In the latest battle between ATEEZ title tracks, my vote went to Eternal Sunshine. But without hearing the entire song, I wasn’t all that confident about my choice. Then, the album came out and the contrast became even more clear. Eternal Sunshine runs laps around Deja Vu.
I hear the skeptical fans already: “NickTheBiasList, you only like bright concepts. Of course you voted for this one!”
While it’s true that I consider bright concepts more musically diverse in our current generation of K-pop, brightness alone doesn’t make Eternal Sunshine the stronger song. There’s just more going on here. Rather than vamp off one idea, Sunshine pulls more tricks from its bag. We’ve got two nice synth lines – one that runs throughout the verses and another that acts as a post-chorus drop. Each brings a new dimension to the track.
The melody is also more varied, attacking different levels of energy in different segments. The chorus is very strong, pulsing forward in a perfect blend of breezy and intense. There’s some great little turns here, particularly when the song dips down only to burst forth once more. The vocals and rap are integrated well, playing off one another without ever losing momentum. Eternal Sunshine builds toward a fun chant-along breakdown, adding yet another distinct element to the track. There’s even room for some of those resounding power notes that have always been an ATEEZ calling card. This really should’ve been released to kick off the summer season, but I’m glad we’re getting it at all!
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 9 |
Love this song so much! Also, the fact that this is the first ATEEZ single to get 9+ after a long time….finally, *just* FINALLY!
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Also, I can imagine in a perfect alternate universe that ATEEZ would pit “Eternal Sunshine” and “Take Me Home” against each other, that would be the epitome of stellar.
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Oh wow a 9??? I remember you saying this was your favorite song from the album but what a rating, equal to Answer: i was expecting an 8.5 :O makes my atiny heart very happy ❤
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also this may be the first time I’ve ever heard Mingi sing — I didn’t expect him to sound so nice!
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I actually didn’t playlist this originally – I have a “bubblegum, summer, and tropical” playlist, but I don’t listen to it overly much or feel the urge to add anything to it very often. The MV won me over, and you do have a point about the synth lines, so a playlisting it will go. Maybe come February I’ll feel the need for some happy warmth and go “oh yeah, this is a fun one!”
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This is my first time hearing this so I am unbiased here but I find this only the slightest bit better Deja Vu. It’s just your average generic “happy” bg concept, the chorus instrumental does all the heavy lifting. They can do these types of songs better.
I want a third title track option lmao
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I vote for ROCKY!
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Definitely agree that this is just slightly better than deja vu! For me i think deja vu is an 8 while eternal sunshine is an 8.25/8.5. My favorite upbeat song from ateez still remains to be utopia.
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Hongjoong’s second-verse rap is fantastic in this – he’s always a good rapper, but this bit honestly reminded me of Bobby, which is high praise!
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I enjoy the song, even if I would not give it a full 9. I have a review for my actual thoughts. No, what I want to say here is that for the hook “We shine like eternal sunshine”, I keep hearing “You shine like a dollar sunshine.”
Also, NickTheBiasList, how come you always get complaints about your exclusive love for bright songs when it was two dark concepts that topped your 2019 and 2020 lists?
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I thought they were saying “we shine like summer sunshine”.
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If I didn’t know it was Ateez, I would have thought it was several other groups. This is a very Nick song, the lite soft pop. Its not really my style song.
Frankly, I wish Ateez would find their next awesome concept and crush it. Pirate hip hop sea shanty season was so awesome. What will be next? I mean, someone needs to take the VIXX place in pop.
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You’re back!
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I like the other one better, but that’s because they were wearing leather pants and i am shallow.
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I found an ATEEZ crack channel that refers to viewers as “my fellow trash cans” and that’s basically how I feel about ATEEZ in a nutshell.
And yes, I like Deja Vu better as well.
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Solution: tight leather pants for bright concepts?
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I like where this is going…
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Eternal Sunshine grew on me a bit more now – the MV is really nice, catchy singalong chorus, the rap parts (Hongjoong, Mingi and the little segment with Yeosang and Seonghwa) they were the highlight of the song for me. Also vocally I felt San is really hitting it out of the ballpark this time with their songs. Honestly I feel, though not as powerful as Jongho, right now he’s the best in the team to have the same energy in his vocals 🙂 The music is pretty nice too – Overall I rate it a 7.5 or 8 maybe.
I would still pick Deja Vu anyday though. Ateez does bright concepts fairly well but I prefer the ones like Thanxx – more funky. This one seems more gentle… Idk the exact phrases to describe it but like they say in Japanese Eternal Sunshine feels “kirei” or “Kira kira” – vibes I do not associate to Ateez much 😅 I feel all of them are not as comfortable with this style. Hongjoong, Wooyoung and to an extent San & Yunho seem to fit it the best.
And I’m not criticising… merely an observation but I can’t help thinking that in the part where Mingi switches from singing to rapping (especially in their live) he sounds extremely relieved when he is able to drop pitch to his usual style 😅😅 I understand they want to try different stuff but I felt in Deja Vu they all “sounded” so much more comfortable compared to this. Both are great songs… still Deja Vu had the edge for me in terms of longevity 🙂
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