After a few years of releasing very solid material, Wonho turned his attention to global markets and his music began to suffer. With his new album Core, he seems to have returned to the sounds most central to him. For title track Don’t Wake Me Up!, that means a re-embrace of big dance beats.
Of the many K-pop tracks experimenting with club beats this year, I can only think of a few that go this hard. Don’t Wake Me Up hits you right from the start with pounding percussion and an aggressive shout-chant that forms the backbone of the track. From here, the song takes an unusual structure, less verse/chorus and more build/drop. There isn’t much of a chorus to be found, though the melodic response to the “don’t wake me up!” chant wrings a ton of drama from its brief presence.
To be honest, there aren’t really verses, either — at least not in the traditional sense. Instead, we have two melodic interludes, both building momentum in different ways. The first is more traditional, offering familiar phrasing and structure. The second plays more like a bridge, briefly slowing the track to a crawl while still managing to keep hold of the energy before we plunge into a dynamic hardstyle climax. I love how these moments play with the listener’s expectations, though I wonder how Don’t Wake Me Up might sound if these ideas were more developed and its hooks weren’t so repetitive. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays in the long run!
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.75 |
Grade: B+
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This is great! I do feel like it works more as a producer’s showcase than an actual song but I like it. The “don’t wake me up!” also has that punch to it that compliments the pounding beat, so I am not complaining about there not being too many melodic highlights.
8.5 (8, 9, 8, 9) for me
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I have a feeling that this song is part of a flow in an album between two other songs that just move the moving along nicely. So I am going to go away and come back after I listen to the whole thing.
In the meantime, Yes. YES. Wonho is back to form. The songs bursts out of the gate, keeps going. It does so much with just a simple motif. I am also eager to see the dance version.
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The beat was sick and I quite like the production style, but repetitive hook almost bored me during the second half. Well it could work as filler song in the club
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imagine this had an extra 30 seconds at the end of a hardstyle breakdown section, this song would go so hard
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the vocal hook has that ai rasp to it (and very poor quality) and i wouldn’t be surprised if Suno ai was heavily involved in the production of this song. pass
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man the bridge is just full on ai slop, it’s exactly the kind of sound you get from suno. i think they just recorded his vocals over the ai instrumental, because they have an actual depth to them, but still had suno process those too. scary how this is being normalized.
i’m not even hating on the guy, I just hope this isnt the new normal, as someone making music myself
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I think if they were using AI they would use it in the MV production since its what a lot of companies tend to do nowadays to cut corners, but now that I’m listening more closely it does sound too clean (if that makes sense)?
Nothing do to with Wonho or KPOP but I also had this impression with some Love & Deepspace soundtracks, like Tameless Territory where the vocals sounds unnatural and lacks warmth. But I don’t make music so it’s just pure guess
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I really loved the tightness and flow of the beat, it just is missing that crescendo, that finale that takes it over the top, the natural companion to a good drop. But with the shortness of the track, I wasn’t expecting even the drama we did get, so I am satisfied for now. Hopefully someone the likes of Areia creations does a nice mix of this that fixes some of that final “topping”.
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oh the unspeakable things i wanna do to him, hes coming out pregnant when im done
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thought I was in an AsianJunkie comment section for a second omg
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mama these frost children nachos…..
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wasn’t expecting this type of music from Wonho, but really enjoyed the beat. just wish there was more variation within the song itself
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