Nayeon - Im Nayeon

Release Date: June 24, 2022

Yep, Nayeon is my bias, the reason I got into kpop, but don't worry, I'm aware of the parasocial relationship the kpop industry likes to give off with its idols. Even thought the group had been popular by the time I'd discovered them with "What is Love", nobody told me about the girls. Plus, they have so much extra content on their YouTube channel, I feel like I'm rooting for all of them to succeed.

I bring that up because I think I'm too deep into the fandom. I'm a Once. Twice debuted in 2015 and for the most part, have recycled the same formula with minor dips in different genres. All their members have their roles and I memorized their voices. I guess the obvious comparison I can make is, how does Nayeon sound without her members?

Review: Well, I love her voice. She's lead vocalist for a reason. I think "Pop" could be annoying to lesser fans, but I think it's a fun, upbeat title track. Her voice sounds different when she does the rap part. I liked the way Nayeon sounded on Sweet Summer Day or on Hello, but dang, she went really high pitched for the rap.

"No Problem" and "Love Countdown" featured a rapper so that took the burden off.  Let's just say, these two songs are perfectly manufacturer heaven, like these producers nailed it. Great job from Felix and Wonstein respectively.  "Candyfloss" is cavity induing. it sounds so preschool bouncy. I like how dumb it sounds. I don't know who does the background vocals, but the part where you hear "Dip it in" sounds like chaeyoung, but it probably isn't. These 3 tracks are the most repeatable.

The next two songs are like Red Velvet's velvet side. She's so cute when she goes "say what? say what?" Nayeon wrote the lyrics to "All or Nothing" and in interviews, she always mentions she has dark days or dark times and maybe the language barrier makes me disconnect, or I'm blinded because i always see her as the energizer bunny, anyways, my vibe from it is that it's a romantic song, instead of it being interpersonal or sad.  I get the same feeling from Happy Birthday to You. No disrespectful, but the mood is cool, that's all that matters.  

Lastly, it ends on Sunset, which is really odd since Twice already has a song called Sunset. I want to trash it because it's pretty uneventful, but it got me thinking, this is a side that Nayeon rarely shows, so I'll take it. It reminds me a bit of Twice's 21:29 where I thought the song was boring, but maybe if they used this song on their YouTube channel, I'll love it.

Summary:  It's Nayeon from Twice, the best NFT of the year.  As a Once, it's really good and will contain us over till the ot9 comeback later in the year.

Favorite Song: No Problem, Candyfloss
Rating: 9/10