Song Review:: Irubin (1TEAM): Foolproof {Debut}

• Release date: 2024 December 11

• Album tracklist: Foolproof

• Album runtime: 3 minutes

 Okay, so! Irubin is part of the 95z along with SCoups, Gon, and Minhyun, and he's actually a week younger than the latter. He was on a couple of trainee survival shows the same year NU'EST was on theirs. Almost made the debut team on BOYS24 and was the first boy trainee to be TOP1 on MixNine (where we also had a bunch of future ATEEZ and Treasure members), ended the show as the third ranked so he made the debut team, but that never happened. I actually remember him. Obviously I was focused on ATEEZ when I watched it this summer, but I do remember him. He went by the name Rubin then, and he was really good. He did finally debut with the group 1TEAM, which unfortunately disbanded within two years, and then he became a tattoo artist. Irubin is multi-talented then, and part of me is curious about why he decided to come back to music almost four years later, but I hope he has better luck as a soloist than with a group. Hence the review. I'm a sucker for this kind of story.

I'm obviously going to start with the part that catches my ear first and foremost. The song has some lovely audience participation snapping. I know this song is technically classified as R&B, but there are enough similarities to very mellow trap that I had to check. It's a pretty standard, chill instrumental, opened and closed by a noticeable electric guitar, which shifts through to the background of the song. It's worth noting that there is the sound effect of shattering glass at some point in the middle of the song, which piqued my interest. The sharp beat is a bit too prominent to be a good sleepytime song, unfortunately, even though the vibes to be a soft, comforting song are there. 

This isn't just a love song. This is a devotion love song. This is a forever affectionately yours love song. If I was the type of person to be swayed by words like this, I would be a melted puddle on the ground. I'm equally not sure if I want to classify it as a winter song even though the vibe is similar. It is getting released at the correct time of year, though. If he'd debuted with this during the summer, it wouldn't have been a good match. So in terms of that, yes, it's a winter song. It's also a pretty high song, where he spends a significant amount of time approaching the falsetto, if not outright using it. Because of that, I don't see this song having excessive choreography. Having listened to part of Jungkook's live this morning, Irubin's voice reminds me a little of his with a similar tone and timbre. It's a good compliment. I texted my Stay friend that he really does have a gorgeous voice, which surprises me for some reason every time I listen to him sing. It shouldn't surprise me, because I am very much aware that he has an amazing voice, but I think I just need to listen to their songs more often. Anyway, Irubin reminds me of Jungkook. His vibrato peeks through often, but it's a very soft vibrato that gently warbles in his voice rather than a sucker punch to the senses, and that matches the rest of the song really well. As far as being a debut song and the introduction to him as a soloist, I don't know that it really showcases his abilities that well, even if this is a good song. I have definitely added this to a playlist.

There isn't a music video attached to this, but here's the audio all the same. I hope you like it.