It’s no secret what a huge fan of Golden Child I am. Their music regularly features in my top ten picks of the year and I’ve been championing their excellent discography since its debut. So, I’m not sure what it means when I say that Y’s If I Were The Wind (바람이라면) does little for me. It certainly has nothing to do with Y himself. He’s an incredible performer with a showstopping voice, and he’s one of the many reasons the group has become such a standout.
When it comes down to it, I guess I’m just fed up with the trope of “idol singer releases some drippy ballad prior to enlistment or disbandment.” This is made more frustrating by Woollim’s treatment of Golden Child’s music career, which they seem to have all but forgotten about. Yes, quality is more important than quantity (I’ll take one Reply over fifty Rata-Tat-Tats), but I’ve lived through the latter stage of Infinite and Lovelyz’s time with the agency. Infrequent comebacks – made worse by the general lack of care for an artist’s legacy – seem to be the norm.
Hey, I’m getting off topic. As a ballad, If I Were The Wind is serviceable and pleasant. I much prefer Y’s Fantasia from a couple years ago and would have loved to hear him tackle something rockier like his cover of Shawn Mendes’ In My Blood. He has such a unique voice and it’s a bit wasted on a by-the-numbers OST-sounding ballad like this. Even so, his presence will be sorely missed over the next year or two. Even with my qualms surrounding the nature of this track, I can feel his sincerity in the performance and I hope he’ll be able to make a triumphant return with the group in (gulp)… 2025.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
Grade: C
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Y does a fine job with his OST audition reel here.
Actually, the chorus in this isthiscloseto the Moon Embracing the Sun OST classic “Back in Time”, the same chord progression. Said kdrama was my entry point into all things k~ some years ago when it was on Netflix and I binge watched late into the evenings. (Hence my Jung Il Woo Iljimae avatar.) The nostalgia is strong in this song choice.
LikeLiked by 2 people
AAaaaaaaah I LOVE THIS SONGG. It’s one of my favourite ballads
LikeLiked by 1 person
The one thing I like about ballads, even generic ones, is that they usually allow singers to showcase their voice. I probably won’t listen to this again, but I really do appreciate his skills
LikeLike
I really really love ballads and a lot of ballads in Kpop don’t do it for me but this one…this one does. His voice is incredible. The instrumentals are the generic, classic ballad instruments but that’s what I love.
I wonder how many incredible voices are hidden in Kpop groups.
LikeLike
My goodness, he’s enlisting already..?
I wish him nothing but the best.
LikeLike
Hi, Nick! This is quite a bit off-topic from Y’s song, but since you mentioned Lovelyz, I wanted to alert you about an upcoming release. 😀 It won’t be out officially until the 25th, but Mijoo and her castmate Jinjoo from Hangout with Yoo are releasing a unit single composed by Monotree’s Hwang Hyun! They previewed the full song at the end of last week’s episode, and I really think that you’d like it. It’s got that fun and bouncy ’80s atmosphere that he’s so good at creating, plus a real and catchy chorus. I’m still not sure if an MV is coming out or not, but they’ll be performing it on music shows!
LikeLike