Kim Junsu has always been one of those indispensable K-pop vocalists. There’s no one else quite like him, and just hearing his voice hearkens back to earlier eras. His last album was released all the way back in the spring of 2016, promoted by the excellent, underrated Rock The World. Now, after four years and a full military service, he’s finally returned with a new mini album. The industry has certainly missed him.
Though Junsu’s title tracks tend to embrace upbeat dance beats, his albums are often filled with ballads. He excels at slower, emotive material, but I’ve always loved his voice most when it tackles high-energy drama. Because of this, I’m delighted that Pit A Pat (핏어팻) is a full-on club track. Most of its instrumental has that aggressive electronic throb that characterized so much of K-pop’s early 2010’s output. It’s refreshing to hear such a jolt of momentum in 2020. Even when the production slows during the second verse, it does so without resorting to an expected 2020-era arrangement. There may not be anything all that unique within Pit A Pat’s arsenal of sounds, but I applaud its vigor.
Yet as expected, Pit A Pat’s most enduring element is Junsu’s vocal. His confident performance keeps the track from feeling too generic. He’s the kind of performer who needs no help from double-tracking or backing vocals. Almost the entire song is delivered without ornamentation – just Junsu and the beat. This gives the illusion of a one-take performance, as if rattling off a big dance anthem is child’s play for him. Add that sense of fearlessness to a strong, multi-part chorus, and you’ve got a great return for this K-pop legend.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
My bias for TVXQ is no secret, but even then, this track surpassed my expectations. I cannot wait till I can review it later today (hopefully), it is just so good!
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Here is the review!
https://108ent.blogspot.com/2020/11/review-xia-junsu-pit-pat.html
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I listened to this for the first time way too early in the morning, the way it breaks out of the starting gate at about 0:05 and then never ever stops. aigooooo where is my coffee.
The song itself is a classic leading man-type song. With small changes in the instrumental, the song could have been released in almost any decade since the early 80’s.
The recorded version is super confident, and he dominates the video too. I don’t see any showcases or music show performances up yet on youtube, so I don’t know how well this is going to go live. Its so high paced, with such frenetic energy, how well is the singing with that dance going to go, or is the dance going to be scaled back, or what. It will be interesting to see how he pulls it off live.
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Because of a ban for leaving SM before the contract ended through a lawsuit, the JYJ members cannot appear on music shows. But Junsu will undoubtedly get a microphone and put out a recording clip someday, something that IU does a lot.
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I was low-key expecting you to comment about the “forgot… got… got…oh my God” line and I don’t even know why that thought crossed my mind! 😀
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True, as much as I love this track, I found that section funny and cringey and was waiting for it to come in the comments 🙂
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I managed to miss that line until you pointed it out. I did however catch the “I’m your Peter Pan” line each and every time, which gave me pause each and every time. Peter Pan, a character who is supposed to never grow old, and be perpetually about 12 or 13 years old and … … How old is the typical fan? yeeesh.
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This is fine but still not FLOWER good.
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I mean, what is though?
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I’m not sure anything will ever be.
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I’m loving this, Rock The World is a bit better still in this genre of energy, but God, I missed this man. And you are absolutely right, the album is as expected full of ballads lol, although there some pretty great ones.
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Which is your favorite b-side on the album? For me it is Writing You, though the other two are also great.
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That’s my favorite too! That post-chorus instrumental is so good.
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Yep, I hope he gives it an MV so that it will get a bit more attention 🙂
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I think I wanted just a bit more out of that chorus, but still, it’s so great to hear his vocals on a dance track again. I actually got chills.
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This is good but I cant say I like it as much as you. I kept feeling that the 2nd part of the chorus could develop a little more and that disappointed me a little. However I like this more than a lot of the releases of newer groups so it definitely deserves some praise.
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So this is the man behind that voice! Solid track this. Really cool to see a confident, capable vocalist choose for a high energy track to match their vocal skills instead of a bare ballad structure.
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True, I love how Junsu is willing to do several styles, he has done all genres, be them hip-hop, EDM, ballad, dance, Whatever genres Flower is (the song is amazing lol), etc
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The man, the voice, the legend! If you haven’t already, you should listen to some of his other title tracks. He’s got some real classics in his discography:
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Whoa, Junsu.
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I definitely agree. I felt the confidence in his voice and how easy this song is for him to sing. Singing for the musicals improved his voice tremendously!
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