitting song for their return. You can tell this by just referring to one line of the song – the song’s main English hook ‘I’m still here. It is not the end‘ which is repeated throughout the song really hones into the fact that despite being around since 2009, the group is still active and will continue pumping out music for their fans (Light or B2UTY). The song’s entire message is that ‘that this is a new beginning, rather than the end’ (taken from Soompi’s article), which also feels fitting for the occasion. Moving away from the meaning of the song, I really like the atmospheric vibes during the verses. The piano work and percussion was all quite captivating and stilling to listen to. What makes Not The End quite memorable is the contrast between the stillness that comes from the verses and the use of the upbeat electronic synths for the chorus. It makes the chorus quite punchy and exciting to listen to. The synths used in this the chorus drops give off a very notable vibrancy that one would expect with songs as you approach/enter in the Summer season. They are pretty traditional synths and aren’t really mind-blowing on their own. But as a whole picture (i.e. the verses and choruses together), Not The End comes off as memorable as Loved (for me, at least). What makes Not The End even better were the vocals. It is definitely nice to hear their familiar voices, particularly since they were one of the first KPOP groups that I listened to (way back in 2009!). I felt their voices brought this really enjoyable sense of warmth and comfort to the verses. It was interesting to hear they kept the same tone for the chorus. I wished they hadn’t as their voices could have been slightly louder and strengthened to match the energy coming off the chorus’s instrumentation. Unfortunately, they were overshadowed and overpowered by the instrumentation in the chorus. But overall, Not The End still is a touching return for the group.

The music video definitely gets points for being quite aesthetic. I really like how the colours pops out at you, especially when it layered over the white in the video. It really matches the vibrancy of the song. Think of the chorus’s synths and the blue/green that just contrasts so well with the plain white sets during the choreography scenes. I am sure each member’s solo scenes in this video has some sort of purpose that somehow corresponds to the new beginning that the members sing about in this song. But I am entirely sure what I am seeing. I might have a theory that one of Kikwang’s main props is a bare tree in the middle of his set, while Yoseob’s scenes feature a forest mural – showcasing that there is potential for that tree to re-begin its life and become a lush green forest. For Dongwoon, his scene features flowers which are very much alive. But Doojoon repurposes the flowers into perfume, which shows you that even while you may be growing and maturing, you still have that opportunity to change yourself to become something else. It is a wild and out there theory, but that is what I got from the video.

I really like softness that really prevails in this performance. It adds a nice delicate touch to the performance, despite it being quite fitting for the upbeat energy we get from the synths in the chorus. The choreography also looks sharp, which made this performance look even better. I am also impressed that their performance skillset has not been impacted despite a hiatus and the fact that they are in their 30s.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.7/10

HIGHLIGHT is back with their third mini-album, Outro. This is the group’s first comeback since Celebrate (the group’s second mini-album under the name HIGHLIGHT), which featured the title track Can Be Better. The title track for Outro is Loved and it is also the first single to not feature Doojoon, who is currently carrying out his military enlistment. I believe this is also the group’s last release for the time being as other members will be enlisting in the next year. But in the meanwhile, let’s have a look at Loved.

The song started off as your standard dance track. The start felt very ‘done-before’, leaving the start to be underwhelming to my ears. However, the song started to pick up around Junhyung’s rap. From then on, the song started to gain momentum. But my most favourite part was the chorus. While the concept was rather ‘done-before’, it was totally awesome. The kick the distorted violin gave was much needed and very attention-grabbing. The way it presented was rather bold and I liked that. It did remind me of Ribbon, which also had violins of the same nature.  The vocals were pretty good overall, with all the members doing an amazing job. I particularly like the autotuned ‘사랑했나봐’ just before the chorus. I also liked how mature it sounded, compared to their title tracks from last year which I wasn’t much of a fan of.

I liked the way the video was shot. It seems to show the actress walking through each of the member’s scenes and then the HIGHLIGHT members turning up a second too late. It doesn’t sound like a very normalised topic when it comes to Korean media but I think it was well shot. It goes hand-in-hand with the lyrics, particularly the ‘I will wait for you’ line towards the end of the song. I also like the choreography shots. Especially, the change between lack of colour to an infusion of colour, which resulted in some life and energy to the video.

The choreography, from what I can see in the music video, looks amazing. I think the chorus looked really cool and the staggering that they do with the backup dancers for the second half of the chorus was extremely smart and allowed for some aesthetics. I would like to see what else the dance will offer, so most likely I will return to update this section.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10 (I will return to update this section)
Overall Rating – 8.5/10