Doh Kyung Soo has one of the richest tones in K-pop, but as with so many great voices his solo music has usually steered toward ballads and coffeehouse-ready midtempos. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the style doesn’t exactly inspire excitement. Teasers of his first full album seemed to promise a more diverse set of sounds (and tempos!) and the bouncy Sing Along! takes a gentle hop toward that.
For this song, Kyung Soo’s paired with Zico as a songwriter/producer. This isn’t a collaboration I would have expected, nor does Sing Along sound much like what I’d anticipate the two of them making together. It’s a fun, upbeat pop track with tropical undertones and an occasionally chanted element that stays just clear of becoming a cheesy, Lion King-esque affectation. Afrobeats percussion becomes more prominent as the track goes on. A greater and earlier emphasis on this groove would have benefitted the song.
While Sing Along doesn’t take full advantage of Kyung Soo’s voice, it’s nice to hear him flex those vocals over a more energetic rhythm. However, an early album teaser featured house music as a backdrop and ever since hearing it I can’t stop thinking about how perfect his vocals would be when ripping over a dramatic 90’s dance track. It’s not fair to review a song based on something it’s not even trying to be, but Sing Along‘s amiable, skip-along niceness is not nearly as compelling as so many other genres could be. The song is pretty innocuous and it could be so much more.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
