When last we heard from WayV, they marked the winter season with a 90s hip-hop track. Hip-hop has become a bigger part of their ouevre in general, taking a more streamlined approach than the hulking vocal drama and theatrical arrangements of years past. New single Vision Wings (鸢) continues this overall trend but adds traditional elements for good measure.
There’s an alternate reality where this song would be an easy discography highlight. Its heart is in the right place, especially when it comes to flourishes within the production. But in keeping with this year in K-pop (and C-pop, apparently!), dynamic hooks are hard to come from. Vision Wings opts for a serious of monotonous phrasing, talk-chanted more often than sung. Rather than build toward an awesome chorus, the track takes the easy route and gives us a flat centerpiece that feels more like modern Stray Kids than classic SM.
It’s never a good sign when you come away from a song and struggle to remember much about it. With Vision Wings, I easily recall the overall mood and energy, but not a single hook stays rattling in my brain. This doesn’t portend much longevity for the track and frustrates me when I know how fantastic this group can be. In this case, they’re simply let down by the material.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
Grade: C
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
It sounds like their 2019-21 run ngl, I could see it be a b-side in their Awaken The World album. Sure not as strong as say, Moonwalk or Turn Back Time, but it’s decent.
8 (8, 8, 8, 8) for me.
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Oh, they are doing the Hanfu thing, temple setting, calling on the elements to do their warrior thing.
The song has its heart in the right places, but it just doesn’t gel. It’s also very noisy – not industrial noisy like NCT SKZ can get but synth noisy, too many synth lines all at the same time, drum lines with heavy distortion sound, and all that going on obscures what could have been a better song production with better choices. Less would have been more. I like it anyway, but only just.
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For some reason, despite the relatively flat melodies, I really enjoy this song!! I think it’s because of how full it sounds. And they take their time with it!! I am so pleased that there’s an outro.
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Huh, I’m surprised by the low rating! I really enjoyed this track, the production is awesome and I love all the switch ups in production, especially in the drums. The chorus melodies are a bit anticlimactic and boring but I appreciate the overall epic spirit of the song. Also, it’s 3:44 which gives it time to flesh out all its ideas and come to a satisfying conclusion. I’d probably say 8.5 (8, 9, 8, 9)
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I’m also surprised by the low rating.
To me, this is a very good song but here is the thing…it could’ve been awesome. To my ears, they sound restricted, held back. I kind of needed the vocals (especially in the chorus section) to be higher, stronger, more prominent?… I don’t know how to put it into words. Same thing about instrumentals in the outro…I kind of wanted them to be more dynamic, faster…
Also, I’m not a fan of the speaking parts, it kind of breaks the momentum for me.
I’ll say 8.5 and see where it goes
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While there are zero sonic similarities it reminds me of Bambam’s Last Parade in the sense that there’s so much untapped potential in a song that’s otherwise just… average. Yes, it’s a 7.5 (8, 8, 7, 7) for me, but considering some of the better songs Wayv are responsible for, that’s kinda low for them.
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good, but could’ve been way better. these guys are capable of delivering more aggressive vocals and this song needed that desperately. it isn’t hot garbage, at least.
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I rarely follow CPOP, but this is not the kind gem that I am looking for. I appreciate that they prepared an almost 4 minutes song, so its such a shame that they spent a good chunk of it by posturing & talk-chanting instead of bombarding our ears with a more dynamic piece. It felt kinda flat for me too. We got a glimpse of the song potential when the pace picked up a bit during the last minute, but my attention and my heart were already far too gone to enjoy it. Other tracks in the album like Blue Fever and Icon were much better in comparison.
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Considering the song is called Vision Wings, I expected it to be more theatrical than it actually is, which is a shame because I love this concept. They should lean into the dramatics of their best tracks like On My Youth, She a Wolf, and Phantom. Great b-sides though—Blue Fever, Count It, and Icon are my favorites right now.
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I enjoy this song, but not as much as their 2019-21 singles.
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I feel like with time this one will definitely grow on you
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I love it! My sons read wuxia and it’s so cool to have an SM song dialed in on this concept. The super lush style from the brilliant Eternal White mini is back, the song is well formed and length is perfect. The chorus is pretty basic, but I’m so with the vision that I’m happy to just sing along here. Easy 9 for me.
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With WayV, the title track is only ever a third of the story, because their bsides are so strong. This release is no exception. For Vision Wings, they said it would sound very Neo and it does. Favourite track so far is Count It, I think Yangyang is shockingly underrated in terms of talent.
Overall, it’s just so pleasing that even at this stage of their career, this feels like a such an emphatic comeback in terms of concept and execution. Just need that international tour now.
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okay the song is full of goofy grandeur, and you have to both cringe and give a thumbs-up to the couplet of “Shaolin/dialed in”. I think it’s about 90% of the way there. (Which is what this year has been for me, very almost.) It could be a fun concert song, though. I have yet to listen to the b-sides, but this makes me more hopeful.
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To me, I think the biggest problem with the song, is that from a distance it looks really grandeur, but when you see it up close, it feels disjointed (similar to IVE’s Heya). I also think the mixing is a bit off during the chorus. But I always love house chords and its combination with the Chinese instruments sounds epic.
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A lot better than I anticipated. Easily tops Big Bands but a stronger chorus could’ve taken this from good to great. I do appreciate how committed they were to vibe and soundscape. A bit forgettable but the track feels fleshed out like it wasn’t tripping over itself to finish, which is welcome in the current landscape. 8/10.
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