In honor of SHINee’s Key taking charge of his sound on new mini album Bad Love, I’ll be taking a look at each track throughout the week. Check back every day, and make sure to explore my other In-Depth Album Reviews if you’re interested!
1. Bad Love // 2. Yellow Tape // 3. Hate That… (ft. Taeyeon) // 4. Helium // 5. Saturday Night // 6. Eighteen (End Of My World)
Eighteen (End Of My World)
Eighteen (End Of My World) ends the album on a confessional note. We’re done with the dance tracks and ready to bear our soul. As such, this song has a lower energy than most of Bad Love, though it adheres to a similar electronic sound via a haunting synth arpeggio. This element runs through the entire track, crafting a through-line over which Key offers a subdued melody.
This structure occasionally crests in cathartic power notes that amp up the emotion. Eighteen’s chorus carries more anthemic heft, bolstered by backing vocals that craft a forceful centerpiece. I wish the song leaned even further in this direction. There’s a point during the finale where it feels like Eighteen is going to turn full gospel, and that would have been a thrilling way to end the album. I know it’s trendy to release short songs, but another thirty seconds of belt-it-out release would have been very welcome. Slow burns like Eighteen are at their best when they’re able to fully deliver on the pay-off.
Even so, this track makes a satisfying close to an album that feels both personal and polished. I hope we don’t have to wait long before Key’s next comeback!
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
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This is my favorite from the album. It’s both comforting and haunting.
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I really love this track and its production, and I actually wish SM had chosen to make this the Taeyeon collab instead of Hate That, which was so generic it felt like kind of a waste. I can even imagine her voice fitting in and adding to the big harmonies in the chorus.
Regardless, it’s a beautiful lighter-waver of a song and I neeeeeed SHINee to release more of these on their full group albums as well!!
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Idk how to convey this but this comment feels a little… weird. Like you said you wished SM made Eighteen the Taeyeon collab. But Key was calling all the shots on this album and chose which song he wanted Taeyeon to collab on.
Key also wrote the lyrics to Eighteen as a letter to his 18 year old self so I just think it would be weird for Taeyeon to feature on such a personal song.
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Yeah I considered that the lyrics to this might’ve been very personal so in that case I can understand why it wasn’t a collab. I guess what I mean is I wish the Taeyeon duet had been a song LIKE this, as it fits her voice very well along with Key’s.
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Idk how to convey this but this comment feels a little… weird. Like you said you wished SM made Eighteen the Taeyeon collab. But Key was calling all the shots on this album and chose which song he wanted Taeyeon to collab on.
Key also wrote the lyrics to Eighteen as a letter to his 18 year old self so I just think it would be weird for Taeyeon to feature on such a personal song.
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I love this song so much. Now that I know he wrote it to his younger self I like it even more. It makes my heart ache in a good way.
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