We’ve seen quite a few post-IZ*ONE solo debuts over the past two years, and by-and-large they’ve been successful. In fact, former bandmate Kwon Eunbi also has a comeback today! Lee Chaeyeon’s visual teasers promised a Halloween-friendly concept, complete with religious iconography sure to raise the eyebrows of some listeners. But despite all this daring styling, Hush Rush turns out to be a pretty light and breezy debut.
When I press play on a WM Entertainment track, I’m predisposed to expect something a bit quirky. Those touches appear in Hush Rush’s instrumental, which bursts with unique flourishes begging to be further developed. In fact, the production plays a more important role during the chorus than Chaeyeon herself. This segment is vocally sparse, but not the kind of “beat drop” breakdown often employed by K-pop. Instead, it echoes the laidback rhythm that drives the rest of the song and adds a catchy synth melody that feels almost buried in the mix. It’s lo-fi in approach, but undeniably pop in execution.
While I wish Hush Rush had more meat on its bones, the track brings an oddball sense of catchiness that’s quite appealing. Chaeyeon makes for a compelling soloist even when she’s not given much to do. She sounds great on that looping background vocal. I’m eager to see if WM can harness this potential for stronger works in the future. As it stands, Hush Rush feels like a sweet, slightly offbeat teaser of Cheayeon’s take on pop music.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
The overall vibe of the song is quite captivating, as well as the way the central beat drop sounds, but I wish it had more meat on its bones, and this exact thing prevented me from listening to the end, thereby making me feel bored. Made it up to 2:01 and that’s it. 7.75 for me at the moment (6,8,9,8), however, I expect the song to grow on me as the time goes by.
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If you told me the main producer of this song would be the guy behind the loudest bangers of SM in recent years I wouldn’t believe you lol. Dem Jointz is so synonymous with NCT 127 and SM music that it was interesting when I saw him expanding to non-SM productions.
Probably Dem Jointz’s funkiest title track since maybe Taeyeon’s Something New, plus you can hear Ryan Jhun’s funk music tendencies too. Feels like Carly Rae Jepsen mixed with later-Oh My Girl music. I think it’s a cute debut for Chaeyeon.
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I was very confused when I first listened to this because when the first chorus I did not realise it was a chorus at all. On second listen I still don’t know if I’d go back to it, but I watched a performance of it and her dance performance was nice to watch. As I understand that was what she was known for in IZ*ONE (sorry if I’m wrong, my interest for them is recent), and that part of her debut is definitely promising 🙂
I also have to say I love the aesthetic of the MV and the Rocky Horror-esque album cover. The b-side songs are also really nice and retro. So while I’m not hooked to the title track, I really enjoy the overall vibes.
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I’ve listened to the album a few more times and I can safely say the title track is my LEAST favourite track in the album, I would even rather it wasn’t there, which is very rare with titlte tracks. I’m becoming obsessed with the album and ONLY the title track is not making it into my playlists. This is strange :’)
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The more raw aspect of Ryan Jhun’s production seems to work well with Dem Jointz’s way of producing throwback vibes. Remembering the two have worked on Taeyeon’s “Something New”, this feels like the 2.0 version of it, although with a less structured hook and a funkier atmosphere.
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Hmm… I feel like this was quite hookless. I completely forgot everything about the song right after I listened to it, which is never really a good sign. I got tired of the fact that there really wasn’t any melodic development going on, and despite the chorus repeating several times it really didn’t stick with me. I expect it to grow better over time, but I have absolutely no desire to listen to it at the moment. Like a breeze, it passed by, felt nice, but then that’s it.
Using your system it would be perhaps (5, 7, 8, 5), culminating into 6.25.
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Solid pop song. Nice and cute. Not going to overthink this one, flat 8 for me. The b-side “Danny” which autoplayed after the single is equally nice and cute.
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This song is a little too forgettable for me. Nice chill pop song, but no memorable hooks besides that bridge that for a min made me think she was pulling a NMIXX
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It’s not what I would’ve expected from her and that’s a very good thing. To clarify, I know she’s talented, but she’s been pigeonholed into a “type”; with mixed outcomes. So happy to see her kooky, more affable side.
So.. ..yeah. I like it. This will make it to my playlists. Welcome aboard, Chaeyeon. If there was one person I was really rooting for after IZ*ONE, it was you.
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I really want to like this song more, it has elements that I enjoy but it feels too understated that it’s easily forgettable after the first and even second listen. It feels like it’s missing a propulsive chorus, and the “I love it” background vocals are a little grating. The rest of the album is a banger for me though (Danny’s probably going on my end of the year list, and Same But Different’s fantastic if much too short), so who knows, maybe this one will grow on me.
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Chaeyeon was one of the more promising members from izone, so it was a little disappointing to not see her dancing super hard or singing something more challenging. That said, the song was pretty good for what it was. It’s catchy and will probably get a lot of plays from me when summer and spring come back around
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Was hoping for something much more musical dynamic given the images and thumbnail. Unfortunately, this is no 28 Reasons pt. 2.
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The music video was absolutely incredible yet the song felt a little empty? I think the instrumental prechorus was a choice that could have worked if the chorus itself had launched into some incredible melodies, but it fell a bit flat for me. Chaeyeon was one of my biases in IZ*One so I was looking forward to her solo debut a lot. I think she has a lot more to offer and I can’t wait to see her flourish with some songs that have a more robust melody and instrumentation behind them.
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