Just A Little Fangirl Love

 I got this a bit ago as a suggestion, but I just kept putting it on hold. However, considering Taeyong is now discharged (and I get to pull his photocard off my Enlistment Wall now yay ), I'm going to dust this one off and do it. I would have had this out for his discharge but I lost track of when he was getting discharged. Sorry. I am also slightly afraid of this song because I haven't heard it and whoever submitted it wrote "enjoy the lyrics ;)" and I can't decide which is likelier: if this is going to have lyrics like Smoothie or if it has lyrics that I am definitely going to mishear and make them worse than they are, because a comment like that could go either way. I also got an apology because this submitter isn't sure if this was ever performed live, but this isn't the first one I've done and it certainly won't be the last.  And with regards to the T-named elephant in the room, I also had to decide how I was going to handle this and him, wh...

Release date: 2025 December 09 Album tracklist:  PROMISE , Whistle (feat. Belle) Album runtime: 7 minutes  Serve well, Doyoung. We'll see you when you get back, and your ring will be kept safe by your members. I'm suddenly grateful that my Korean is still as garbage as it is because I've got a feeling that this song is going to make me cry. This is a beautiful song and a beautiful gift for the NCTzens. The piano takes a quiet center stage at the start, and then the percussion and the strings join. That's the trifecta of instruments as far as I'm concerned. The combination this time around creates a very soft base to cradle Doyoung's voice. It's a lovely song.  I love it when vocalists get let loose. He's got an incredible voice and I love that his gift to the fans shows that off so well. This feels like a love song, and that would make sense. The idols tend to get very sentimental when it's time to enlist, which is entirely understandable and welcome...

Release date: 2025 November 28 Album tracklist: SUGAR Album runtime: 3 minutes  Another NCT member debuting as a soloist! How exciting! He's dropping this shortly before his military enlistment begins, where he'll be a part of the band, so at least he gets a little bit of time to enjoy being a soloist before that takes place. That will make all three members of DoJaeJung who will be in the military as fellow subunit member Doyoung will also be enlisting that day, and that will make two of the three in the band. That's pretty cool, you know? And the good news is that even though it's not at the desired three-minute mark, this is close enough. Most of the song is consistent with some cute little slides predominately in the second half of the song. The start of the past chorus, and some other little points of change provide a welcome shift  There's a smooth lightness to it that reminds me a little bit of butterscotch. I've got kind of an idea about what the choreog...

 I waited until I had access to my laptop again before getting to work on this. I figured if I was going to do this little blog thing, I'd do it right, and while these won't be properly traditional reviews, I'd still like to share my thoughts, such as they are. I'm going to preface this with saying that if y'all have been following this for a while, y'all know that I have opinions on certain things, but I also recognize that this is an incredibly difficult job that they do, and they deserve our respect because they have to put up with a lot and have to do a lot in order to have this profession. It's part of why I have frustrations with debuting minors, especially fifteen or younger, and with short songs and with bland songs. But in most instances, the idols are hella talented. It's just that they're not shown off well. Now, if you're still reading and you're new here, welcome! If you're not new here, welcome back!  Let's get into it! ...

Release date: 2025 June 9 Album track list: Wake From The Dark, Memory , Be My Light, First Step, Just Friends, Luminous, Still, Sonnet, Sand Box, Eternity Album runtime: 37 mi nutes  Doyoung! The last thing I reviewed with him was, I believe, a submission for Perfume , which was an absolute delight. I know none of us want to think about it, but he is going to have to enlist this year. The sooner they go, the sooner they come back. Although it's possible that both Doyoung and Jaehyun will be discharged before Jungwoo enlists, so I don't know if that's something to look forward to or not for the NCTzens, but it is a possibility. In other news, I'm in love with the album runtime. That's almost four minutes per song. You go, Doyoung. You go, dude. Memory  has a delightful ebb and flow to it with the energy levels alternating between the softer, almost ballad-y soothe and the more energetic rock bursts with the only sometimes gentle guitar tying the two parts together. ...

  Release date: 2024 November 06 Album tracklist:  The Story Album runtime: 3 minutes  He apparently made his solo debut earlier this year! Congrats! That's awesome! And considering what year he was born, it's probably a good thing that he debuted as a soloist this year rather than waiting until next year, because that would be an emotional one-two punch for the fans. I don't know if he planned this kindness on purpose or if it was an accident, but I'm choosing to believe it was on purpose and a gift for the fans. These instrumentals are absolutely lovely and gorgeously cinematic. Seriously, where is the movie that these instrumentals belong in? Opening with just the guitar gives the song a gentle roughness that smooths out leading into the first verse, and while the guitar does remain the dominant sound throughout most of the song, the bridge with its introductory piano coaxes the listener into settling before one last explosion. The only  thing I don't like about ...

Release date: 2024 October 24 Album tracklist:  Unconditional Album runtime: 3 minutes  Ahead of his enlistment at the start of next month, Jaehyun did my favorite thing: he released a single. That's a wonderful farewell-for-now present for the fans, and with the various hits the NCTzens have taken the last little bit, a gift like this is even more special and precious.  Serve well, Jaehyun. We'll see you when you get back. Those opening notes sound like a song. I can hum it but unfortunately I cannot place the thing. It feels like it's a Disney song, but that doesn't feel— It sounds like the Meow Mix jingle.  That has been bothering me for three hours. Okay. It's not a huge thing, or a problem to anyone but me, but that was deep in the memory vaults I had to go digging for that. Moving on. The difference between the higher-pitched skittering and the deep thrums from the bass guitar provides a very interesting contrast that I wasn't sure about on the first coupl...