Review

Song Review: CIX – Wonder You

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Earlier this year, CIX’s Thunder became a favorite of many fans. I liked the song too, though it has enjoyed little-to-no staying power on my playlist. Still, its crunchy electro funk felt like a nice makeover for the group’s sound. That sense of bombast seems to be a one-off as new single Wonder You (니가 궁금해) shifts things yet again.

We’re in murkier territory with this one as an insistent synthline belies a track that’s far more reserved than expected. CIX have released great midtempo material before and there are moments where Wonder You feels as if it will become one of those highlights. But rather than build upon its strengths, the track pulls back every time I hope it would blossom. On first listen, it’s almost hard to distinguish the verses from the chorus as both are delivered with the same emphasis. This makes for a dreamlike arrangement that feels like swimming through cloudy water in search of light.

As always, stronger hooks would benefit Wonder You. If the production won’t delineate the song’s various segments, it’s up to the melodies to draw important distinctions. Instead, every element of Wonder You operates with similar intensity, making it a pleasant but somewhat flat listen. However, the guys are shirtless throughout much of the music video so I’m sure that will cancel out any musical shortcomings for a sizable portion of the audience!

Hooks 7
 Production 7
 Longevity 8
 Bias 8
 RATING 7.5

Grade: C

18 thoughts on “Song Review: CIX – Wonder You”

    • someone who’s more in tune with kpop needs to inform me if it was this common place before artms debuted virtual angel. i feel like i never saw it before and i see it everywhere now and i don’t want to put them on too big of a pedestal lol

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      • Wings have been used on and off for a while by just about everyone in kpop at some point.

        SHINee “Ring ding dong” comes to mind. Angels. Angels and devils. Angels or devils. Feathers. Mirror worlds. Black. Then white. Black and white, and also red. It’s also a great song.

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      • Off the top of my head, I recall brief appearances of wings in Twice’s What Is Love and Oneus’s Valkyrie and I could swear some Ive MVs had them as well, but I wouldn’t say they were hugelly prevalent. But angel wings also aren’t that innovative a concept :V

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  3. Oh, such symbolism. Black, white, inside, outside, terrestrial, celestial, such meaning. That and the styling is stylish.

    I usually underestimate CIX song quality, every time. Cinema wound up in my 2022 top ten. Lovers and Enemies from 2024 was one of the few that do vocoder right. Thunder from this year, I mean the finger on the replay button doesn’t lie, it will probably be in my top ten. So although this one today doesn’t grab me initially, we shall see what happens.

    It’s all about that pulsing synth and the slinky vocal that grooves along. Whoever makes choices on the vocal production, little touches here and there, does a mighty fine job. It’s SM Riise and EXO level of polish but make it this little group.

    Song has already improved during the replays as I have typed this.

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  4. As I was reading your review I kept nodding and nodding until you got to the end😂. To me this is absolutely wonderful even with those “defects”. It could’ve been AWESOME, but for now, the instrumentals, the vocals, the song in general make it an 8.75 and here is the thing, the more I listen to it the more I like it, so let’s see what happens. Thunder has been a highlight this year for sure, and basically everything they have released since debut has been perfect. I just love this group.

    Now, I have not watched the MV but that’s next on my to-do list😂

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  6. With a bolder production and maybe a slightly stronger/more sincere performance (although that’s the better aspect between the two), this would really be in the upper echelon. Really doesn’t help that one of the guys straight up sounds like Key so I’m imagining how this would be done for a group like SHINee as I listen.

    That being said, the song itself? Actually a grower. The key change is a welcome surprise, the hook is actually pretty solid, like it has a little spice where other songs I’ve skimmed through feel like pure white meat chicken. 7.75 (8,8,7,8).

    That being said, KPOP companies stop thinking you’re slick with the AI the tells are so obvious and its sad that I am seeing it with an otherwise good song.

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    • I came here to comment the same thing about the music video. Normally I’d be in that portion of the audience Nick mentioned that doesn’t mind some upper torso visuals mixed in with everything else, but in this case the AI slop transitions every 5 seconds and the horrible color grading/saturation made this almost unwatchable for me. A shame since, prior to last year, CIX used to have some of my favorite MVs in the business despite their more modest budget. Jungle, Cinema, Lovers to Enemies etc are such a treat to look at, but now these smaller tier companies all seem to think slathering everything in AI is a good solution to a low budget video ….. it is not.

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  7. i on the other hand have never gone an entire month without seeking out Thunder, definitely in my top 5 this year, so much drama in one track.

    wonder you may not be up there with Thunder, but I liked it on first listen. Maybe it’ll not age well because of the song structure doing its best impression of a running train, but that may even turn out to be a strength 😅

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