Back when she was rattling off power notes with GFriend, I considered Yuju to be one of my favorite vocalists in K-pop. However, vocals don’t matter much without great material to showcase them and her solo career thus far has been mired in a lack of musical ambition that’s quite frustrating.
Like so many idols-turned-soloists, Yuju seems more at home in the coffee shop than the brightly lit stage. Her music has been quite subdued so far, and in that context I suppose Reply marks a small shift. The song still boasts all the hallmarks of a ballad, but it’s backed by electric guitar that gives the track a bit more heft. In this way, Reply is kind of a fake out because apart from the rock influences the song isn’t particularly ambitious. There are a few nice vocal turns (the pre-chorus especially), but if you would have told me this was recorded as an OST I’d believe you without hesitation.
The thing is, there’s a huge OST market in Korea. Yuju is well-suited to this template and I don’t begrudge her for pursuing it, but it feels like a waste of her incredible voice. I’d love to hear her music surprise me in some way rather than conform to our existing idea of a main vocal’s solo material.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
It’s also very Younha “Event Horizon” adjacent too. That song was on the charts forever in late quarantine, everyone covered it, so I can see why someone would want to mimic it. That bright earnest major-key vocal, with electric guitar backing.
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Unfortunately during their recent reunion comeback I realized that Yuju’s voice is not what it once was. She damaged it badly forcing out all those power notes back then. Which is not to say her voice is not still beautiful, it’s just no surprise that she’s putting out solo stuff that’s less labor-intensive.
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not true. Her voice and technique is still good. For their reunion she got severely ill with influenza which had inflamed her vocal chords
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I know she was sick, and I’m not at all saying she isn’t good, but I think it’s hard to imagine all of that constant belting didn’t harm her voice over time.
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Beyonce has been belting for decades and still sounds good. Of course voices are gonna change with age, but just because you’re belting doesn’t mean you’re gonna get vocal damage. I felt like yuju used pretty healthy technique when belting. If anything eunha is the one who should have the vocal complications, not yuju
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would*. I don’t want eunha to have vocal damage
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This was my favorite song on the album.
I wish she’d do something more exciting. Peach Blossom was relaxed but interesting, and I think she could do a lot more with that.
In any case, it’s good to have her back again.
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Looking back I don’t know what I was thinking when I said this.
moonstruck love is easily the best song on the album and should have been the single. I think it’s lovely.
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You see, if this WAS an ost of a show I really liked I probably would come back to this. In the context of an artist project, it’s a lot harder to be enthusiastic about. She sounds great and I’m glad she’s still using her voice (hopefully making music she likes) instead of just not singing at all. This music isn’t for me but it doesn’t mean its a waste of her voice
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