Song Review:: 8TURN: You Are My Reason

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  •  Release date: 2024 November 11

  • Album tracklist: You Are My Reason

  • Album runtime: 3 minutes

 Fresh off their Ace of Ace journey which, not gonna lie, both put them on the map for me and gave me a favorite member of the group (which happened during the Water/Fire stages and I fully squinted at the TV with the "Wait a minute" meme running through my head, because I had a favorite. I knew nothing about the groups, had no idea oldest/leader/maknae (I fully thought Myungho was the maknae up until the round before) were, but I had decided on a favorite and I knew what that meant. Lo and behold, Leader Boy! Every freaking time!), 8TURN is delivering a single to us all! Whoo!

But I can't actually like them yet because they turn two years old in a couple of months and the maknae just turned 17 this year. Which means I can't like them until May of next year. It's fine. I can wait. If the last year or so is any indication, the time will pass quickly. But that deeply frustrates me.

The song just starts, which is amusing to me. No gentle or otherwise lead up for the vocals, because there's only about a beat or so of instrumentals before they start singing, and they start with the chorus. The instrumentals for the verses are softer, mostly just to provide a beat, with a rise of energy in the pre-chorus and chorus. Which means that we start with a lot of energy, and it quickly softens. It's an interesting strategy.

Their vocals are just lovely. I get my belt, so I'm happy, even if it's not as full and long as I'd like. They've got some fun vocal layering, not just with ad-libs, but harmonizing and asides as well. They pack a lot of song in three and a quarter minutes, and I absolutely love the bridge, specifically the second half. I had to listen to the bridge about three times before I could hear the first part, but that's nothing against their voices. My brain just did the thing it does where it completely filters out sounds, which happens sometimes when I focus too hard. Obnoxious for those of us who are me, but once I could hear that part of the bridge, I might genuinely like it the best out of the song.

I 10000% would be unsurprised if they recorded the song and the video during Ace of Ace. Also, this song falls under one of my absolute favorite categories: fan love letters. This one actually does have love letters of thanks at the end as well, which is precious. Just lovely.



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