ZEROBASEONE are having a very busy start to the year. Days after their new Japanese single we have pre-release Doctor! Doctor!, to be followed by two EPs — one J-pop, one K-pop — in the near future. Judging by its exclamation-heavy title, you might expect Doctor! Doctor! to be some campy pop romp (at least, I was…). Instead, the guys have taken this opportunity to deliver a mid-tempo ballad. You don’t hear this style much any more — at least from idol groups.
ZEROBASEONE boasts a strong vocal line-up, which is one of the reasons their music has appealed to me. It’s nice to hear these voices gain spotlight through a more subdued track, though Doctor! Doctor! also makes room for a rapped verse at its center. The entire song is much more R&B-informed than expected and seems aimed toward the tastes of the streaming public. It’s not miles away from something a soloist like Crush or Zion.T might release. The fact that ZEROBASEONE can make this sound work is a testament to their versatility.
While Doctor! Doctor! isn’t a particularly exciting song, the group’s performance elevates it. There’s a nice sense of dynamics within the verses, from the melodic range in verse one to the rhythmic shift in verse two. I can’t tell if it’s guitar or synth that I’m hearing during the chorus, but this brief flourish is also a nice touch that gives the track extra texture. The production throughout is warm and well-suited to the season while remaining timeless enough to stake its claim on the charts for many months to come. There’s no way this will end up being my favorite ZB1 track, but it’s a welcome diversion in their ever-changing sound.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
very boring… it seems like a reinterpretation of the song Love Lee by the duo AKMU, and that’s not a compliment
7.5 (7, 8, 8, 7)
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You’re spot on that their delivery elevates the song. I like how their voices wrap around the melody
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It’s like a long lost Big Bang mid-tempo b-side back in their emo debut days, but 15 years on make it HYBE produced. The boys here have some nice lines in there. I wish they were more distinctive voices, more characteristic of a personality. I wouldn’t know this is Zerobasone versus several dozen other possible groups without reading the credits.
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Gosh i love this lo-fi beat behind this song. Its such a vibe. Kinda shocked this is a title track as I feel like this is exactly the type of song that would become a b-side. The production is really crip. DK if i love the lyrics/hooks but they arent *terrible* so:)
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Oh, its a single.
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I liked this one but as what it is, a pre-release song, I am glad it is not their title track, I still feel it has something lacking when compared to their previous title tracks.
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thanks
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Ngl I expected something more upbeat…cute but kinda boring. The vocals are def heavy lifting. Maybe this will grow on me when the tt rolls around.
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song feels a little bit flat to me but you’re so spot on that the delivery elevates the song. Zhanghao’s opening along with gyuvins little sing talk segment made the entire song for me.
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The song’s fine, but I’m curious to hear what the title track will bring.
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i like this song a lot, it really has an addictive beat and their voices blend in so well together
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I wish the doctor, doctor was sung in Korean so that I could not understand it while listening to the song😅, it makes it difficult for me to take the song seriously.
Apart from that, it was okay, although I personally do not think they have yet the personality to embody such a song.
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i feel like these types of tracks used to be very common as b sides especially in the early 2010s, I love r&b so I welcome this track
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I rarely focus on a song’s cover art, but I feel like we need to talk about the fact that they got Junji Ito to draw the cover for this song. This was not on my 2025 Kpop bingo card, but I’m very glad it happened.
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