Mamamoo’s Moonbyul impressed with a series of strong singles last year, taking her solo music in directions I wouldn’t have expected. Now, she’s extending that victory lap to new markets with her first Japanese single Aurora (ほしあかり). The song sees her playing in relatively safe genre spaces, especially given Japan’s love for this style of pop-rock mid-tempo.

Gone are the days when Moonbyul was solely known as Mamamoo’s rapper. Within a group so vocally stacked, her own singing voice rarely had a chance to stand out. However, she’s proven herself an effective singer and seems to enjoy this performance style even more than rapping at the moment. Aurora is a straight-down-the-middle slice of emotive balladry, trussed up with guitar and percussion to give it a heartier anthemic feel. Moonbyul tackles the sound well, but the song itself isn’t doing much for me. It feels almost like an afterthought, built upon familiar — but generic — melodies and lacking a signature instrumental that might separate it from the many, many tracks that adhere to this sound. It’s quite pleasant, but unless you’re a massive Moonbyul fan I don’t see this dominating playlists for long.

Grade: C