It’s a slow day (week? year??) in K-pop, so I’m going to sidestep over to the Chinese market for a moment with the debut solo single from NCT Dream’s Chenle. The song is part of a “special EP,” and given the way Chinese music is usually promoted I assume this album will be released in pieces.

The immediate quality that always stands out to me about the Chinese pop market is how much it loves ballads. At any given moment, it seems as if the vast majority of charts are stuffed with slower material — often OSTs. Granted, this is coming from an outsider’s perspective. It isn’t particularly easy for an English-speaker to see what’s really going on in Chinese pop culture, but from what little I know Lucid (灿) should fit right into the sonic landscape. It’s a stately, somewhat theatrical belter. Chenle isn’t often given the opportunity to showcase his voice like this and it’s nice to hear him in a different sonic realm.

With that said, it takes a lot for a ballad to strike me. I usually prefer these songs as part of a larger (more energetic) project, and even then the melodies need to be airtight. While Lucid is suitably sentimental and anthemic, it doesn’t do much to set itself apart from the pack. The same could say about Chenle’s vocals. He performs in a polished, expressive way — targeting right down the middle. Like the song itself, his performance never catches me off-guard or forces me to listen more closely. The song is very pretty, though.

Grade: C