Tag: LEE CHAE YEON

LEE CHAE YEON made her first solo comeback back in April (and apologies for how long it has taken me a write to review this particular release). The solo artist’s second mini-album, Over the Moon, is lead by the title track KNOCK. This comeback follows LEE CHAE YEON’s solo debut with HUSH RUSH in October 2022.

Initially, KNOCK didn’t spark much interest for me. I can’t remember exactly why, but I think I just didn’t really play the song much when it was first released. It wasn’t until more recently that I started getting into KNOCK thanks to the ‘KNOCK Challenge’ on TikTok that I started appreciating the song. Now, I find the single to be quite a fun and addictive listen. The main drawing point of KNOCK are the choruses, which are super catchy and appealing. This can be attributed to the repetition and logical yet impacting knocking percussion that we get in the first half of the chorus, and the melodies and burst of energy in the second half of the choruses. The first verse had a familiarity to it from elsewhere in KPOP, which I cannot place, while the second verse successfully and naturally incorporated trap into its beginning. The bridge highlights LEE CHAE YEON’s consistent vocals throughout the song. The only aspect which I wasn’t keen on LEE CHAE YEON’s vocals at the very beginning of KNOCK, which sounded slightly cutesy tone. I did not think this fit the vibe the song was going for. But aside from that minor detail, I liked everything else in KNOCK!

As for the music video, I really liked what the producers did around the choruses of KNOCK. The nudging of the camera at the start of the choruses was super clever. However, the moments after the start of the choruses could have been more cleanly executed in. The self-turning mirrors was a super cool idea as well. I also liked the idea of LEE CHAE YEON stumbling across a doll dressed in a red dress (also played by the artist), who is awaken via a knock on the wardrobe door. It is a brief and minor story line in this video, but it was a clever way of incorporating a knock into the video. As for the drinking scenes, I am not too sure what that means, though it might be a connection between this video and HUSH RUSH’s music video. On a final point, LEE CHAE YEON herself looks amazing in the video, especially in the scenes where is in a trackie outfit.

As mentioned earlier, the dance challenge for this comeback (a prevalent feature of comebacks nowadays) was what drew me back to the chorus. I found it funny that the dance was so complex for fans that they had to create 3 versions of the dance challenge. The hardest version was my favourite, as it was my favourite bit of the whole routine. The aggressive and confidence that it takes to move from one side of the stage to the other side, whilst also the fast paced arm movements was definitely an iconic moment and shows LEE CHAE YEON’s dance skills in a brief few seconds.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 8.9/10

Making her solo debut a few weeks ago is LEE CHAE YEON, who is probably most well-known for being a member of the now disbanded IZ*ONE. Since return to her original company (WM Entertainment, the home of OH My GIRL and ONF), it has been fairly quiet for the soloist. That is up until the 12th October, where she made her debut with HUSH RUSH, which is featured on the debut mini-album of the same name. LEE CHAE YEON is also the older sister of ITZY member Lee Chaeryong.

While I think HUSH RUSH is a fair track to debut with, I am a little disappointed with the end product that emerged. To me, it was plagued by a simple issue that easily could have been resolved by the producers. Put simply, the track sounds pretty much the same from start to end. Consistency might be a player here, but I do not think this is the cause of the issue. Rather, I found the song didn’t differentiate between chorus and verses/pre-choruses. Hence, HUSH RUSH sounded too alike between parts and this ultimately resulted in a neutral and consistent feeling. Some additional definition would have been helpful in this regard. We did get a dash of it, but for some reason it was delayed in the chorus. A slightly different instrumental would have been enough to also resolve the issue. But the slightly different instrumental that the producers did go with was quite minute, and so it was hard to really differentiate the chorus from the rest of the song. Aside from that, however, I thought the rest of HUSH RUSH was executed well. It was quite pleasant and LEE CHAE YEON did a good job of portraying this. Her vocals had this silky texture and brought a nice pop of colour and energy to the song, especially during the parts of the chorus were defined. The pop melodies were quite simple, and sure they could have been more riveting. But they did aid in giving off that pleasant vibe in HUSH RUSH. I liked the tiny uttered repetition of “I love it” that was added to the instrumental of the chorus, and the autotuned “Oh yeah” that you here faintly throughout the background of the song. Nice detailing that added a bit more depth to HUSH RUSH. I do feel that “And now, the breakdown” line was unnecessary, since nothing dynamic really came after it. It just stuck out like a sore thumb in this song. But overall, HUSH RUSH is pleasant and good foot into the industry for LEE CHAE YEON.

I am a bit confused about the video. LEE CHAE YEON is portrayed as a vampire in the video. But she gets to spend the latter half of the video outside, under the sun. That isn’t the issue though. In order for her to spend some time under the sun or “get closer to the humans” as the video puts it, she drank a garlic drink. Now, folklore pretty much says vampires and garlic doesn’t mix. So, I am not sure if I can follow the logic there. Though, I guess it is folklore and you can make up anything about it. Otherwise, it is a fun video that complements the pleasant nature of HUSH RUSH. I commend the video on trying to show the meaning of the song. Essentially, from my interpretation of the lyrics, LEE CHAE YEON (the vampire version) experiences love for the first time, and she really wants to feel it again. She likens it to wanting to be outside under the sun or again.

While I do think the pleasantness of this pop song does limit the extent of her performance, LEE CHAE YEON did an awesome job with the choreography. There was a hint of sexiness to it, but also an energetic kick to it, at the same time. I love the bounce and quick moves to the chorus routine. But most importantly, I think LEE CHAE YEON still managed to show off her performance skills with this routine. You could tell she was a performer through this choreography.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10