SM’s Station releases are often forgettable little trifles, but at their best they offer the chance for the agency’s artists to stretch their wings and record a song that wouldn’t fit on a typical idol album.
Hybrid is a meeting of two giant voices. TVXQ’s Changmin is known for his powerful high notes, while Guckkasten’s Ha Hyunwoo has a deeper (but no less commanding) tone. They’re a match made in vocal heaven and Hybrid offers five whole minutes of symphonic rock to showcase their talents. It has similar energy to 90’s K-rock classic Lazenzca, Save Us. If you would have told me the late Shin Hae-chul had a hand in this, I’d probably believe you!
In the end, the performance and production are more compelling than the actual song, but that’s not super surprising. Hybrid is all about the drama, and it knows how to expertly build to a satisfying climax. I wish it offered a more sprightly tempo — either throughout its structure or via a dynamic breakdown/bridge — but the guys’ performance keeps things interesting. If nothing else, I never expected to hear spacey prog rock emerging from a big idol agency. The final minute of Hybrid goes off in a way few K-pop tracks do, and that alone is worth the price of admission.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Funny, I listened to it before reading your review, and I had similar thoughts. When the beat first starts, I thought, “This sounds like a cover of Pink Floyd’s Comfortable Numb as sung by an operatic 80s hair metal band.”
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Wow, Changmin paired with a vocalist who can keep up with him! God, I love when SM Station lets us get something completely left of center. I definitely hear the Shin Hae Chul comparison, and yeah, that final minute goes wild!
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Psychodelic goodness.
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Ha! And this children is how to do bombastic anthem. No bondage dark pleather costumes with vigorous sharp arm movements required. Just two guys singing their hearts out.
It would be great to see this on a year end MAMA stage.
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They sell the hell out of this. I didn’t even realize it was 5 minutes cause I was so captivated. Would be great in an arena
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For me the song is a screaming fest. Sorry.
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