Song Review:: Wonho (Monsta X): CORE- Don't Wake Me Up!

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  • Release date: 2026 July 21
  • Album tracklist: Answer, Don't Wake Me Up!, Can't Get Enough, Summer Blue, Down, Test Drive, Promises (feat. BrotherSu)
  • Album runtime: 20 minutes

So I don't get insanely behind, I try to do at least one July release a day right now. I've been not doing so well with this goal, but here we are.

I have jumped both times that I've hit play on this song. That's such an aggressive start. We've got a strong dance tack for the instrumental with a skittering beat that drives the song like a war chariot. Underneath the skittering is a heavy bass drum of some sort and a grungy electric guitar. This honestly feels very movie soundtrack, but it has to be a movie like Rocky. There needs to be high intensity with the action. 

Vocally, this reminds me a bit of the Twilight soundtrack, which is strange for two reasons that are closely related but not the same thing in my head: 1) I cannot actively recall any of the songs from that soundtrack and 2) I didn't think I knew any of them subconsciously well enough to make a comparison. To be fair, most of the song reminds me more of a sports movie, but there's one spot there near the end where the effects on his voice weirdly remind me of Twilight. It's slightly too repetitive for me to likely ever have this be a repeat song in the future. But I'll be okay with it once in a while.

I thought this was a zombie storyline at the beginning. I'm slightly surprised to see him this covered, not that he can't. It's just unexpected. The music video itself in terms of the storyline reminds me a bit of Fantastic Baby and Wonderland.

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