Nu’est W’s Dejavu has become one of the year’s biggest growers for me. The same thing happened with last October’s Where You At. Initially, I found the group’s reinvented sound to be a bit too trendy, but the songwriting has held up. If any qualms still remain, it’s that their material always seems to veer towards the dark and brooding. Nu’est W’s personalities are anything but dark and brooding, and it’s time for their music to showcase this upbeat charm.

Enter I Don’t Care, which — despite its dismissive title — offers a buoyant hook and bright production. The song is essentially a CF (commercial film), crafted to promote Spoonz (emoji-esque characters created by software company NCSOFT). And at its heart, Care feels a bit like a commercial jingle. Its chorus is easily hummable, coming across as relatively subdued the first listen even as it insidiously works its way into your brain. But rather than outsource the creation of the song, the members teamed with frequent collaborator Bumzu. This gives the track a very cohesive sound, conforming to what has gradually become Pledis Entertainment’s funk-infused house style.

As you might expect from a song designed to hawk cartoon characters, I Don’t Care is a pretty slight offering. Its bubbly melody refreshes, even as it fails to leave much of an impact. Ditto for its trendy instrumental, which melds sneaky rhythm guitar with the kind of quirky synth that has become ubiquitous over the past few years. What sets I Don’t Care above the crowd are Nu’est themselves. They drive the song forward with personality, disarming listeners’ cynicism with a playful performance that proves their versatility. I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being just as much of a grower as their past two singles.

~