Bigbang’s Daseung has been plugging away at his solo career during the past few years, but his most notable turn came as a guest artist on G-Dragon’s chart-topping Home Sweet Home. The thirst for a Bigbang comeback is real, even if it means seeing the group as a trio. While we wait for that possibility, Daesung is back with a new mini album and title track Universe. Shockingly, it’s his first Korean mini album after nineteen years of being in the industry!
The first word most people will imagine when hearing Daesung’s name is “voice,” and he uses that mighty vocal to fuel Universe‘s uplifting rock sound. The track is almost religious in its fervor, starting big and only escalating from there. Power percussion collides with electric guitar to forge a larger-than-life sound, matching the intensity of Daesung’s performance. He really gets going during the pre-chorus and into the chorus, belting out the melodies with addictive confidence.
I don’t think Universe is as strong a song as its production and performance suggest, but I’ll take the bombast anyway. The melodies are somewhat forgettable, though the chorus has a nice ascending line. These kind of chugging, fists-in-the-air anthems often feel a bit canned and sometimes even patronizing. It’s to Daesung’s credit that his sheer force of personality and undeniable talent are strong enough to break free from that constraint.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
A “mid” song elevated many levels by a full out production and full on singing. It is so nice to see and hear someone loving their solo song and belting the shit out of it without much technical intervention.
The song feels like Daesung, looks like Daesung, sounds like Daesung, is Daesung. Now, where oh where are the 3rd and 4th Gen soloists like this?
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How can we compare a 4th(!) generation soloist with a guy who has been in the industry for almost 20 years ? In what context would this comparison hold actual merit, apart from making the 2nd generation fan feel better about their music tastes?
This song to me is nothing special, I don’t think I will listen to it again. It is indeed better than a great deal of songs that are currently released, I’ll give it that. I love Daesung’s voice of course.
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The song to me is also just fine, with the performance elevating it. What you said about a comparison between Daesung and a 4th gen soloist isn’t really accurate, because Daesung is just incredibly…late with his mini album, most boygroup soloists take about 6ish years to start releasing solo material, just before they have to enlist usually. I was pretty bitter when I realised that most of 4th gen group vocalists (male) can’t really sing to save their life (I said most, with some exceptions of course), and 3rd gen vocalists were good vocalists mostly since debut, with just maturing somewhat in those 6ish years needed for them to start solo stuff. A lot of 4th gen has already been around for at least 4 to 5 years, some 6 or 7 already, so right now is actually just the time for them to appear.
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I didn’t say Daesung has been a soloist for almost 20 years. I said he has been in the industry as an artist for almost 20 years, which is of course accurate, since it obviously still counts for experience and artistry in general. This makes him incomparable with 4th generation soloists, as far as their artistry and impact is concerned (which was what OP’s comparison was about, not technical skills). By incomparable, I don’t mean you can’t do it. I just consider this comparison entirely needless.
It would be nice if we could just appreciate an artist without trashing the younger ones, is all I’m really saying.
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Daesung had the second most successful solo career of all the members of BigBang, second only to G-Dragon. He has released many #1 albums in Japan. YG would let him release a solo album in Korea.
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Okay? I also love Daesung, I will always listen to whatever he puts out. I never said he wasn’t successful. I was merely talking about this particular song while criticising the slightly superior attitude of some 2nd generation fans, no hate on Daesung. Actually if anything it is you guys continuously putting down other artists for no reason at all that made me write these comments. I hope it is clear now 🙂
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I’ll beg to differ on this.. I’ll say Daesung is 3rd, after Taeyang (2nd) & G-Dragon (1st)..
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5-7 years post-group-debut is absolutely a fair comparison. But if you want more timeline comparisons.
Taeyang released “Wedding Dress” “I Need a Girl” 2010, (age 21), followed by his monster hit “Eyes Nose Lips” in 2014 (age 25), Big Bang debut 2006. Still remarkable songs, the whole albums.
G-Dragon released “Heartbreaker” 2009, age 21. Big Bang, 2006 debut. G-Dragon, a man who style still influences kpop rappers to this day.
Kim Sung Kyu solo debut “60Sec” 2012, age 23, Infinite debut 2010. “60sec” is full rock star styling, a song so good that his own group covered it.
Kyuhyun released “At Gwanghwamun” in 2014, age 26, SuJu debut 2006. That song is still covered on the singing shows from time to time, and that album perfectly defines his artistic gestalt then and now – his sound still carries over to his solo albums released in 2024 as it did in 2014.
Taemin solo debut 2014, SHINee debut 2008 (age 15!). “Danger” (age 21) sounded like Taemin then, sounds like Taemin now. Song does not age, just like Taemin does not age.
I need some girls here …
Hyuna debut with Wonder Girls 2007 (age 15!), big big big solo hit “Bubble Pop” in 2011 (at age 18!). … Change, Roll Deep, monster hits in Korea. Plus 4Minute – I just died when 4Minute disbanded right after “Crazy”.
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All these are very interesting, however, we are not discussing Eyes nose lips here. We are discussing Universe. Eyes nose lips is a legendary song, not because it “feels like Taeyang, sounds like Taeyang, is Taeyang” (what does that mean I wonder) but simply because it is an absolute banger. Saying that a song is mid but you like it either way because it “feels like Daesung” is a fancier and more subtle way of saying that the song is mid but you like it because it is Daesung singing it and you like Daesung because he is a BigBang member and you like BigBang. Which is totally legitimate. However, saying that a mid song is better than entire solo careers of 3rd and 4th generation idols simply because you like Daesung is far less legitimate I’m afraid. Since the song itself is rather weak, the real basis of your comparison isn’t the song itself of course, but rather who the artist is, aka his impact in the industry, primarily as a BigBang member. Which in turn makes the comparison with (much) young(er) artists particularly misleading and ultimately pointless. In other words, and in my own humble opinion, if you really feel the need to discredit younger idols’ entire solo careers on the basis of one song, “mid but feels like Daesung” isn’t enough, at least for casual fans like myself who don’t share the same feeling of nostalgia. You need a very strong song to make this comparison work, and Eyes nose lips is an excellent example among others.
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The jealousy is on full display. 😂
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Oh the classic catchphrase of a kpop stan who doesn’t have arguments. This is getting tiring.
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I’l like to correct you on Taeyang’s first solo debut.it wasn’t Wedding Dress or Where You At but Only Look At You (Naman Barabwa), which was on 2008..
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I like this a lot, especially his vocals! I was expecting a ballad, and was pleasantly surprised by this sound. A couple of bsides have a similar approach…very nice. I read a while ago that he was struggling to figure out how to move forward with his career (after BigBang). Hopefully he finds a way of showcasing his vocals like this. I’m happy for him
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Let some 4th generation vocalist try and sing Daesung’s songs, and yes there are plenty of them. The 3rd and 4th generation guys don’t even attempt Daesung’s parts in the BigBang songs because they know they would just make fools of themselves. Face it, Dae just schooled the flower boys who twirl around but don’t have the talent to actually sing.
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There are a few but they aren’t soloists, leading man soloists. Yoo Hwesung of NFlying is always on my short list. There are several really good vocalists from EXO, but EXO is not just known for the solo songs, same with NCT. (I mean, I know perhaps a few, and I follow a lot of kpop.) A couple of guys in Day6. Kim Jae Hwan, let’s put him on the list too. ONF has good voices, but I don’t know any of their names. Some might put Hui from Pentagon on the list.
DK from Seventeen has a fantastic voice but he hasn’t really had any good solo songs of his own. His one turn or two at the Korean version of Broadway has been revealing (in Excaliber). I bet he could cover Daesung’s part pretty well. SK from Seventeen possibly as well.
The thing about Daesung’s voice is that is it actually kind of narrow. He doesn’t have a chest voice much at all viz 0:52-0:56 which is F3 E3 D3 area, is kind of wobbly but it lasts for short enough. He doesn’t really have a head voice or falsetto. But man oh man, when he belts out a B4, its like sunshine has come back to a barren earth and all is well in the world again. Its big and round and resonant and glorious. He knows what he does well, and does that well.
Daesung also does better than most with soft parts – he doesn’t add air like most in kpop would do but instead just gets quieter. There aren’t too many soft parts in this song, its more or less full out, so go listen to Big Bang “Koe wo kikasete” or “Love Song”.
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I really like the energy of the song and Dae’s performance. it has a positive vibe to it – just feel uplifted overall listening to the song despite not understanding a word from the lyrics. well done to the team – proving that one doesn’t need an international / western producing team to come up with a chart topper.
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I’l like to correct you on Taeyang’s first solo debut.
it wasn’t Wedding Dress or Where You At but Only Look At You (Naman Barabwa), which was on 2008..
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