Review

Song Review: WOODZ – I’ll Never Love Again

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WOODZ surprise-released an aggressive rock stomper back in July — shortly after returning from his military enlistment. He’s clearly ready to strike while the iron of his career is hot, and I love that approach. Today, he’s returned with a more fully fleshed out visual and a song whose emotive sound is likely to appeal more strongly to the charts.

To me, WOODZ’s current music feels transported straight from the 90s when rock was a much bigger presence on global music charts. He blends angst and theatricality in a way that makes his sound larger than life, amplifying emotion for maximum effect. With I’ll Never Love Again, he achieves that aim through an influx of choral vocals during the hook. What begins as a measured rock song slowly grows into an overwhelming cry. By the time we hit the climax, the arrangement has stirred up a church-like fervor. This gradual build rewards the listener and feels even more notable in a climate of two-minute TikTok songs that dispense of their hooks as soon as possible before coming to a jarring stop. There’s a reason many of my favorite 2025 singles have been on the longer side. Great songs need space to develop.

I’ll Never Love Again isn’t quite the slam dunk it could be because its striking centerpieces are surrounded by less memorable moments that do little beyond setting up the song’s highlights. So while the end result is very much worth the journey, that journey can be a bit dull at times. However, there’s nobody else in K-pop releasing music like this, which makes WOODZ an essential gem within the industry. He’s earned the leeway to do as he pleases.

Hooks 8
 Production 9
 Longevity 8
 Bias 8
 RATING 8.25

Grade: B

10 thoughts on “Song Review: WOODZ – I’ll Never Love Again”

  3. An Actual Song! A song that has a beginning, middle, and end that makes sense! Starting with an organ immediately sets up Drama with a capital D. The vocal is so very real and honest.

    I Love it. It sounds new and yet like an old friend.

    If there is one thing to change, I wish it were even longer. Why not 5 minutes long with an extended instrumental outro? There is enough content here to extend it, bring in a shredding guitar solo like for the “Smashing Concrete” song this summer, add vocal ad libs and a one-more-time-with-feeling repeat of the chorus. Heck, it could even be a 6 minute long song.

    I had to look it up again, and Woodz “Drowning” is still on the Gaon-Circle charts ranked at somewhere between 5 to 20 depending on the chart. Still. (Released in Feb23.) He is only recently pushed down a few ticks by the arrival of all the Kpop Demon Hunter songs. This guy has hit a gestalt in Korean society that all the other kpop groups we have listened and rated here have barely scratched.

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