It’s been almost a year since Ha Sungwoon’s last comeback. That summer album showed a lot of promise, foregoing the tepid r&b of his solo debut for more adventurous sounds. Now, he’s back with the kind of funk-pop track I’d like to see K-pop’s moody boy groups tackle again. Get Ready isn’t perfect, but its upbeat energy and consistent arrangement make it a welcome summer treat.
I often rag on recent K-pop songs for delivering formless, lackluster verses. But, most of Get Ready’s appeal lies in the moments surrounding its chorus. Its verses pulse with a groovy bassline and percussive slap that imbues the track with a crackle of energy. The pre-chorus is even better, as Sungwoon appeals with his falsetto over a melody ripped straight from the blue-eyed soul playbook. Best of all, Get Ready never stalls its tempo. I guess that’s one of the benefits to being a soloist – no need to shoehorn in a momentum-killing rap break.
In comparison, Get Ready’s chorus is enjoyable, but I wish it was more fleshed out melodically. Instead, the track hinges on a looped instrumental hook, which stays just short of being obnoxious. This approach reminds me a lot of Dongkiz’s Lupin earlier this year. Get Ready brings a bit more to its chorus, but Sungwoon mostly just riffs off that instrumental rather than injecting a counter-melody that could make the track really pop. I have a feeling this will limit Get Ready’s replay value, though I will always be up for a blast of funky pop music.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
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The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This popped up in my feed this morning, and once again my complete and total ignorance of the WannaOne members became evident.
Yeah, this has a nice bass line and beat. It isn’t revolutionary but these days we seem to accept what is at hand more readily. I also appreciate the falsetto in the second half of the verses gets that sound like an homage to Prince.
That horn sample has the timbre of the Dongkiz “Lupin” sample and … how many nugus did we conclude also use the same exact sample? … but is actually a different melody line freshly tapped out on the keyboard. It does, almost, wear out its welcome.
OT: I presume that Super Junior KRY new ballad release will not be reviewed, but this SuJu stan Kyuhyun bias loves it. They once again prove that they are the vocal line to beat. So soothing. Its a far better ballad than most of the SM solo ballad releases the past year, although I may be a tiny bit biased.
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I have absolutely no idea how the intro to the video ties into the actual song but that was really beautiful. I guess the actual song is decent too.
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Meh. That’s how I feel about his solo career.
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It’s good! Maybe not a year end list contender, but it’s certainly enjoyable. With his past 3 comebacks, I think Sungwoon has carved out a stable place for himself post Wanna One. In fact, I’d say this is the kind of track that’d be good in the hands of a number of the Wanna One boys. It’d certainly fit the trends Kang Daniel has been chasing.
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As much as I like the funk, each of his past two albums has had a song (Lie in 2020, Bluemaze in 2019) that flirts with this hazy alt-pop sound that suits his voice so well. I’d love to see him push further down that road.
But if we’re talking funk, his late-2019 release Dream Of A Dream was also really good.
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I rarely liked song like this but i enjoy this one, especially the chorus
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