(Don’t worry the artwork and full thoughts are coming soon. Slowly, but surely. Still being updated sorry I needed to post this drop day!)

Okay guys I’m writing this with less than 30 seconds left…20…10! Ahhh I’ll talk soon.

So, the premiere live glitched and all my devices are on the same screen while the song plays…it definitely killed the vibe. Okay it’s back. I’ll return here soon.

I finished watching it and I have a lot of questions. However, this is not a MV reaction, but an album review. I listened to the whole thing on Spotify and YouTube before I went to bed. I later (after my headache) went back again for another few rounds (a lot more than that) of listening. I have a headache again from on the screen time, but it was worth it for you guys. Here’s what I thought:

1- SHALALA 

About the song: This is the title song and the 1st song on this album (obvi). This song is really really fun. The song makers wanted it to be “loose and cool”. Taeyong mentioned it’s the first time receiving a title track from Korean song makers. One was Omega Sapien which we saw them do the TikTok together (“SEXY NUKIM”) which I thought was really cool. Little did I know they were cooking up projects together. The title track ‘SHALALA’ came out with the music video (which you saw my little reaction in the beginning of this blog) and in this MV is the first full look into the mind which is Taeyong.

My Thoughts: This song gave the vibe of a lot of old school songs I loved. Like a combination of elements mixed in there together. Even ‘Teach Me How to Dougie’ was in the lyrics and some of the song had the best feeling. The 808’s in this song are hittin. If there’s inspiration, I noticed Taeyong puts it in the lyrics or mentions it. It might w seem like that bare minimum, but so many people these days don’t credit. Instead they take credit for things they weren’t even close to originating. It also has the Snoop Dogg ‘Drop it Like it’s Hot’ era down (even some parts of it had the iconic sound). It had all of these things mixed with that Taeyong flare we’re all ready for. 

It’s the HipHop song we were waiting for. It also has other elements of Pop in it from what I can here. It has a little of everything. It’s great and I hope SM promotes it to western radio. People will like it. It also has that stereotypical flex theme that hip hop has in the lyrics. This is the real Hipyong. He was acting a fool in this with the lyrics. That’s a good thing when it comes to stereotypical hip hop. It was less of the putdown and more of the uplifting pat on the back type feel. It’s really one of those songs that I’ve heard many times on the radio. I think it’s going to blow up in two ways. On SNS for the dancing challenges and the freestylers and hip hop dancers will love this song. Also, a verse on there would be fire. Like a remix. Have your people contact my people…just kidding(…unless…ok just kidding), but honestly this song would have great remixes as it already stands strong on its own. The beat is bumpin and I just want to keep dancing to it. I also feel like it has that trendy commercial vibe like a section will be played in a commercial or the YouTube Shorts challenges. I think it’ll be nice to hear. I love beats with dynamic to them.

Imagine if at the beginning he added a laugh before the “baby keep it lowkey”? OMG that would be everything. I think I wanted the “Let’s go” to be stronger. And for the “Are you ready?” it would fit nicely in there. And the “Keep it lowkey” to be more aggressive. Also, the “We jumpin’ around” had a voice crack that I wish was more smoothed out. However, without that it was still really good. I want an English version of this song (nothing wrong with this one) I feel like this will be a success in the western hip hop community. I think that it’s really good and did a great mix between the og hip hop styles and the style of trendy dance hip hop music. When I say I can’t wait for people to eat this dance, I mean it.

I watched the stage to this like I told you I would watch it and I loved every minute of it. Taeyong’s aura shined on stage and in his lyrics, he even boasted about his stage presence (rightfully). I definitely want to see more costumes and more stages. And I’m sure it was difficult as a solo debut, but I’m glad the showcase was with fellow NCTzen’s so I’m sure that helped. Johnny, Doyoung, Jaehyun, and Jungwoo also attended. And many friends and staff supported as well with streaming and posting on their stories. The first 24 hours, week, and month is very important for milestones if you’re into numbers and stats. 

The part that stayed in my head: ‘WE GOT THE BOUNCE! LETS GO’

Let’s Go (HAHA) to the next song! 🙂

2- 관둬

About the song: This song is the 2nd track on the album. According to TY BOT (on the video) this is about “wanting to let go of lingering feelings for a past love” It also mentions that this is about wanting to get over a old love and “move on”. Moving on meaning starting a new one (which kind of makes sense for the 3rd track-I’ll get into that later). (Gwando) 관둬(Gwando) in Korean means to quit. On translator apps it also translates to stop it or give up. On the TY BOT it said Let It Go. And that’s the title for the song. For the visuals we got character Taeyong and the human version. He was avoiding a clingy old love who was glitching/teleporting until she finally disappeared. This is a good sign that finally thus relationship is over.

My thoughts: From “Let’s go” to “Let it Go”. This was a quick transition from the other one. Something I mentioned before in my previous post. Taeyong does different genres. He’s been working hard on his vocals. I can tell the practice has been coming in handy. This one has a feel good reminisce to it. But the lyrics I’ll have to read them, but the English I heard so far was harsh. This one feels more like a NCT song. More specifically NCT 127 type of B-side track. Minus the lyrics. More of the chill, but fun tracks. Like a chill drive.

This song lyrically is completely different from a feel good song. It’s something I’m sure we all felt before with wanting to end something. But this is having the courage to actually end it. Ending a relationship of any kind is really painful and takes a lot of energy. But if it’s healthy for you, you should. Toxic relationships, ones that just came to an end, and ones that’s at a standstill. These are all ones that are draining and you might want to consider dropping them in a nice way. This song explained both feelings of wanting to end it and wanting to keep it, but ultimately ending it. It’s a little sad, but in an uplifting way. I would not want to be the inspiration behind it though…

3- Move Mood Mode

About the song: This song is the 3rd track on the album. It is about a fresh relationship. Like described in the teaser, it “captures the excitement of new love…” It features Red Velvet’s Wendy and is a romantic feeling song. The visuals for this was much more enthusiastic as well. It felt like happy anticipation.

My thoughts: It was weird to hear the transition from the “let’s end this” and “I love you”. It was like: “우리 그만 만나자” to “항상 옆에 있고싶어”. It was a little different (but made sense since the 2nd one was wanting to move on, this one is moving on?). I do wonder about the placement of the songs on this album, but we’ll get back to that soon. This one has that vibe I’m used to with SM. I also love this style. It’s effortlessly cute. The 30 seconds sound of the song changed, and I loved it. I like when songs progress as the seconds go by. It’s really thrilling for me.

I would have expected a longer feature, but it was actually quite short. I wonder how it would be if she was added to all of the ad-libs from the second verse. I’m not sure, but I would be interested. That did take me by surprise, but it wasn’t bad either. It fit the song nicely. Wendy’s higher register is nice as always. I wish that she would have used the same range, but made it less nasally. Just make it match his style a lot more. She has an impressive range and can do many different tones as well. I think to blend with him more, it would have been life. The hook worked and wasn’t as isolated. I wanted the vocals lowered because the nasal tone overpowered the vibe. The ending though was really really cute! 

Lyrically, I am falling in love too. I think Taeyong writes really good affectionate songs. Like the ones that are everyday feelings that we don’t necessarily express all the time. It’s like daily emotions to an extreme. I noticed he mentioned dancing in the moonlight again. I think that’s really adorable. Maybe it’s something he finds really romantic or something he wants to try? I don’t know, but it’s something that I have seen a couple of times. He also mentioned in the first verse the sun and the second one he mentioned the moon. He had a sun in ‘Love Theory’ as well. I think this is really cute.

In my interpretation, it shows you want to be with this person 24/7. Or at least think about them 24/7. Or even something that you love to do, have you ever done something that made you truly happy. It’s like a space of your own. You wish to be at this place you call home 24/7. I take the lyrics as love, but songs are up to interpretation for the most part. It’s up to the listener ultimately, especially if they don’t do a deep dive. But yeah, this is a feeling I’m sure everyone would want to experience at least once. Have you had that feeling before? It’s one of the things that keeps you going every day. I hope he finds this one day. I hope everyone will!

4- Virtual Insanity 

Finally, the song I was the most hyped about. I really wanted to listen to this first, but I had to listen to them in order. Job first, then play!

About this song: This song is the 4th song on the album. The demo was teased March 2021 on Taeyong’s instagram story and was released in the next month on the 4th. It is a confidence boaster for sure. It mentions in the description of the song in the teaser that he was “imagining himself as a character in a virtual world and possessing the same abilities in reality”. As well as the theme of “self-assuredness”. It’s a song that is boasting about “unparalleled strength” like you’ve never heard of before. It’s really cool if you ask me. The visuals is him talking with TY BOT as it brings him into those world he asked to be brought into irl. When these are in order you can see the full story behind the album, but they pieced them in order of the song order. So, if you want to check that out, I suggest checking out them in order and not out of order.

My thoughts: I have to say this song is everything you wanted and more. I think Taeyong and VR works amazing together. I think he has a unique voice and a unique way he expresses himself in music so I think that this works well. I have to say both the demo and this one are a lot different from one another. I will reference the demo as GTA ver 2. This one has more technical points instead of the laid-back effortless side the demo had. I would say it lost that laid-back swag aspect, but I still love it. We got a lot more layering and much more color to it.

I wanted the “Let’s go, let’s go sky high” to be prolonged like the demo (GTA ver 2). It was very raw vocally in comparison to the demo. But the demo now sounds less studio like than this one. This one is more cleaned up if that makes sense. I wanted the beginning to be the same without ad libs while the instrumental played (like the demo), but it was okay this way too. Taeyong is known to add a lot of ad libs in songs. I love how the second time the hook plays he added a harmony to it in oppose to the demo. I usually add an octave raise (actually similar to the demo) in there in my fake duet to this. I love this song. I really want to see it in a neon action movie. Like a cyber GTA. Or a racing game. I’m going to play it to Mario Kart 8. I think a Goku scream in there a little muted would be cool. A sample or his own scream. It would be stress relieving and fun. I think it’s a great video game type of song. Also, more sound effects in a remix maybe? I just want the whole virtual experience. It makes me excited even thinking about it! This is what I was talking about though, Taeyong’s music takes you to another world. It’s really fun, fresh, and exciting. 

There were many references in this song and I won’t be able to catch them all, like Pokémon haha! But there were some DB (Dragon Ball) references like him feeling like the character Goku. And eating the peach which is a reference to the peach which is call the Ensenji. And it mentions on the TY BOT something about a manga reference however, I didn’t pick that one up. I also heard Michael a few times as well. There’s a lot of references and lots of fun going on in this song. I was learning the rap before this finalized version came out. It’s quite difficult, but I will learn it! I will do my best to haha.

I love hearing more dynamics to it. And the added bridge was really, really fun. Periodt TY! I think the bridge puts you into the world even more. Immediately too! The singing parts were fun. And I bet this was really fun to work on. I know it’s been a few years since the demo has been out, but I bet just tweaking it into what it is now was really exciting. I want to see the process. As an artist, I’m really jelly that I didn’t get to think of something like this song.

Initially, I was a little saddened because it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t a whole new song (with the song) you know so I was able to still be happy. Pus it being longer made me happy so I can live in the world a bit longer. After listening a couple of times, this one grew on me too and I will be listening to this one and the one on his SoundCloud regularly.

5- RUBY

About the song: RUBY is the 5th song on the album. It has themes of regret, longing, and value. If you look in the notes for this song it mentions his doggo Ruby. This is also the title of the song. It also talks about a past lover as well as other “important connections in our lives”. This song is more of a not necessarily sad song, but one that can be sad at times if you decide to relate it to something or someone. It can also be looked at as optimistic. For example, looking forward to “meeting again in the future”. Even if it’s in another life. If you look at not only this song this way, but life, it can look a lot brighter on those darkest days. The visuals were a open field and a bit of running until the end where he is levitating. There he is meeting with a ruby jewel and it ends there. The ruby was the light in the gloomy sky.

My thoughts: I gotta say Taeyong is killing the flow and the vocals. I think I hear electronic strings. The staccato they had worked well with the song. It reminds me of another song instrumentally. Like a lowered version of Red Velvet’s ‘Psycho’. It felt very emotional in my opinion at the hook. I think that this had that New Age feeling. Like a first love feeling. Like you never want to leave or picture a day without them. Whomever that may be. I really liked that vibe, but it felt emotional. His delivery of the verses was also very emotional.

Okay after reading the lyrics, I’m more emotions. I think that this was a nice mix of different feelings. We see the different inspirations behind the song including Taeyong’s dog Ruby. I think I can see where it was focused on different experiences. I think overall it’s about the emotion of love that I liked the most. I see caring for the one you love, how you feel when they are upset with you, and how you overall wish you can stay with them. I really love the language in this song. Saying you like someone or something is taking the initiative without putting an extreme. It means you’re willing to put in the energy to build to love. “Is it okay if I stayed by your side until I die” and “I promise you forever” are strong phrases. Which kind of makes you wonder what is love then. This song you could feel the emotion. It grew on me by the end. I really like it. 

6- 404 File Not Found

404 this file is not found. Try again…

ERROR

OOPS FILE NOT FOUND!

Just kidding!

About the song: This song is the 6th song on the album. It was also teased in a fancall on 211020. It is essentially about being lost or the feeling of being “lost in life”. It sounds like it is supposed to be a “you are not alone with this feeling you’re feeling” song in a way as these feelings are normal. In the trailer with TY BOT, it mentions “Taeyong encourages listeners not to stay stuck and to find their own path”. I think this is a uplifting message, but I disagree. This is okay though because we all have our own outlooks on life. Some people will agree with me, others might not. And if your outlook is different that’s totally okay too! Let me know how you look at life in the comments if your comfortable enough to share! My thoughts on this topic does differ though and I’ll tell you why. I think it’s okay to be stuck for a while. Give yourself that time to look back and move forward. Don’t rush into finding a path you may or may not regret. Take the time to know yourself and what you ultimately want. The end goal is happiness so I would say do what’s best for you. Just try not to stay stuck for “too long”. Like Taeyong was saying basically: it’s okay, just don’t stay there. I think that’s a great message. Just keep moving forward! You got this. It mentioned he thinks you should try to find it “even if it’s not the perfect path”. I think this is true to a certain extent. There is no “perfect” anything in life and the faster we stray away from the thoughts of perfection the faster we can unlock the door to our happiness. Perfection is you. There is not a definite answer to these kinds of thoughts. So, it’s best to go on a path we find is good for us. We can’t know right away and so that’s where I agree with him. We also don’t know if that perspective will change or not as time goes on. Just try to do things that you can still look back on that aren’t too regrettable. It’s okay to make mistakes, you can and will learn from them, but just try not to regret too much. Pick a path that will make you happy and help you learn if you can. Perfect=you which equates to your story. Just try to live your life the way you wish (with limitations of course). Now out of the philosophy and in with this beautiful song. The visuals were animated which kind of looks like the animation for the NCT 127 manhwa coming up. He was falling until he met the ground. This is him falling after being lost? That’s at least what I got from it.

My thoughts: I love the vibe from the beginning. It’s really, really good. I want to look up at the clouds and leave my head empty. I closed my eyes, and just took all the emotions in that I was feeling this is just a comforting song. I have to read the lyrics though, but I really love the vibe of this song. The rapping was passionate, the singing parts were placed perfectly as well. The organization was great on this song. I can tell that it must’ve taken a lot of time. 

I think this one had the nostalgia feel to it. It makes you a bit sad, yet happy. It felt like something you would sit back and lose yourself to. And also look back and reflect with. Though the description was quite different when we were first introduced to the songs. I really like when he does the raspy rap singing. He’s done this in the past before and it was really good. It’s one of my favorite things that he does. I also like the radio layering effects during some of the singing. That static sound is great in certain songs. I think some of the guitar should have been lowered. Just so his vocals can be louder and shine more instead of competing. The ending though. It felt so weird tbh. But a good kind of weird. It felt like a glitched file that went into another one. My goodness this was a rollercoaster and the tempo change. Great job. 

Lyrically, this song is pretty heavy. I think it’s looking back on many things, and he does “keep it hunnit” with us about how he is feeling in these lyrics. Honestly, this song makes me really sad though to be honest. Like I said before in my other post, Taeyong writes lots of emotional music these days. For example, ‘Lonely’ and ‘Fine’ to name a few. And his posts are also sometimes very emotional. I feel he is a sensitive guy, but I think these emotions are a bit strong. Not saying these are bad, it’s okay to feel “Blue” sometimes. And just know you’re not alone, things get better. The sun comes out after every gloomy day. I like that he can comfortably share his thoughts with us and it lets others know they aren’t alone as well. I just wish I could do something more, you know? I guess I’m a bit worried about the stress this job gives without breaks. I think he needs a break (everyone does) and time to surround themselves with people they love. And fans need to leave them alone and give them space. If you love someone you are willing to let them be happy no matter what they want to do. You will let them do what’s best for them and look for the best for them. We’re all human and we have these emotions, but I think the intensity is something that is important. We all deserve happiness. Taeyong, if you ever stumbled across this, just know we love you and hope you’re doing well. You’re doing a great job and we’re proud of you! And everyone reading this somehow, thank you for existing. You are important. 

7- Back to the Past

About the song: Back to the Past is the 7th and final song on this album. It was on of Taeyong’s Vlive 210218. Back to the Past is about Taeyong’s past experiences and how that made him into the person he is today. It’s a personal song and it’s something that we can take and learn a thing or two from. The fact that we can look at events that aren’t so great and recall them and be grateful for those moments and how it shaped him into the person he is today is showing growth. It shows a more matured mindset and it’s one that everyone can learn from, including myself. It’s something called the “Growth Mindset”. I’m sure you heard of the term before, but it’s one none of us have truly mastered, but looking at things more open-mindedly is a great step. The visuals for this-which all of these are on the NCT SNS is the leaking roof which was mentioned in the description of the TY BOT as well as in the lyrics as Taeyong recalls this event from his past.

My thoughts: This song was a change in the mood too. This felt like old school rap as well. The flow changes are so exciting for me because I love listening to different stuff. I don’t like when I can say a song or a flow sounds familiar because it’s not new for my ears. This one had so many different paces and ways the lines were delivered. I loved it. I liked hearing his lower range in this as well. This one felt like another song that could have been at the end of a NCT 127 or NCT album. Most likely Taeyong would have written it. But this one was perfect for Taeyong. It had his own flow. Love the ending, singing, narrating, and rapping together. 

Lyrically you have to appreciate this song. It’s his story. I also like how transparent it was. It was a story that continues on and looking back and giving thanks. If you can look back at the past as a experience and a learning lesson to move on in the future, it shows growth. You have matured and you should be proud of yourself. I can’t speak much lyrically as this is his story, but I’m happy this song is on this first album. And a great ending to an album. Great job Taeyong!

RATINGS:
1. Virtual Insanity

2. 404 File Not Found

3. SHALALA

4. Move Mood Mode

5. Ruby

6. Back to the Past

7. 관둬

KING CROWN’S RATING:

ENDING THOUGHTS 

This is probably one of the fastest ones I put out. I want to start doing these on time, but I like listening to many elements. I really like taking my time while listening and feeling as much as I can. So this won’t happen often, but here it is today. As different content gets released, I will be editing this blog. Actually, in the middle of it more visuals came out so there will be more soon. If you have any new information on this album or inspiration behind it leave it in the comments. Also, any thoughts or anything, I like reading it all. Today is day 1 so it’s important to stream and leave nice comments to the artist. And for the next month as well. You know how streaming works these days.

On To SHALALA. As fun as it is to type, it was just as fun to listen to. The vibe changes are throughout this album like I expected. You get a bit of everything. Order wise (the organization of it), I’m a bit confused still. Overall, I think this is a great album to listen to and I recommend it especially to any hip hop listeners. To all the dancers, this is great too. And to all the thinkers out there. Just everyone, if you like music, I suggest you give it a shot.

Storyline wise, I didn’t fully see how the visuals fully coordinated with the songs. I think in the mini film it did, but separately not much. Same for the music video. They were nice to watch, but left me a little puzzled. You probably know by now, but a story is important to me (for the most part), but this one I think didn’t execute it fully (visual wise). Organizationally, I also think that because this album is the first mini album and the concept was about the worlds, I think it sort of worked. The visuals should have elevated these feelings-well visually. I think the vision was there, but I want the creative directors to execute them better. He deserved a miniseries or a short film that was all his creative freedom only (with just a few suggestions here and there). I won’t put examples of what that looks like (imo) here since we are focusing on this album. I just wanted him to feel every song as much as he wanted to creatively. Visuals- if they are going to be released deserves to be treated with care as they are telling a story too. Those worlds are personal, and you can’t cut corners. The fact that it’s the first album and it’s a personal album, this is big for him. I wanted more, visually and when listening to it chronologically I want to feel that story. I guess I did since these are separate worlds, but were we supposed to feel like main characters? Are we supposed to be Taeyong? Who are we and why are we there too? I have many questions. Once again, it had a great story, I just wanted the budget to be bigger and for them to have more time developing this. They deserve everything the wish for all of their hard work. But if Taeyong is happy, I won’t worry about those things. If he’s happy, I am too. Aside from that, I think every song told a story, separately (which is good). I think some connected to another, but others didn’t. I think it was great though because we got so many feelings in one album. And the were well-developed feelings at that. Definitely a no skip album in my opinion.

There’s a bit of it all in this album like I mentioned earlier. That being said, I am so proud of him.  I’m sure it was hard finalizing your first solo project. I just want to say for any artist out there, do what you want with your projects! Don’t regret it. One day you will look back on it and you just want to say that you did it you know? Going back to SHALALA, wow wow. I think this album is just fun. Very experimental. Very emotional. I recommend to everyone who likes listening to everything. This is a great way to get a taste of it all. Hip hop, Rock, RNB, etc. I think this is the album for you. I really hope Taeyong can see all of the support and accept all of the love this album is going to get.

Thoughts and Illustrations by A.P. | Video by: K.C.