JEONGHAN X WONWOO (SEVENTEEN)

JEONGHAN x WONWOO are nominated Best Subunit and their song Last Night is nominated for Best R&B Song in the 2024 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support JEONGHAN x WONWOO and Last Night by clicking here to vote today. Voting closes on 31 January 2025.

SEVENTEEN launched their second official subunit in 2024, consisting of members JEONGHAN and WONWOO. JEONGHAN has since enlisted in the military, while WONWOO is busy on tour with the rest of SEVENTEEN. The pair dropped their first single album This Man (the focus of this review) and the title track Last Night mid-June 2024. The single album also consist solo tracks from the pair. Overall, a definite strong single album. I hope to hear more from JEONGHAN x WONWOO (otherwise known as JxW) in the future, though this might not happen for a while.

1. Last Night (어젯밤) (Guitar by Park Ju Won) (Title Track) – Click here for the full review for Last Night. (9/10)

2. Beautiful Monster – JEONGHAN’s solo song is Beautiful Monster, which is a mid-tempo R&B number. JEONGHAN’s honey-like and velvety vocals describing himself as a monster is quite ironic to me. But aesthetic wise, it was an intriguing choice. JEONGHAN makes this number engaging. He brings a delicate feeling to the mix that emphasises the ‘beautiful’ aspect of the song’s title. (8/10)

3. Leftover (휴지통) – Leftover is WONWOO’s solo song and it is a stunning yet heart-wrenching ballad. I will admit that I have always had a soft spot for WONWOO’s singing. Leftover is good evidence why (if I ever needed to prove why). The emotions he poured into Leftover makes the entirety of the song captivating to listen to. His raspy vocals are amazing in this song and I really liked the moments where he puts some oomph behind his vocals. (10/10)

Overall Album Rating – 9/10

SEVENTEEN only just returned with their compilation album 17 IS RIGHT HERE (headlined by their latest new single MAESTRO). The album also consist of unit tracks (split by their usual Hip-Hop, Performance and Vocal teams), which I am looking to review at a later stage. They have also been fairly busy holding concerts this year and been on tour throughout Asia. But the 13-member group continues to be active through a new unit JEONGHAN x WONWOO. This duo unit brings us the new single Last Night (which features guitarist Park Joo Won), which is featured on the single album This Man.

It has been a couple of days since the release of Last Night and that naturally gives me an opprtunity to take a few listens to the song. Through these multiple listens, I can confidently say I like Last Night. The song didn’t strike me the first time I listen to it, but subsequent listens have made realize how good the song actually is. The aspect I always notice first when I have replay the song is its instrumentation. The Latin influence of the guitar, the guitar work (in general courtesy of Park Joo Won), the contemporary synths and pounding bass (which becomes more prevalent in the chorus) just makes this track ooze so much charisma, sexiness and alluring energy. I also like how these instrumentals meld together so well in Last Night. They all had great chemistry with one another, and this sets up Last Night to be a good track. The combination of JEONGHAN and WONWOO backs all of that up. I wasn’t particularly sure what style of music the pair would be delivering, but I am happy this is what they arrived at. The whispery nature of their delivery throughout Last Night reiterates that alluring nature I already mentioned. On the flip side, the contrast between their vocals (JEONGHAN being a little more high pitched, and WONWOO singing/rapping in a lower tone) makes Last Night feel textured and gives off a natural perception of depth. WONWOO’s rapping in the second verse, in particular, always seems to hit the right spot each time when it comes on. The melody of Last Night is quite catchy, though I do think the instrumental does mask its fluidity. But that is only a minor detail, and it doesn’t really change the fact I am liking Last Night overall.

The music video was a bit confusing to me. But in the lead up to the release of the music video, JEONGHAN x WONWOO released an audiobook teaser, which gives you context about urban legend of This Man, as they call it. It is also a recount of what is happening in the music video. I recommend you check out this audiobook teaser and then the music video, as this package will help you understand the story JEONGHAN x WONWOO are portraying in the music video and saves me off writing a not-even-accurate interpretation of the music video (which I have done previously!). I honestly find the concept of an ‘audiobook’ teaser to be so cool, and wish KPOP music videos does this more. As for the actual music video itself, I really like the mysterious and intriguing vibes that come from the video. And once the story clicks, it is definitely a worthwhile watch.

Choreography-wise, it looked good. It felt artistic and brought out great chemistry between the pair. You could feel the subtle tension between the pair throughout the routine, which made the stage feel more compelling to watch. I also like how the routine builds in dynamic flair as it progresses, peaking at the end for the final chorus as a final rush to the end of the performance.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10