As is often the case with J-pop singles, ENHYPEN’s Shine On Me has been available for a few weeks now, but today it’s finally paired with its half-animated, half-live action music video. As a straight-down-the-middle ballad, the song offers a different texture for the group.
This style of lovelorn summer ballad rears its head every year around this time and works as nice counterprogramming to the season’s more energetic offerings. It’s nice to hear ENHYPEN strip back the production and deliver a track focused on vocal melody and strong sentiment. With that said, there’s only so far a song like this can stretch. It takes an absolutely breathtaking series of melodies or a knock-your-socks-off performance for something like Shine On Me to be a standout on my playlist. With K-pop, that happens once in a blue moon and the mood in decidedly un-blue today.
What we’re left with is a very pleasant pop track that follows the HYBE soft-rock formula. This could have just as easily been performed by groups like &TEAM or TXT with no real change. I suppose that’s a testament to the song’s sturdiness, but it also results in a pretty generic listen. Fans of the group will likely be thrilled to hear ENHYPEN in this particular musical realm, so I guess that’s mission accomplished in its own way.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
