Greatest Hits:: DKB: Sober

 This was not the next one on my schedule, but in order to preserve my mini arc in the middle of August that I wanted, I'm going to have to find time later. Luckily, that post should be faster to do because there isn't a music video and I don't think it's been performed often by the group. It's still an event. To be clear. But this one is part of my little mini arc. I have an idea for a month where I do all songs that have the same title, but I haven't finalized when I'm going to do it or what song title to do. In the meantime, this is a lovely little taste to switch things up a little this month.

DKB debuted in 2020 under Brave Entertainment as a nine-member group, though they're down to eight now. At the time this song was released, they were still nine. They haven't released anything in about a year, which is starting to get concerning, but Brave Entertainment is going to need money eventually since they've only got two active groups right now (DKB and Candy Shop) and neither of them are exactly active right now. Yes, I'm throwing some shade at the company. The statistics that got put out recently should be alarming to a lot more people. The number of groups that are considered "successful" only actually account for a tiny fraction of the groups that have debuted, longevity is even worse, and with DKB coming up on seven years in a few months (having already beaten several statistics), I'm a little worried. Not going to lie.

Sober is the title track of their 2022 mini album, REBEL. For the lyricists and composer combo, we have Brave Brothers (4Minute, After School, Park Bom, Sunmi, Samuel, BIGBANG, Brave Girls, Sistar, HyunA, Boyfriend, T-ARA, Lee Seung Gi, HELLO VENUS, AOA, BTOB, Uni. T, Dal Shabet, Candy Shop, ZE:A, and UKISS) and Chakun (AOA, The KingDom, HELLO VENUS, TRENDZ, Samuel, Teen Top, Weki Meki, Boyfriend, T-ARA, Sistar, DreamNote, INI, AOA, Candy Shop and BAE173). For the composer-only, we have Red Cookie (Brave Girls, Park Bom, Candy Shop, Uni.T, BAE173, Samuel, TRENDZ, and MC.MINZY). I don't know if they're on their military hiatus yet or not, looking at the ages of the members, but that's also where they're at, time-wise, so I'm slightly less upset about them not having anything for about a year. Also, for this particular song, shout out to the choreographers.

• Group: DKB (Dark Brown Eyes)
• Debut Date: 2020 February 03
• Company: Brave Entertainment
• Status: Inactive
• Album : REBEL
• Song: Sober
• Release Date: 2022 April 28

When I was deciding on this little mini arc, I deliberately did not listen to this song because I wanted to have my first listen be here with you all because I had a feeling.

I'm glad I listened to that feeling because yowza.

The crackle in the instrumental? The piano? The flute?

If this were a regular review, at some point I'd be saying something like "I mentally hit the big red button to turn my chair around on The Voice within about five seconds after the song started. And three of those seconds were me processing my utter delight."

The combination of both the heavy and the skittering beat allows for the type of choreography that I know they do, having seen Peak Time. There's a weight and a sharpness to it, which is the combination you want for powerful choreography. Sober goes a step beyond that, because of the piano and the flute, to have a smoothness and a delicacy layered over the top of the power percussion. 

And the pauses before the chorus where we just have the piano and the crackling? It's such a good mental reset for the listener, but because we get just a little crescendoing thrum of a beat right there at the end, that helps bridge the way into the chorus. It's amazing. It's gorgeous. It's beautiful. 

And y'all. Y'all. During the chorus, the vocal melody matches the flute's melody, so there's a really solid unity of sound right there. This is one of those moments when I could spend a lot of time talking about just the song, but there's also almost four minutes to the song, so at no point does this song feel like it's rushed or cramped or missing something. I haven't even gotten around to discussing the music video either.

And 3:33 is where it gets excellent. As far as I'm concerned, and this will be amusing once you make it down to the end of this post, this song is actually a spiritual successor to both Block B and BIGBANG. It's got a strong flavor to it of Nillili Mambo, especially in the chorus, and it practically screams Crooked by G-Dragon visually. Please tell me I'm not the only one hearing and seeing this. 

Although, to be fair, the entire song is a "I'm going to need some liquid courage to hit up this hottie, because I am a loser without it" kind of piece, and the music video very much reflects the stages of drunkenness. Starting off with a little bit of visual glitching but nothing too obvious at the very start (:00), the music video progresses until 3:07 when the the visuals of the music video get very loud and vibrant and the camera starts to sway and shake. 

I'm so happy I am doing what I decided to do. I'm equally annoyed because this song is good enough to deserve a win. But looking at who got wins in the weeks after this came out, I get it. First of all, we have the powerhouse Trot Boy, Lim Young Woong. LE SSERAFIM debuted. BIGBANG's last comeback was getting wins then. Psy. ASTRO. IVE. TOMORROW X TOGETHER. I get it. But also, that's so annoying. 

Okay. I'm going to stay with my normal M.O. and give you a Music Bank performance first so that you can get the names attached to the lyrics, but there's a very good reason why you're getting this one first even though it isn't the first performance they did.

It's kind of funny. I've been staring at stage costumes that don't just match, but are uniform, so much that seeing ones that are just matching in theme is a little bit odd. Not going to lie. 

They're very colorful, from their hair to their clothes. The song is only four years old, but I feel like something has been lost in those four years. I'll also be the first person to just tell the idols to wear wigs because that way they don't have to damage their hair for years. But I digress.

I love how clear some of those screams are. Listen to the stretch at 1:07. There's a very specific reason why a performance that doesn't even have ten thousand views has such loud cheers. If you go back up and take a look at their debut date again, you'll remember what happened shortly after that like a storm on the eve of battle. This performance actually marks the first time that they got to perform in front of their fans since they debuted. 

Because of that, it's the smiles here that I want to point out. You know and I know that there's a certain level of suspension of disbelief for the audience or viewer that comes with every performance. Physical conditions might be bad, members may not like the song or the choreography, something could have happened before the performance to emotionally unsettle one or more of them. 

I hate to point out reality, but I do it for a good reason. That reason being that even with the reality that they may not be in the best position to be performing this song at this moment, and with as serious a song this is, we still get some irrepressible smiles. At :41 when the screaming starts up there, we get a smile from D1, and again at 1:25. We get a little bit of a smile from Junseo at 1:35. 2:37 sees a bit of a smile from Lune. How could they not smile?

Two years and they finally get the opportunity to perform in front of their fans. 

I'm also pretty sure that we're getting at least some live vocals from this group because of spots like 3:03. It's when the vocal audio balance is off that my attention is caught a little. 

Look, I genuinely don't know what to tell you about the outfits for this stage from Show! Music Core, but it's, again, very BIGBANG, very Block B coded. Very loud clothing. Visually. There are no bells that I can see to indicate that they're actually loud in the audio sense of things, which would also be picked up by the mics during performances since they've all got the headsets on. But a lot of the comments on this stage are about their outfits. 

Also, if there is anyone interested in camerawork, this one has some fascinating stuff going on in that department. The rapid-fire zooming at 1:18 may give some people motion sickness. I learned that that is a thing that people can get from videos (not here, but a Let's Play). But it's kind of aggressive and oddly emotional The angles and movements at 1:27 were a choice that I genuinely like because they help with the tipsy feeling of the song and the choreography.

I am a little bit sad that this stage has part of the song cut out, but that's another one of those unfortunate realities for a small group, you know? I wish it were different because songs by smaller groups are just as deserving of complete air time as the bigger, older groups, but I understand the decision, even if I don't agree with it.

We've got a bit of an adjustment of an in-ear at 2:08, which automatically concerns me but does not mean necessarily that they're experiencing audio issues. It's the only time I catch any of them doing that, so it could just be him readjusting it, or signaling to bring up the audio in whatever he's got coming in through that channel, not necessarily that there's a problem. 

We can also hear some screaming from the audience at 1:09, which, again, was still a new experience for the two-year-old group. I hope they could hear it and that it made them happy. 

I think this is going to be the last stage that I share because I'd rather get into the meat of the song. 

Still, the stylists and the company for this Inkigayo stage did an excellent job, even if no one has any color anywhere except for their hair. I like color. I know this shocks you.

This is also, I think, the earliest one of the three and lacks the screams from the previous two I shared. Was this in front of an audience? If so, were they allowed to cheer? I do not know the answers to those questions. But what we do have is this song performed at the minimal level of audience participation that we can get for a performance. 

And you know what? Kudos to the group for having such high energy and giving such a good stage even though there's no auditory feedback that they're doing well, and perhaps no one in-person in front of them to tell them that they're doing well. It's hard performing when you can't feed off the audience's energy like you want to, but this stage isn't lacking. I'm proud of them for this and their professionalism. But that's also why I don't want to sit in these stages too much.

Because this has been performed recently, in DKB's concerts and tours, which means that even though this song didn't make a huge splash at release, and even though it hasn't been discovered and mainstreamed by the general public yet (which could still happen!), it's still loved enough by the group and their BBs that it's still on the performance roster to be performed three years in a row.

That makes it an event, as far as I'm concerned.

So here's a fancam from 2024 in LA.

Also, fun fact, this is the first time I'm actually recognizing Harry June without needing to look up which one he is (:28). He's got some pretty nice definition in those arms of his.

I love their outfits for this part of the concert. We're in a very basic combo of jeans and t-shirts, or tanktops depending on the member, but they all look incredible. Some of them have clearly been working out and it shows. I also find it a little funny that one of them is wearing an "ACDC World Tour" shirt (seen clearly at :20 because he's the only one on screen). This was apparently the last stop of DKB's own tour, but that's why I think its a little funny.

And listen to that crowd. They are singing along to almost every word. They are shouting with the members. I specifically want to point out :44, because that burst of energy from both the performers and audience is exactly why people do this. People attend concerts for that live experience. People become artists to share that synergy with a crowd. And the audience is so loud at 2:00 that my eyebrows raised. That is the reaction we want that we weren't getting back in 2022, which is the other reason why I wanted to move on to these. 

There's a cute moment between E'Chan and I think Junseo at 1:45 where E'Chan goes over while he's doing the chorus and kind of pats him on the chest and Junseo grins and laughs in response. It's very cute.

And I'd like to appreciate the fact that they've gotten so much more comfortable in the two years since this song was released. Just the fact that they're playing around with each other is a marked difference and I'm so glad to be seeing it.

Ooh, and official video time! This one comes from their Japan concert in 2025 on their Japan YouTube channel. And I'm getting better at figuring out if a song is the remix version or the original version. This one is the original.

Also, I'm going to take a moment and say "Oof, Junseo is a Big Boy. I'm a little annoyed that he's in an oversized jacket because he looks like he might have Baekho-sized arms." Obviously not military-era-sized but probably at least HYBE Game Caterer-sized. And those loose jeans do nothing to disguise the fact that that man does not skip his leg day.

Anyway, moving on because I could spend at least a paragraph on him at :55 alone in happy appreciation, you know what's interesting that I'm noticing about this song? The more "official" it is, the tighter they are on stage. The music shows? Very tight. Very little playing. The LA fancam? A little bit of playing and bigger energy.

This one? We're back to an "official" video, seeing as how this is from an official channel.

Also, I can tell this isn't the first song of this segment because you can see the gleam of sweat on some of them. I first noticed it on Harry June at :49, well, that and the fact that his hair is sticking together and to his face because of the sweat. They are hard at work here.

I'm pretty sure it's a fan shout-out that I'm hearing at 1:10, and the ensuing screaming, while a bit muted (though that could be the result of post-editing for the upload), is genuinely kind of precious. And fun fact, I think that spot is very close to the thumbnail of the video as well. There's also the "Let's go!" at 2:31 that is another little interjection.

But right after that, you can tell that those are live mics because someone is very clearly breathing through their mouth and not their nose. When I realized I could hear the little pants at 2:43, for instance, I immediately started smiling. It's not the only spot after the "Let's go" where we get the puffs into the mics, but it's cute and fills me with warm affection.

I don't often give y'all member focused fancams unless they're very significant or I really like them for some reason (I feel bad when I think about doing it in general because then I feel like I have to give one per member and if it's a big group, you could be looking at 7-15 videos of the exact same performance, which isn't a trial for the fans, but I am also trying to convince people to take a look at groups they may not know much about or listen to, so it seems a bit much to ask of them). However, I haven't said a lot about D1 yet, even though he's one of the leaders and y'all know I have immediate affection for them, and this is one of the most recent performances of this song.

So I thought he'd get his own shout-out from a Japan concert from 2026.

And this is a really close angle and also, you can hear puffs of air literally from the start into the mics.

So, here! If you need a starting point into the group and want to spend a lot of time with a single member who shouts hype-ups, have D1 for that. 

And he smiles a lot. I like that. That's the kind of thing you miss from the "official" videos.

Dance practice time!

But before we actually get into it, I'm just going to drop this little video of them actually practicing and learning the choreography that they made themselves. They regularly do. So if you're looking for a group that does their own choreography, here you go.

There's also some wrestling and screaming, but that's just par for the course with groups.

We get so many shoe squeaks and stomps, even right from the beginning, that if I were to list all of the moments we can hear them, that would be the rest of the post right there and instead of a wall of text, it would be a wall of time stamps. 

So instead I'm only going to give you one: :1:08. Coincidentally, that's also the spot where we have the most watched part of the video, and probably not for the shoe sounds. The rest of the members are bent over while D1 stumbles around, clutching his head, almost as though he's drunk. That's actually a really clever part because the eye is drawn directly to him since, unlike a T-Rex, our vision isn't necessarily based on movement, but it does catch our attention in the way that a color that stands out blatantly does. But the way they all explode into action, D1 pouncing into position so fast it looks like he's been there the entire time is so smooth and powerful.

We've got a little bit of a waterfall happening at 2:04, where the energy movement flows from left to right, but because of the way they're positioned, you don't notice it until the center pops up. Again, the choreography uses stillness and movement to hide details so well, and that makes it so impressive that they choreographed this themselves.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of the bridge at 2:45, because it's another point where stillness is used as much as movement is. Move, stop for a few seconds. Move, stop for a few seconds. Move, and they're into a position that could work for a held position and would reinforce the pattern (also because of the rule of threes), but instead of being still, they're now moving, which ups the anticipation in the viewer and heightens the tension with the use of the pattern disruption. Then we get another explosion into the final chorus and the "la la la" part at 3:25. That part almost reminds me of the ending song of a musical, where the cast comes out in small little batches to bow or curtsy or flounce at the audience like the ending credits of a movie. It's very cool. I very much appreciate it there and I appreciate it equally as much here.

The choreography is littered with spots like that because whoever actually did the choreography did an amazing job with using the flow and rhythm and conflict between movement and stillness so well. Smaller group they may be, but they know what they're doing as well as the bigger and more famous groups, and even though it didn't get the attention it should have at the time, it's still got all the elements that a viral song should have.

This one took so long. I think September is going to be smaller in numbers just because these are taking me so long to get through to be at the quality I want them at (which is a me issue, not a song issue). Yeesh. Thank you, all the same, for reading and hanging out with me while I yap about this song! One of the ones I had to skip this month will be going into a later month because if you think I'm not going to talk about a certain high note from a certain 2008 debut, you are sorely mistaken.

Champions, as always, if you've got a song you'd like me to cover, do not hesitate to drop a comment or give it to me via The Form. I don't care how famous or obscure the song is. You want to give me a song that got ten wins on music shows, I want it. You want to give me a b-side from a group's only album from back in 2003? Heck yes. Give me the group I may not know much about. Give me one I listen to all the time. This has also been done before from a suggestion on Reddit, but if there's a song I mention during the monthly wrap-ups in the Honorable Mentions section that you want me to cover, that's a good place to find songs for me to cover as well, especially since most of them are older than two years.

Happy listening!

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