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Super Junior was active this year through the release of Time_Slip, SUPER Clap and I Think I. However, Sungmin did not participate in this year’s comeback. In fact, Sungmin has been an inactive member of the group since 2015, after fans demanded for his departure from the group due to his marriage. However, on the 22nd of November, Sungmin made his official solo debut with Orgel. This is Sungmin’s first solo track since the release of Day Dream in 2018 as part of SM Station.
Sungmin, while still active as a member of Super Junior, held the role of lead vocalist. And as cliche as it is (for a lead or main vocalist), Sungmin’s official debut song comes in the form of a ballad. Unfortunately, the cliche release doesn’t really offer anything new and felt like a typical ballad that we hear often at this time of the year. I have listened to Orgel a number of times since its release a month ago, but the song has sadly not stuck with me. It was often forgotten and I haven’t gone out my way to actually seeking the track to listen to it. Paired with a simple yet warming instrumentation featuring piano and acoustic guitar (made to sound like a music box, which I think was the intention based on the title of the song), we are given an opportunity to hear Sungmin’s vocals once again. He sounds nice, with a raspy voice and showcases falsettos during the chorus. And this does a lot to make the song feel appealing. But I don’t think that is enough to make the ballad a stand out. I do like ballads, but this one just felt standard to me.
Orgel, in Korean, means music box. And as mentioned in the song section of the review, the music does give off a music box vibe. In addition to that, something that I felt while watching the music video is that the song ended reminding me of the nice feeling when the sun manages to shine through the blinds in the morning and you wake up as a result. And we do get some of that through the natural lighting present in the music video, as Sungmin walks around the neighborhood. The music box that is shaped like a carousel is what he uses as inspiration for this song and the music that he writes in the video. And it seems like the mentioned music box also reminds me of his childhood, getting him to flip through that book with the cute drawings. Overall, I thought it was a nice video, going hand-in-hand with the song.
Song – 5.5/10
Music Video – 7/10
Overall Rating – 6.1/10
KPOPREVIEWED 