Well, this is unique. Prior to his official solo debut album later this month, NCT’s Jaehyun has pre-released two tracks and filmed a music video that teases each of them. I’m not sure how to review what’s essentially a medley, so I’ll take each song one at a time.
Dandelion
This is billed as the more upbeat of the two tracks and vibes on a pleasant R&B groove. It’s a nice match for Jaehyun’s smooth vocals, but the song feels quite slight. Its midtempo bounce lacks ambition — a critique I could extend to many (most?) male pop solo careers around the world this decade. It plays as a nice album track but doesn’t really work as a single. The synth stabs toward the finale hint at something quirkier and more playful.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
Grade: C
Roses
Roses offers a slower, more sinuous R&B groove, making it clear that this will be Jaehyun’s overall sound going forward. The vocal melody is more compelling than Dandelion and I appreciate the choral influence during the chorus. Distorted synths form an unexpected highlight during an extended break leading into verse two, making me wish the song felt weirder all the way through. Overall, it’s not really my thing but this is definitely my preferred track of the two.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
So I listened to this in the morning, without paying attention to what the explanation of the release was, at all.. And ended up totally confused by that sudden change in the middle of the video, and my reaction really was just “well that was an experience”, and “so I guess it’s SM after all…” because I thought it was one single song, and if it was I would have ended up believing Jaehyun somehow inherited a part of Yoo Young Jin’s brain. Anyway, I just hope his actual single is better than this, cause I kinda liked Forever only and Try again
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these were cute, I can’t hate anything Jaehyun does lol. though I hope Smoke is closer to Perfume and Kiss, imo he is the highlight in those (excellent) songs.
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I could not agree more, often it feels like some male popstars (not only in K-pop) lack a little ambition and explosiveness in their tracks, the only exception I can think about to that rule is probably The Weeknd.
Dandelion gives me the same impression I had with Shanw Mendes’ most recent work: super cute song, sounds good but I hardly see myself going back to it, because it feels a little bland (not horrible though). In contrast, Roses is all i want in a song, I love his vocal performance and the R&B groove is really spicyyyy.
Dandelion is a 7.
Roses is a 9 might become a ten in a weeeeek!!
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b
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i loved both and enjoyed dandelion the most, what l appreciate is the Jaehyun plays well to his strengths this is his genre and you can feel it. / reccomend you check out the third track that has been
unveiled in conjunction with Prada called Can’t Get You (babyface produced) its very jazzy
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I have to be in the right mood, but Roses is a perfect entry into this genre:
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Aka My Idol Ex-Boyfriend Keeps Drunk Dialing Me From the Dorm on a Burner Phone.
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Great name and great playlist lol
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Thanks!
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These two songs are good! I can’t wait for the rest of the album!
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like song beautiful
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