Song Review:: Kim Jaejoong (TVXQ!/JYJ/JK): THE WAVE- Tonight

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  • Release date: 2026 August 20

  • Album tracklist: Tonight, Echoes of Us

  • Album runtime: 8 minutes

 Ah, I'm so late with this. I'm glad that he's dropping new music because his voice is gorgeous and it's important to the ecosystem of K-Pop that he continues to release music. But I'm also starting to get a little concerned about the girl group he's got at his company. The boys have been getting a lot of attention lately, which as fresh debuts, is their due, but the girls are due for a comeback and I've heard neither hide nor hair of one. Unless they're getting a full album. In which case, carry on. Take a few more months. Stunning runtime on both the single and the title track though. I love that.

This is such a retro rock song from the 80s that the instrumental sounds like something my mom would have listened to as a teenager. We've got the good elements of a rock song: drums, a sick guitar solo, delicious synthy goodness, and a little bit of a keyboard in there to tie it all together. But the way the song pauses sometimes for the vocals to do their thing and for the drums to get a bit of solo work is such a good use of momentum and allows for these louder moments to really shine through.

If I understood Korean better, this is exactly the kid of song I'd be belting out on my drive home from work as part of my post-work playlist that I have to help me shed Work-Fangirl and get back to Regularly-Scheduled-Programming-Fangirl. We don't hear his vibrato quite as much as I'd like, but we do get some of it, which I'm pleased about. Not as pleased as I could be, because his vibrato is stunning and I know he's got it. We've also got a good range in his vocal abilities on display because it's not all just belting and emoting. There are also some softer moments, echoed in the instrumental. I have a feeling that this song live is incredible. That being said, the chorus behind him sometimes is an absolutely stunning addition to the song. Whoever decided that was the correct choice for the song was correct.

This music video is so country-music coded. This is an Alan Jackson music video or a Keith Urban music video or a Brad Paisley music video. There's even a horse, everyone. It's purely vibes and visuals though with a slight, squint-or-you'll-miss-it science fiction lean.

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