Late last night (US Pacific Time), Seventeen’s Jun released a digital EP in his native Chinese. Unlike J-pop, I don’t have a dedicated place on this blog for C-pop releases, but I wanted to briefly touch on this one because I think the song is quite good.

I like Seventeen and its members best when they’re directly targeting the dancefloor, vamping over a funky groove that lets them unleash their full star power. Jun has always struck me as the type that could kill a retro, MJ-esque groove and 9 sets its sights in that direction. It’s not a complicated or innovative song, but the beat is taut and exciting and never loses its footing. A stronger set of melodies would benefit 9‘s overall effect, but at least Jun is singing and not simply talking over the groove. It’s light-on-its-feet fun and a convincing argument for more solo Jun music in the future.

Grade: B-