After the unexpected viral success of Gang, Rain has reaffirmed his musical legacy by collaborating with the right people. First up was the summer smash Beach Again, performed alongside Lee Hyori and Yoo Jaesuk. Then, he paired with longtime mentor Park Jinyoung for the addictive new jack swing of Switch To Me. And on the eve of his new mini album’s release, Why Don’t We finds him dancing with Chungha – one of this new generation’s leading solo artists.
This journey has been fun to watch, and Rain has proven himself as shrewd a businessman as he is an idol. Why Don’t We is dripping with style, and that’s its biggest strength. But compared to Beach Again and Switch To Me, it doesn’t feel like much of a fleshed-out song. This is clearly more about the choreography than any other element, and I guess that’s fine given the nature of its performers.
Why Don’t We has the kind of verses I tend to dislike. They’re melodic in fits and starts, but the pieces don’t add up to any meaningful structure. There’s no cohesion in message — just a bunch of one-liners disconnected from each other. It doesn’t help that the instrumental feels somewhat unsettled, unable to commit to a groove that sustains through the entire track. The pace accelerates as we enter the chorus, but there just isn’t much substance to be found. A halfhearted repetition of the titular phrase doesn’t go anywhere, even as the instrumental surges forward, promising more. Aggressive autotune only adds to the flimsy quality of this hook. Why Don’t We isn’t offensively bad, but songs like Wonho’s recent Lose harnessed this same vibe way more effectively.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Had my hopes up too high for this. Sigh.
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I agree with your rating. I thought the verses were much stronger than the chorus. The chorus doesn’t have enough variety, both melodically and lyrically. I also feel like Chungha’s voice was underutilized. She did a good job, but she has a lot more to offer than was shown here. I really liked how the instrumental picked up at 2:40. I honestly enjoyed that part of the song the most. It’s a song that’s shows off Rain’s charm as a performer (which is massive) rather than its own charm so it still works.
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What, that’s it, ChungHa is on for all of one verse and maybe two high adlibs. They probably spent zero time together in the studio, and maybe one day on the set together to learn the dance. This isn’t the first duet to be phoned in nor the last, just the latest example. I wonder if they are even going to promote it together – there is no music show uploaded, but then again today is a Korean holiday. (but then again when release it on a holiday)
Song itself is OK, basic pop song.
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Not enough Chungha.
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So much autotune!!! Why? Rain’s voice is amazing and this just wastes it. The stripped back chorus is very 2019 and super annoying.
For a performer who is fluent in English his pronunciation of ‘Why’ was grating, ‘w’ is not pronouced a ‘v’! I could forgive it from someone else, but not Rain!
Chungha did great with what little she had to work with.
This is not going on repeat for me.
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The brittle beats sounded promising but such a let down. I can’t recall any of the song except the beat.
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