With so many K-pop acts trying their luck at a global career, it can be hard to determine what “counts” as K-pop anymore. I don’t know that I’ll be writing much about former NCT member Mark Lee’s burgeoning solo career in the future, but this track feels like an important milestone that deserves some kind of write-up.

Mark’s new musical venture has been fraught with controversy even before it started. I won’t bring up all these issues because there are other sites that do that sort of thing better than me, but suffice it to say I’m come into My Friend with a whole lot of side-eye loaded and ready to be unleashed. Mark has not shied away from his interest in Christian music, and if that’s what he wants to move into more power to him, I guess. There’s certainly a market for it at the moment, at least in America.

I can’t tell if My Friend is supposed to be a worship song or not as its lyrics are vague enough to be just about anything. Unlike with his past material, My Friend features absolutely no rap, aiming for soft melody instead. Mark fits this style surprisingly well, but the song itself is way too lightweight and sanitized to stick. It’s a sound designed to be pleasant and edgeless and succeeds in this aim. The problem is, I’m not in the market for “pleasant and edgeless” and there’s already a wide swath of the industry targeting this aesthetic. Fans may enjoy it. For everyone else, this Friend might be worth letting go of.

Grade: C