Astro has suffered a tragic year with the untimely death of member Moonbin. But even before that, the future of the group seemed uncertain as Rocky ventured out on his own back in February. I feel for the guys in so many ways, and hope that they can find happiness in whatever capacity they choose going forward. For Rocky, that seems to be in the form of a solo career that utilizes his strengths as an all-around performer. I love the funk direction he’s chosen with debut single Lucky Rocky, but the song itself isn’t my cup of tea.

When I think of Rocky, my mind immediately goes to “showman.” He’s got a ton of charisma and that tends to play well with funk music. He delivers a crackling performance here, but there’s only so much he can do with an obnoxious brass loop and overly simple, show and tell chorus. For as many times as Lucky Rocky swerves into an extended dance break, it’s hard to call it much of a song at all. It feels more like an album intro and probably should have stayed as such.

Rather than enjoy Lucky Rocky as a whole, I find myself wishing its various pieces had been developed into separate songs. Remove the cringey chorus entirely and gives us a dance-rock stomper built on the breakdown that comes in two thirds of the way through.

Grade: C-