Song Review:: Onew (SHINee): Connection- Winner

  •  Release date: 2025 January 06

  • Album tracklist: Winner, Promise You, Boy, Graduation, Conversation, Yay

  • Album runtime: 17 minutes

 Lovely to see you putting out music again, Onew! Especially so close to the last one. Right now, I fully trust that he isn't overworking himself, partially because I trust him to know his limits as a seventeen-year idol, and partially because I trust his new company. The CEO's comments about selling the funeral wreaths they've been sent gives me life, and I'm also genuinely delighted that Onew is getting to do music he wants to do and exploring so much. Yay was a little bit of a weird fever dream that I am still fully here for, and I'm curious to see where he went with Winner. Even if I am side-eyeing the album runtime a little.

An OST vibe to the song is where he went with this one. I know he only worked on the lyrics, and so full kudos to the composers. Oh, my word. It's incredibly cinematic without most of the orchestral trappings I usually have associated with the sound, nor is it a constant, huge wall of ever-shifting sound. There's a loneliness to it that is incredibly impressive with how subtly it's woven into the song. The song hinges on Onew's voice and moves with it, giving it space to be the only thing happening with minimal support as well as steer the energy generated from his voice. I'm actually fascinated by how well the instrumentals and the vocals work together as well as the balance as there are places, especially at the start of the chorus, where it would have been very easy to let the instrumentals overpower the sound of his voice. 

I don't think it's too much of an exaggeration to say that over the last almost two decades, Onew has proven himself to be one of the best vocalists in the industry. Obviously, that won't be shared by everyone, and that's fine. But his voice, which is on full and glorious display for this song, is best described as a dark chocolate mocha truffle: rich, a little smoky, and a little sweet. He doesn't rumble, per se, but he does go to a comfortable depth that might be as near to a rumble as he can go. But the way he sings the line "We're still young and wild and free" just makes me want to give him a hug.

The jerk made me cry. Whatever. Honestly, I'm just glad to see him happy and recovering, so he can break me emotionally all he wants to as long as he continues to be happy and healthy. I mean, he has moments where he's looking quite broken, and it's heartbreaking for the viewer because this is just a kdrama for a music video, and it's emotional whiplash. Also, the entire thing was filmed in Prague, which is super cool.



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