Taeyong (NCT) – KPOPREVIEWED

[Album Review] TAP (2nd Mini Album) – TAEYONG (NCT)

July 26, 2024Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged NCT, Taeyong (NCT)Leave a comment

TAEYONG’s 2nd mini-album, titled TAP, is up for review today. It is lead by the same named single as its title track and 5 additional side tracks. Following promotions of the new mini-album and a solo concert, TAEYONG enlisted in the military. Unfortunately, this does mean he isn’t part of NCT 127 promotions of their most recent comeback Walk. But he did leave us with 6 new songs to dig into when he returned back in February of this year.

I must admit that TAP is one mini-album that I was very keen on reviewing. There are some really amazing side tracks on the mini-album that have unexpectedly blown me away. I wasn’t expecting much from this mini-album, particularly since TAEYONG is not a member I follow as much and is no whom I expect such dreamy and vocally driven tracks from. Also, I did not expect the rest of the mini-album to be so strong after I gave the title track a cold review. But the side tracks warm me right back and I want to share them with you. So if you have not yet, do check out TAEYONG’s latest mini-album and my thoughts on each song below!

1. TAP (Title Track) – Click here for the full review for TAP. (6/10)

2. Moon Tour – The mini-album slows down considerably with Moon Tour, going down a R&B path. I am quite surprised with how much I enjoyed Moon Tour. The instrumental is super dreamy and paced (the latter works extremely well in this song). I particularly like how the instrumental came to be, despite the use of harsher and abrasive synths. I also really enjoyed TAEYONG’s vocals. He isn’t known for his vocal capabilities given his rapper status. But I really loved how delicate and heartfelt his vocals sounded in Moon Tour. I particularly enjoyed the way he dragged out the ‘You & I’ at the start of each chorus. An easy 10/10 from me. (10/10)

3. Run Away – Run Away features several changes in its instrumentation and vocals as it progresses, making it an interesting piece to me. We get an atmospheric start to the song, with TAEYONG building up towards a first verse that features a light touch of rock. The pre-choruses refocus on TAEYONG’s vocals via a dreamier melody. The choruses bring a heavier rock presence, with a beat that is foot-tapping and head-bopping worthy and electric guitar shredding gives Run Away an additional punch of energy. I also like how TAEYONG’s vocals get so raspy in the chorus. A more upbeat energy takes over in the second verse, before the same pre-chorus comes into play. The heavier rock presence returns in the second chorus (featuring a different set of lyrics) and in the end via the little outro we got. Overall, a fair bit in Run Away to digest, but another strong effort from TAEYONG. (8/10)

4. APE – Out of all the songs on the mini-album, APE feels the most aligned with what I know of TAEYONG. It is a very cool dance track, with some awesome synth work and rapping from TAEYONG himself. This is definitely enough to get me interested in it. His flow was really good, the energy was wild, and I can definitely imagine some impressive dance moves from the man himself to accompany the track. The ending of APE was probably the most interesting aspect of all. The instrumental reverted from synths to a soothing fade out, as TAEYONG raps over it with some heavy autotune. Very intriguing concept and way to end the song, but it worked really well. (8/10)

5. Ups & Downs (나에게 했던 것과 같이) – The opening verse Ups & Downs had me thinking this was going to be a ballad, but it ends up being more of an R&B piece. I really liked how TAEYONG carried himself through the song. His vocals and rapping made it a very captivating. The instrumentation was very riveting, as well. Ups & Downs started off with lo-fi beats, moves into R&B territory for majority of the song, and finally ends with a fade towards a classical motif. I am not as into this song, compared to the other songs on this mini-album. But I cannot deny how amazing Ups & Downs sounds. (9/10)

6. 404 Loading – TAEYONG continues to blow me away in the final track on the mini-album. His vocals are stunningly beautiful in 404 Loading. The way it builds up in the song and the raspier tone he has just makes it a captivating piece. Also stunningly beautiful are the song’s melodies. The way the melodies carried me through 404 Loading just had me swaying along to the song, just like what I would expect from a ballad. The synth work in the background goes down a dreamy direction. But it also gave 404 Loading texture to anchor down TAEYONG’s vocals. Altogether, a memorable ending to TAEYONG’s mini-album. (10/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.5/10

[Review] TAP – TAEYONG (NCT)

March 5, 2024Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Taeyong (NCT)2 Comments

My hypothetical time machine has taken us from January 2024 back closer to present day so I can cover TAEYONG’s first solo comeback since making his solo debut with SHALALA. TAEYONG’s new single, TAP, was released a week ago alongside his second mini-album of the same name.

TAP faces a similar issue to its predecessor (SHALALA) in that it is weak. It kicks off promisingly, with some heavy bass and strong delivery from TAEYONG. The brighter and pop-tinged instrumental kept the song upbeat and somewhat fun sounding. But TAP‘s main weakness becomes prevalent when we reach the chorus – it doesn’t feel like a chorus. Elements of it does make it a chorus, such as it is the repeated sequence that the song goes back to and that it has a good catchy rhythm to it (which serves well in place of a memorable melody, given it is a hip-hop song). But the central piece to TAP simply feels like an extension of the verses. There is no boldness, body or added definition to bolster it up and sell it as a main event for the song. In a way, just like SHALALA, it results in the song coming off as monotonous. But the other positive aspects of the song I have pointed out above does give TAP an edge, which in turn makes it a slightly better song than his debut.

The music video sees TAEYONG explore Japan, through what has been pointed out to be a parody of a famous Japanese TV show. We see the video set outdoors in Japan and TAEYONG experience the culture of traditional bathhouses and bedrooms, the arcade and even dango (a sweet Japanese dumpling). But this has caused some controversary with viewers who question why the music video needed to be set in Japan, given that this is a Korean release and not a Japanese release. For me, I feel like the music video is aiming to complement that fun side of TAP, but I can’t answer as to why it needed to be set in Japan.

The performance was actually quite laidback, which caught me by surprise. I was expecting some really complex routine. But what we got was much simpler. It doesn’t mean we were shortchanged however. TAP definitely had some tapping in there and I liked how he still managed to make that simpler routine fun and charismatic. It also helps that the styling for this comeback felt on point.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 6.7/10

[Review] SHALALA – TAEYONG (NCT)

June 8, 2023Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged NCT, Taeyong (NCT)Leave a comment

Making his solo return on Monday was TAEYONG from NCT, with the shared title single and mini-album, SHALALA. While this is promoted as his solo debut, this isn’t TAEYONG”s first solo single. We previously got singles from TAEYONG through the release from the SM Station series, with the last being Long Flight from 2019.

With hip-hop influences and a very synth heavy production, SHALALA definitely heads in the direction that I had expected for a TAEYONG solo release. But we aren’t talking about the same combination of the two that (majority of the time) works for NCT 127 or U’s releases. SHALALA ends up bring a lot weaker, with TAEYONG’s delivery failing to evoke much of a reaction from me. I find his delivery in SHALALA to be quite monotonous. He essentially keeps to a low tone throughout the song and he never really picks up from where he begins. His flow is good, but there was room for TAEYONG to potentially be more expressive and to have driven more energy into the song. This potentially could have made SHALALA more ‘dynamic’. It is a pity that we never get there. Subsequently, this causes other parts of SHALALA to fall short, such as the lack of a memorable hook. Energy would have gone a long way, and this was a department of the song that would have benefited from this. If I had to point out a positive, I would say there were some decent vocal moments during the choruses (i.e., the “Shalala Lala“) and the second verses. They were brief and had a decent ring. But nothing long-lasting. As for the instrumentation and production, I am on the fence. There is a fair bit going on, but I liked the focus on percussive elements to give SHALALA a unique tinge. I think it does complement TAEYONG’s good flow in the song, but it definitely felt grating at certain moments. Overall, SHALALA is not a song that I would be going back to that much.

I can definitely say that the music video faired much better than the song. I really liked the idea of a God controlling everything (as you would expect), but on a computer system. But he ended up being hacked (how modern), resulting in a number of characters (all played by TAEYONG) being placed into different and incorrect metaverses (how trendy). Despite being misplaced, each character somehow excelled, reflecting the song’s message of shining wherever you are. We see Gamerboy TAEYONG introduce gaming to other yetis during the Ice Age, Knight TAEYONG from the 1800s excelling in a 1980s office job and yeti TAEYONG excel at bowling in 2023. In the end, God ends up resetting everything, by deleting all the metaverses (and effectively the world) but dragging all of it to the recycle bin on his computer. At the end, we see God close the clapperboard, effectively restarting life again. It is a weird concept, but funny and made for a good viewing.

Like the music video, the performance for this comeback also fairs better than the song. His moves were super clean, he had really great command of his body (which makes complete sense, given that he is known for his choreography skills) and that he shows off his personality and sense of style in the hip-hop centric performance. I also like the playful side to the choreography, which he pulls off effortlessly.

Song – 5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 6.7/10

[Review] Long Flight – Taeyong (NCT)

July 19, 2019Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged NCT, Taeyong (NCT)4 Comments

This season SM STATION has made some changes which I think makes the program a little more interesting. Firstly, they have been delivering us new tracks on a fortnightly basis as opposed to their previously weekly timetable. Secondly, the focus seems to be more on SM Entertainment artists with many solo releases from EXO members in the past few months. But today, we do not see the release of an EXO-related single. Instead, it is NCT-related, with leader Taeyong releasing Long Flight for this week’s SM Station track.

Taeyong is one of the many versatile members of the NCT. He can sing, dance and rap, becoming a leading triple threat within the group. Long Flight‘s release attempts to demonstrate all of these in their utmost glory. Long Flight is an upbeat R&B track. And as much I want Taeyong to shine (as NCT and its subunits have far too many members to let every individual member be ‘showcased’), I find Long Flight to not 100% encompass all of this talent. I understand this song is self-composed and written by the man himself. But I think the sound was a little too typical for the music industry nowadays. I found the hooks (both lyrically and instrumentally) to be quite weak, not giving the song a chance to be memorable. But Taeyong’s execution of the singing and rapping was very good. I liked how he effortlessly went between singing and rapping, which does demonstrate his potential. That was probably the most impressive aspect of the track. Other than that, Long Flight isn’t the song for me.

What I did like was the music video. It felt like the music video got a decent budget, which isn’t always the same feeling when we look at other SM Station releases. The aeroplane set looked pretty cool. It kind of gives you an insight into show business. The outside did look like a real plane but the inside showed it was a built set. I guess that makes sense, especially since booking an aeroplane for a music video shoot would be costly. The rest of the sets looked cool as well. I also liked the colour palette. Not too pale but not too bold as well.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 6.8/10