When Evan first left ENHYPEN to go solo, I was quite skeptical. Apparently, he had music he just had to get out as a soloist, but his initial releases felt rather perfunctory and similar to something his former band could have recorded. However, it’s always best to keep an open mind and he’s rewarded us with a complete reinvention in the form of new title track Death Of Me.
Rather than go the mid-tempo emo route, Death Of Me‘s funky bombast takes cues from artists like The Weeknd. Right from the start, I’m heartened to hear the song’s energy. A robust electronic bassline gives it great pulse that never really lets up and climaxes in a genuinely exciting centerpiece. I love this sound for K-pop and wish more artists would pursue it.
On the other hand, there’s a big factor keeping Death Of Me from completely soaring. I hate to say it, but that factor is Evan himself. He’s just not the strongest or most idiosyncratic of vocalists, and because of this his performance is drowned in effects that makes it sound muddled and small compared to the blockbuster instrumental. This limitation is likely the reason many artists choose a more downbeat, flat song structure. It takes a ton of gas to keep a song like this moving and even more on-record presence to cut through the aural drama. Still, this is easily his best effort yet and maybe we’ll see improvement in the future.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
this is how I feel. the song itself is good, but I was never convinced of his vocal skills even when he was in the group. still a great effort from him and a massive step up from a very mid debut.
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While “Ride or Die” felt a bit like an ENHYPEN demo, this release truly shows a lot of wonderful potential. Hearing a synth line with this much drive and energy in 2026 is genuinely refreshing. The track maintains a steady groove, and while Evan’s vocals lean on a bit more autotune than I personally prefer, it doesn’t distract from the overall experience.
Then, that chorus hits! it’s sleek, powerful, commanding, and cleverly crafted. If he can maintain this distinct sound and continue developing it thoughtfully, we might just have one of K-pop’s brightest future rising soloists on our hands. With its atmospheric vibe, this is definitely going to find a blessed spot on my Halloween playlist! I’ll have to see how this plays out for me in the long run!
8.25 (8,8,8,9)
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If it were someone like Key with a beat like this, this song would have been instantly in the 9s for me.
8.25 (8, 9, 8, 8), it suffers from a little too straightforward performance, like a power high note and ad-libs would have elevated it a lot
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Sad for us listeners, Key is still in investigation purgatory hence his solo presence diminished 😦
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I miss him so much I am watching those vlogs he is updating even though I hate vlogs, I have never felt this parasocial before xD
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This review reads like a less polarized version of your NCT Wish buried treasure back in April: pleased & satisfied with the music + songwriting (at least here, the chorus’ songwriting, no verse commentary), yet enjoyment is dampened due to the performer.
For me, I’m one satisfied listener. I am a (recent) fan of his, and this release served me well. Noise & Twilight (the song to be promoted along this) are my favorites.
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Yes, his influences are clear: The Weeknd, Michael Jackson, Taemin. It’s not a bad bag to pull from, especially as compared to whatever he was doing for his solo debut.
I feel some renewed affection for him given the interviews he’s done this promotion cycle. Hope it all goes well for him. I don’t think he’s a bad performer but there’s always room for improvement and they could also give him more room to spice it up with adlibs and so on.
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Sounds almost identical to Take My Breath
That said, the genre doesnt suit him tbh. It feels like a cover rather than his identity.
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wow. Its not even hiding it. I think its even in the same key.
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no wonder I thought the song sounded familiar!
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It’s fine leading man material – though it does sound a heck of a lot like the weeknd song that HOYAD links above.
It would benefit greatly by making Evan’s voice louder and more prominent in the mix. Just turn up the volume of the vocal a few notches.
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The song opened with a powerful energy (me likey), but it seems he couldn’t push the song to the peak that it should reach so it kinda coasted along in the middle of the journey. The instrumentals was easily my favourite, but yeah his vocals sometimes get buried by the song itself. A nice effort for solo debut though, it showed promise alright. The other songs in the album were not bad too, especially Twilight and Immature.
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This is sick! The chorus is super strong and Evan sounds great, but i do think the song doesn’t push to the heights it could have reached. Yes it’s 3 minutes, but it still cuts off before reaching a true climax. Add a funky dance break section, throw in some adlibs, change up something in the instrumental for a final chorus, and we’d be looking at 2026 top 10 material. Regardless, a great first comeback
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I do feel the opposite of some reviewers on this thread in that I think Heeseung fits this genre well, even better than someone like The Weeknd. Heeseung has a more powerful and earnest delivery, the lack of which has always made me Weeknd averse.
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It’s one time I think a song should be shorter…which I rarely ever say but the song hasn’t got enough going on and so it feels like the same melody a good few too many times. Cutting it down would have made that less apparent. Or they could have just made it soar more I suppose so it didn’t feel so one note.
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Banger.
Reminds me of Key and Wonho.
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This feels like solid (if safe) slinky male Kpop soloist material, and done better than most. Ride or Die grew on me with the performances and I think this will too.
I really liked the rest of the album, especially the softer, slower songs like Noise, Twilight, and Going Home. It’s definitely more appealing to me than what Enhypen has been doing lately.
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