Another International Song Reviews post. This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I was feeling very tired for some reason (like to the point where I could barely open my eyes at the grocery store, where there is a lot of stimuli that should have kept me awake). Decided to have a nap for an hour to write this post, but ended up over-napping to dinner. But I am feeling awake right now and ready to tackle the post, which will cover releases from JUN (from SEVENTEEN), TFN, Mark Tuan (from GOT7) and TXT and Jonas Brothers collaboration single! This post follows on from my review of Stray Kids’ Social Path (ft. LiSA), TXT’s pre-release single Back For More (with Anitta), Jung Kook’s newest release 3D (with Jack Harlow) and aespa’s Better Things.
PSYCHO – JUN (SEVENTEEN)
Language: Chinese
Release Date: 4 July 2023
Release Type: PSYCHO (4th Digital Single)
JUN’s PSYCHO is an instant like for me and I found myself playing the song constantly to relive the amazing instrumentation, vocals and atmosphere within PSYCHO. The entirety of PSYCHO is very well executed by JUN and the producers, but the best part has to be the chorus. Firstly, the transition from pre-chorus to chorus is flawless. With the chorus, the rhythmic bass beats and the twinkling instrumental elements creates such an alluring and hypnotic effect that pulled me in for more. The combination also creates this haunting feeling which goes so well with the PSYCHO theme that JUN features as the concept for this comeback. The instrumental bridge serves as an extension of what we hear in the background of the chorus, with further work to it to make it edgier and more suspenseful. This leads into the outro where JUN uses his raspy tone in a shouty manner that sounds so good. PSYCHO is definitely one of the best songs of the year, in my books.
Whatever you think of JUN as part of SEVENTEEN, on-camera or behind the scenes, put that to one side. His acting in this video is so good, playing a psycho so well. The editing definitely helps, but props to JUN, who is also an actor (in case you didn’t know). In addition to his acting, JUN has his body on display throughout the video and looks amazing in all the outfits we see him in. The video ends on a very interesting note, with the car looking like it is going to run into him. Amazing editing here, as I don’t think JUN was actually going to be hit in the car. As for the choreography, I really like how that hypnotic vibe was carried through with the twirling finger in arm move. I also really like the idea of the exaggerated smile within the choreography and basically the rest of the routine. There might be enough for a dance performance nomination at the end of the year (hint hint).
Overall Rating – 9.8/10
ICE CREAM – TFN
Language: Spanish
Release Date: 17 August 2023
Release Type: ICE CREAM (2nd Spanish Single)
After last year’s onslaught of multiple singles and releases, TFN has been very quiet in 2023. Prior to ICE CREAM‘s release, the group only released one single and one mini-album (both of in Japan) this year. Anyhow, what makes ICE CREAM super interesting is that it is a Spanish release, which to me felt like the next logical market for KPOP to expand into, simply because of the massive Latin influence KPOP had a few years back. Aside from the different language (which isn’t a first for KPOP believe it or not), I really like the pompous energy and beats in ICE CREAM. It makes for a super fun and dynamic listen. The brass elements adds to all of this, as well. The vocal and rapping work was equally as bombastic as the instrumentation, which isn’t a bad take on the song. They actually work well with the instrumentation. My only problem with ICE CREAM is that because it starts off and maintains the same energy throughout, the song does get repetitive towards the end. The instrumental break, which goes for a more dance approach to its instrumental – different yet fitting, does help cut the repetition. Altogether, ICE CREAM sounds like a song you would hear at a party. And given all within it, I wouldn’t mind celebrating to it.
As just mentioned, the music video is set at a poolside party, which is a fair call. That is where ice cream would taste best on a summery afternoon. It also looks like the pool is attached to a nice set of villas. The only time the setting changes is for the dance break/end of the song, where the daytime becomes night time and the villa becomes to the setting (not the poolside). Aside from that, the video features some fun closeups of the members. However, I wished there was more to the video. For the most part, the choreography could have been more dynamic and fun. Instead, we got pretty weak delivery from the members (I don’t know if they were tired or being cautious of something, but it looked like minimal effort was being put into the performance) and the moves that look like the choreographer had put together moments before the music video shoot. The most dynamic bit of the choreography was during the dance break, which looked cool. I wished the rest of the routine was just as dynamic and upbeat as the dance break.
Overall Rating – 7.4/10
Everyone Else Fades – Mark Tuan (GOT7)
Language: English
Release Date: 1 September 2023
Release Type: Everyone Else Fades (Digital Single)
The newest release on this post is Mark Tuan’s Everyone Else Fades. As soon as I listened to this song, I knew I had to cover it on the blog in the near future! Well, I have elected that day in the near future to be today. For the most part, Everyone Else Fades fits within the R&B pop genre. But it is the presence of rock in the chorus, that I like the most in the track. It gives the preceding line to the chorus “Everyone else fades into the background” so much more impact and delivers some oomph to the track, which in turn helps the track resonates with the listener. Mark Tuan’s vocals throughout Everyone Else Fades felt very raw yet soothing, delivering a heartfelt message of being around a person they love and having the focus be on them. with everyone else fading into the background. The harmonies stay in my mind after the song finishes and the impact of the central line keeps on replaying in my head. It is definitely a relatable and meaningful song, and also an effective one, as well.
The music video features Mark Tuan and actress/model Davika Hoorne at the beach. Despite the video featuring both of them, I like how it was edited to ensure that Davika Hoorne was the focus, which helps emphasise the lyrics and its message. The lack of other people in the video also helps. Even Mark Tuan, who should have been the focus of the video given that it is his song, felt delegated to the background during those shared shots. Don’t come at me though, as the video does offset this with solo shots of Mark Tuan elsewhere in the video, and I would like to know the meaning off the floating papers, as I felt that was pretty intriguing elements during his shots. But overall, it is a music video that picks up the message and gives effect to it quite well.
Overall Rating – 9/10
Do It Like That – TXT & Jonas Brothers
Language: English
Release Date: 7 July 2023
Release Type: Do It Like That (Digital Single)
Due to my massive backlog of songs to review, I hadn’t had a chance to review Do It Like That yet. This collaboration single between TXT and the Jonas Brothers (which I found to be quite unexpected pairing) is such a fun, light and fluffy listen, making it appropriate for the summery season where you don’t want something too heavy. Instead, Do It Like That is a very easygoing number that remains upbeat all throughout. I like the use of falsettos and bright tone to the instrumentation to maintain the song’s lightness. It actually took me a while to figure out that the different between the band and the group, they just sound so alike to me in Do It Like That. Not entirely sure if that is a good thing, but I wasn’t bothered by that. Overall, a neat collaboration between TXT and Jonas Brother.
The music video is fairly simple, with the Jonas Brothers playing their instrumentation whilst singing and TXT was dancing whilst singing, over white background. This to me matches the simplicity and lightness of the song. Anything more would have felt a bit too much for the song. The outfits worn by the two artists popped out over the white background, which was a nice effect to have in the video. It would have nicer to see TXT and Jonas Brothers interact with one another, but that would have only been possible had they come together to shoot the video (which was not the case). As for the choreography, the parts we did see in the music video (i.e. the chorus sequence designated for becoming a TikTok trend) is not complex by today’s standard. But it wasn’t until we saw the entire routine on their Lollapolooza stage did I fully realize how fun and lighthearted the choreography was. I quite liked it and how fitting it felt for Do It Like That.
Overall Rating – 8.5/10
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