Tag: ZEROBASEONE

Returning at the start of the week was ZEROBASEONE. And covering their latest comeback song, Feel The POP, at the end of the week is me! The new song is featured on the group’s 3rd mini-album You Had Me At Hello and Feel The POP follows the pre-release SWEAT (which I reviewed a couple of weeks back). The entire comeback follows on from their late 2023’s CRUSH.

I did check out Feel The POP when it was first released on Monday, but I didn’t get much from the track. I thought I give it a few days to see if it would grow on me slightly. But it only grew by a little and I am not sure if it can continue to grow on me anymore. Instead, my initial thoughts on the song stand. Feel The POP is indeed pleasant and enjoyable, but it feels very safe and ‘inside the box’. This hinders its appeal. Yes, I have described Feel The POP as pleasant and enjoyable (which are usually good positive terms to describe things by), but it is also neither fresh or different. The instrumental can be described in a similar manner. It feels subtly upbeat to be a summery track and I do like the hap-like synths in the background as it does bring some colour to the song. But at the exact same time, the background stayed rather neutral from start to end, and it didn’t develop into something exciting or with zing. I will say Feel The POP is focused on melodies and the singing was decent, but those same melodies felt thin and failed to make the song stand out. Same for the hooks. I thought the rapping could have been a good avenue to bring something different to Feel The POP, but said rapping was so limited and barely made a scratch into the song. I think it is safe to say that Feel The POP is very underbaked and doesn’t feel as fulfilling as their debut track (which is still their best effort, in my opinion).

As for the music video, there seems to be a few concepts going on visually, such as the modern Western cowboy theme, office workers, rich persons’ tennis playing and a more typical casual affair to close out the video. But they don’t seem to go together whatsoever. What does (loosely) joins the concept up is the supposedly cutesy apocalyptic event that causes alarm to others, but ZEROBASEONE handles quite coolly by smashing a tennis ball into a giant cactus and shooting down the giant bomb cloud. The world is saved and ZEROBASEONE proceeds to celebrate at the end of the video. I guess the intent of the video is supposed to be light-heart and summery, which the tennis scenes do give off. The rest of the video, now that I have summarised it on a page, does feel a bit wild, which is on brand for KPOP in some regards.

I feel like the choreography was the strongest aspect of the comeback. I really like the chorus routine, which brought some popping into the mix. Same goes for the bridge. And they were quite strong pops. Other than that, I liked the smoother feeling of the choreography for Feel The POP, which complements that pleasant tone that comes from the song.

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

ZEROBASEONE is due back in a couple of weeks on 13 May 2024 with their second comeback (mini-album titled You Had Me At Hello) since their debut last year. Ahead of the new comeback, ZEROBASEONE pre-released a single yesterday to tease us with. The single is titled SWEAT and marks the beginning of an early Summer. We last saw ZEROBASEONE through CRUSH in Korea and (more recently) through YURA YURA in Japan.

SWEAT is a solid pre-release track, though it does lacks a ZEROBASEONE personality. SWEAT doesn’t feel like it falls on a spectrum with the two extremes being In Bloom or CRUSH. However, I do think it is a bit on a pleasant side of another spectrum, which isn’t a bad thing. I do think SWEAT could have been more robust in its house-based instrumental to drive up the energy and excitement. Maybe that could have given SWEAT a ZEROBASEONE feel. That being said, SWEAT does still have a beat and kick to it that made it enjoyable and chill. The song displays a good showing of vocals from the members, though nothing mind-blowing to really attract attention. That was delegated to the catchy hook which got my attention at the first pass when I checked out the track yesterday. Interestingly, the producers opted to not include a rap sequence. I think SWEAT could have benefited from a punchy and edgy rap sequence to, once again, drive up the energy and excitement even further. Wrapping up my thoughts on the song, it looks like SWEAT could have been more. But as it is, it is fine track.

While there is a music video for the release, the title of the video categorise it to be more of a ‘SPECIAL SUMMER VIDEO’. They definitely got the Summer bit down, with an overall very sunny music video that sees the group perform on stage at a beach, in the middle of a long road surrounded by breezy long grass and during a shower, and in a field with a sunset background. I also like the easygoing and chill vibes of the video. In addition to all of that, I am sure fans are enjoying the plentiful closeup of the members in the video.

Released a couple of hours after SWEAT, the performance video on the M2 YouTube channel was actually quite engaging thanks to the camera angles and how the members made a connection with the camera at these angles. As for the choreography, there was a slight sensual vibe to it, which interestingly didn’t make it into the music video. Other than that, a solid routine.

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

As part of their November comeback with the CRUSH, ZEROBASEONE also released a music video for the side track MELTING POINT, which also comes from the same mini-album that CRUSH is featured on and also shares the same name as the side track. Today, I will be reviewing MELTING POINT (in case you can’t already tell).

As a whole, MELTING POINT comes out to be quite a fun track, especially when we get to the more up-tempo chorus. But there are two distinct motifs in this song, both of which complement each other quite well to form the one song that is MELTING POINT. The verses and bridge feature a dreamy approach, which allows the members to showcase a softer and lighter vocal charm. I liked how pleasant these parts of the song are. When we get to the choruses, the instrumentation intensifies and the song becomes hookier. The synths take on a more abrasive profile in the centrepiece of MELTING POINT, which offsets the dreamier approach in the verses and helps makes the chorus more memorable by boldening it. The chorus also makes that fun side of the song more prominent, and the members convey that same vibe off with their vocals. I did kind of wished there was something more to the second verse, so it doesn’t sound like a replica of the first one. But that is a small improvement to an already good side track.

The music video sees the members are all smiles in a winter wonderland. And to match the vibes of MELTING POINT, we also see a much brighter and light-hearted side to the members, a side that we saw in their debut but not the main music video for this comeback. There also seems to be a bit more to the video, with the fairy tale elements like the poison apple, a mirror, horse and telescope. I am not entirely sure what these elements are trying to portray, but I guess they contribute to the members looking for love to thaw out their heart (which might explain why some of the setting does melt away later on in the video), which is the message they express in the song.

The choreography features a slight cute undertone to it, which is a slightly different vibe than ZEROBASEONE has ever shown. Nothing that memorable comes out of the routine. But I did like the all-smile approach to the routine, which matches up with the tone of the song quite well.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7.8/10

One of the most successful debuts of the year (and in KPOP ever) has made their first comeback this week. Previously, ZEROBASEONE set records with their 1st mini-album Youth In The Shade, such as becoming the most pre-ordered debut KPOP album and being the first ever KPOP debut album to sell more than 1 million copies. This week, the group returns with their 2nd mini-album, Melting Point, and the lead single CRUSH.

CRUSH starts off strong, in my opinion. YUJIN’s smooth vocals to open up the song, TAERAE’s powerful line, RICKY and GYUVIN’s punchy delivery, JIWOONG’s slightly shouty rap line and MATTHEW’s sleek rapping all came together to create quite a first verse. I also enjoyed the the incline in the instrumentation towards the chorus. But things started to unravel when CRUSH opts for a descending melody to lead into the first chorus. I am not a big fan of the cluttering drum line that takes centre stage in CRUSH. While it is undeniably striking, it is also very jarring and detached from the rest of the instrumentation. The vocals also take on a shouty motif, which makes sense given the group has to channel the same energy in order to be heard over the drum line. But it also feels unimaginative. Somehow, the drumming does meld well into the second half of the chorus. While I do like the more melodic turn this half of the chorus takes, I do find it a bit plain and unexciting. If the song opted for a structure like the one final chorus but with a much stronger melody, I would have enjoyed CRUSH a lot more. The second verse comes along and features some rapping, but nothing as memorable as in the pre-chorus (which we do get a repeat of). CRUSH‘s bridge was a bore and there is nothing to remember it by. While CRUSH does attempt to do something bolder with the clanging drumline, that itself doesn’t sit well with me. And everything else, aside from the first verse and final chorus (albeit a strong melody), just didn’t feel memorable enough.

The music video is pretty cool. The post-production special effects, which made the members feel statue or art-like, definitively took the video to the next level. The cinematography of these same shots look super cool. ZHANGHAO’s shots at the start and end were without doubt the most memorable shots of the video, with the knight armory and sword in the rock. It made think of King Arthur and the Excalibur. I feel like there should be story in all of this, but I am not entirely sure. I wished the song had a similar effect.

The synchronisation makes for a very cool dance performance. I did wish the moves were sharper, just to give the performance a greater knife-edge impression. But it was a good routine, overall.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.4/10

Officially making their debut yesterday was ZEROBASEONE, the new male group formed via the Boys Planet survival show that aired earlier this year. The final lineup of the group consist of Kim Ji-woong, Zhang Hao, Sung Han-bin, Seok Matthew, Kim Tae-rae, Ricky, Kim Gyu-vin, Park Gun-wook and Han Yu-jin. It has also been confirmed that the group will be active for 2.5 years. But for now, let’s focus on their debut with In Bloom and their first mini-album, Youth In The Shade. ZEROBASEONE is already setting records with this first mini-album, which earns the group the title of million-album seller already within one day of its release and sets a new record for the most pre-ordered and sold debut album in Korea.

In Bloom is a pleasant dance track to debut with. And for the most part, I think it is a strong effort from the group. The instrumental for In Bloom earns a big tick of approval from me. The recognisable and iconic synth line of Take On Me by a-ha adds such a bright pop to the song, while the beat and other instrumentation of In Bloom mordernises the song towards the 2020s trends It also enables a fast paced atmosphere that in turns allows for an upbeat choreography (more on this in the last part of the review). Altogether, In Bloom feels quite fresh (even though the song does feel safe) and is quite vibrant without doing too much. It helps that the vocals and melodies keeps the song from going overboard, with the aforementioned pleasant side of In Bloom coming through these elements. The members do infuse a youthfulness to the song and I do like the flow of both vocals and rapping. This creates an harmonious approach with the instrumentation, which in turn gives off that bright and energetic atmosphere that I found to be enjoyable. I did think more could have been done to make the song more memorable and potentially punchy like the song it pays homage to, such as stronger hooks and melodies that really stay with you after the song finishes. At the moment, In Bloom doesn’t really pull me back in via this department when the song ends. And as already mentioned, there is also a relatively feeling of safeness to In Bloom which I cannot seem to shake despite the couple of listens I have given the song so far. But as a debut track, I think the new group has done a great job as putting In Bloom as a foot forward into the industry, which they will undoubtedly soar in.

For the music video, I quite enjoyed their concept. The song is about the group’s “determination to sprint toward “you” as they take their first meaningful step toward an inevitable end”, and I quite liked how the producers introduced a gaming concept to bring that to life. The members are searching for flowers individually that are required for them to progress onto the next stage of the game. We see the members work together to clear the first stage, while the second stage is a bit harder given they have to work alone. In the end. all the members arrive at the final door, completing the second stage of the game. There was also a brief moment in which the members “left the game”. Not sure what the significance of this part of the video is, but I guess it could be that the members had the option to explore a different world, but chose to go back towards that “inevitable end” with “you”. Overall, a well concepted video that works nicely with the pleasant side of the song.

As for the choreography, it feels energetic and youthful – all of which suits ZEROBASEONE at this stage of their careers. The group has good chemistry with one another and there was a vibrant element to the choreography that made it enjoyable to watch.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10