Song Review:: Alpha Drive One: FORMULA {Pre-Debut}

• Release date: 2025 December 03

• Album tracklist: FORMULA

• Album runtime: 3 minutes

 Finally, I get to properly review it after seeing it performed at the MAMAs. I've tried to erase knowledge of the song so that I can review it fairly for such a moment as this. I'm actually somewhat pleased with this lineup. Are there a couple of others that I wish had made it into the debuting team? Yes. But you know what? Having three of the four I was rooting for make it to the finale, and then one of those three make it in still feels pretty good considering the number of trainees there were. Am I sad about the ones that didn't make it in? Yes. But at the same time, I'm especially glad that Kangmin could get so much love and attention, and hopefully now that he's back with Verivery (and they just released a new single this week, and I'm in love), we can get a NU'EST situation. Congrats to everyone for making it, and congrats to Leo and Sangwon for finally being able to debut and being able to debut together. There's just one member of Trainee A left to debut, I think, and I believe he's over at SM in SMTR25. And in case anyone is concerned about ages, which is valid because survival shows can be a mixed bag, fear not! As of September, the entire lineup is at least eighteen. So I don't have to worry about any of them being minors because the entertainment industry is not kind to anyone, physically or emotionally, and since minors are still developing, and developing their sense of self, I'd rather they didn't face the scrutiny of a critical public that is a fair-weather friend. And good news, the song is over three minutes. So, all in all, this is a long paragraph of me just generally being pleased to start off the song.

There are some really interesting turns with the instrumental. For the most part, it's got a strong, fast-paced beat that would be quite suited to a movie with racing in it. I'm feeling kind of Tron, but that could also be because that's what part of the video before their performance reminded me of quite strongly. That being said, I think I probably would still feel that comparison would be valid because there's something science fiction about the instrumental, specifically cyberpunk, but it's more racing than it is a shooter or hard science fiction, you know? (As a side note, if you're looking for a cyberpunk book, I'd recommend either Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson or Neuromancer by William Gibson (which does show its age in places, but at the same time also is also very much a noir, which I really like, so if you decide to read it, be aware that it is an older book and it's a little tough to chew on sometimes).) In the spaces where it softens up, it's actually a welcome breath of fresh air that allows the song to coast for a moment before hitting the throttle again. 

So I've actually left this song on repeat while I had to do something else. And an hour later, I still like it. So. That's about where we're sitting with this one. I think it's because the rapping is distinct, the vocals are distinct, and the chorus is softened by the vocalizations. It is a lot of rapping but it's tempered well by the amount of singing. Xinlong is just so...je ne sais quoi. You know? He's the only one I currently recognize the voice for, but I imagine that will change in the coming months and years.

I'm going to say first and foremost that their pants at the beginning are perfect for this choreography. Second, I don't know what was up with the MAMAs because this is what I expected to see. Third, this is nice. And I'm not sure why it's not causing the normal irritated itch I feel when we get a more bragadocious song, but it could be because we have at least five members of the group who have been debut ready for years and two who have previously debuted before. So, even though most of them don't have a lot of debuted experience, none of them had less than a year of training under their belts, and it shows. Again, I don't know what was up with the MAMAs unless they're just exceptionally bad at performing live (and I'm willing to give quite a lot of that to nerves because they haven't debuted yet and some of them were trainees for over five years) (I also highly doubt that they're exceptionally bad at performing live, but with how many issues have come up and how weird the camerawork was in general, again, I'm willing to put quite a lot of that blame on the broadcast rather than the group). But this was much better. Good quality.