I’ve been watching Park Jihoon in the web-drama Love Revolution and have been really impressed with his knack for comedy. With that drama’s dorky/endearing character fresh in my mind, it’s quite jarring to watch the music video for new single Gotcha. But, I guess this is just a testament to his versatility as a performer. Throughout his solo career, Jihoon has embraced a multitude of genres. This makes it hard to predict how a new title track might sound. And true to form, Gotcha moves his music in a different direction.
Simply listening to the first few seconds of Gotcha, you might mistake it for NCT 127’s 2018 hit Regular. In fact, up until the pre-chorus, the two songs are remarkably similar. And, it’s not just the Latin/trap influences in the instrumental. Even the phrasing feels reminiscent. Add to that a post-chorus drop that comes across as a 2020 redux of EXO’s Kokobop and you have to wonder if the producers were listening to a lot of SM music recently.
Regardless of similarities, Gotcha isn’t as successful as either of those tracks. It benefits from having the continuity of a single voice, but its hooks aren’t as sharp as I’d hope for. Jihoon sounds best when his vocals are layered during the chorus, which also happens to be Gotcha’s catchiest moment. But, I’m not sure that this general style is a good fit for his talents. The track throws down a nice vibe, yet doesn’t come across as very distinct. Those hoping for another Wing will have to wait until the next comeback, I guess.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
It is definitely not as good as Wing….
Still, appreciate that he is involved in his own music development, just wish this track would compare with his best material.
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How are you writing coherent sentences, Nick? I’m sitting here, watching DeKalb county, in a state several states away, and all my mind in its state can think is that I feel like one of those reaction videos
mm, good
nice
oh wow
hmm
what is that drop
ok good
not as good as Wing
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I can wait for the next, heck I am waiting on DeKalb county.
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‘what is that drop’ indeed. It sounds like someone put kokobop through a musical blender!
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I’m glad to hear they’re coherent! Honestly, I wasn’t even sure…
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Regular and Ko Ko Bop were also the first things on my
mind!
I actually thought the hook/chorus was decent at first but unfortunately this track is very repetitive with it and by the end of its runtime it somewhat exhausted my good will, lol. Jihoon definitely carries this one with his performance.
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Hi Nick, I’m sorry if this isn’t really related to this song but I’ve been waiting a long time to ask this and since it’s about Park Jihoon I think it’s okay? I’m not gonna ask on the song’s post because I’m not sure if you check older posts anymore (or maybe you still do receive notifications for older posts) Basically I would just wanted to know what genre Park Jihoon’s 360° is, it’s a type of sound I haven’t found anywhere else in kpop (or just pop in general), it just has such a beautiful style of instrumentation and a dreamy sound to it, I unexpectedly fell in love with it first listen and it’s still at my top songs atm, so I was wondering if I would be able to find more songs like 360°? So if you know what music genre it ressembles the most or if you know more songs like this please tell me/recommend them to me! Sorry if I take out some time out of your day, if you’re too busy I’ll understand 🙂
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I’m hardly an expert, but if I was going to describe 360 I’d probably call it “atmospheric electro/EDM,” though I hear some synthwave elements in there too. Parts of the instrumental actually remind me of Taemin’s Move, though not as aggressive with the bass. I wish I could give you some recommendations for other tracks, but nothing’s coming to my mind at the moment. I’ll let you know if something does!
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Thank you Nick, I’ll definitley check those genres out! 🙂
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Coincidentally, last night on my cycle ride, I had the big big shuffle on the ipod, and Jonghyun’s “Only One You Need” from his last album came on. Its quite good. You may like it.
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@mymagoogle Thanks a lot! I love the song, it’s really kind of you ^-^
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Hi Lauren, I hope I’m not too late but I think I have two songs that you might like that take a more dramatic approach to the same type of sound that Jihoons 360 has. Bad Guy by 1the9 and Rose, Scent, Kiss by Lee Daewhi (AB6IX). The latter has more attitude to it while Bad Guy has more of a dark twist.
If it’s the dreamy feeling you’re looking for, I have some songs suitable for an ethereal night as well. I guess you’d like Body Talk by Red Velvet, but you might also be interested Behind the Mask by Twice, Heartbreak Hotel by Tiffany ft Simon Dominic (SM Station) and When I’m Alone by f(x). If those songs aren’t for you, maybe it’s the synthwave/80s elements you’re into (check out Caffeine by Eyedi, Orbit of yours by Dosii or The Open Boat by Primary and Anda ft Colde). Otherwise Want by Taemin.
Hopefully you will find some songs you like and I’m sorry if this was completely off!
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@linnea Woah that’s a lot of songs, thank you so much T_T I’ll update and repost a comment later in the day what I think of the songs, just know that I’m super grateful ❤
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I thought this wasn’t that good and the rating was about right but who would’ve guessed this is actually the best one on the album. Jihoon’s music hasn’t clicked with me yet but even I didn’t expect the album to be this weak…
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Yeah, the album’s a big nothingburger for me. But to be fair, it’s not really my style anyway. It’s a shame. I really like Jihoon.
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I like it, somehow. Maybe it’s because of my “simplicity is impressive” philosophy or it’s my big bias towards Jihoon. Even with that, we’ll never know…
Setting that aside, if we compare the tracks he had released back then, this might be the weakest so far. It’s also a bummer, knowing that this was a follow up to the highly energetic “Wing”. Diversity is nice, but it would be more perfect if it’s done right.
This song needs more listening to me before adding to the playlist. Surprising, as all of Jihoon’s songs would click to me as soon as the I finished listening. Rating’s about right, though I would have rated it a bit more of 7.5.
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I think I might actually like this more than Wing. I’m shocked by myself lol.
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This song is not the greatest (I’m so glad someone else said what is that drop??? bc I am not having it lmao), but damn do I love me that catchy chorus. I agree, it’s best part of the song vocally, hands down.
And also: it’s similar to the beginning of Regular!? Welp, no wonder I like this song so much then. I had an unhealthy addiction to Regular that I will never truly recover from. (Except that’s to be expected when you have the monstrosity that is the English version of Regular on repeat.)
I happen to love generic pop, so this floats my boat. It’s not at the top of my list, but it fits the average of what I like to listen to. Even I have standards of distinction that this song doesn’t quite reach.
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