Since returning from the military, Super Junior’s Kyuhyun has released a solo single album and new work with his group and sub-unit K.R.Y. SM Entertainment’s SJ Label has allowed for greater flexibility when it comes to release schedules, resulting in several digital singles free from the promotional machine that usually accompanies idol music. This matches well with Kyuhyun’s status as an elder statesman in K-pop, and allows him to share material like Dreaming without the expectations that come along with full comeback preparation.
Dreaming is as upbeat as we’ve heard Kyuhyun in a while, forgoing the dramatic ballad arrangements of most of his solo work for a more driving, inspirational sound. This is the song that would soundtrack those big, triumphant moments in a reality TV show – uplifting but not musically demanding.
As Dreaming enters its first verse, I was immediately reminded of Roy Kim’s more upbeat material. Though Kyuhyun has a different tone, the richness of his voice carries similar gravity. This lends Dreaming a certain amount of aplomb, even if the actual song is pretty by-the-numbers. In this way, Dreaming also reminds me of Jeong Eunji’s AWay from last week. It’s untrendy, adult contemporary fare, channeled by a killer vocalist. Whether that appeals to you or not will depend on a number of factors, but I enjoy hearing Kyuhyun tackle a more soaring arrangement. His vocals are especially effective as Dreaming hits its climax and forges a sound similar to popera. If I had my way, both the performance and production would have a bit more bite to it, but Dreaming knows exactly what it wants to be and sticks to its sentimental guns.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
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The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
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My boy has been busy.
I was happy that he went more upbeat than ballad It reminds me more of his Japanese songs, which no one here has probably listened to so I shall give you a link as an example “Celebration” ‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foarj0t6w4Q
The structure as you point out is also less traditional Korean long ballad, but more conventional shorter structure, which adds to its appeal to non-kBallad ears.
I would like to point out that this is a perfect example of higher is not always better. That High belt note at 3:00 is only an A, but he so totally commands it that that makes it impressive. There is no need to attempt squeeze out a whiny falsetto D or E or F if one can totally dominate and nail a belt like that.
This ELF is quite satisfied.
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I had to look it up, since May 2019 Kyuhyun has done
1 musical lead “The Man Who Laughs”
5x King of Masked Singer winner
5 Variety shows as a main character (SuJu Returns, Salty Tour, New Journey to West, Kang’s Kitchen, + his own new cooking show)
SuperShow8 concert tour
1 SuJu Album + repackage + 3 single promotions + Japanese album version + Japan promotion
1 KRY album + 1 single promotion
1 solo album + 1 single promotion
3 OST songs
Plus this solo release
(Gee, what have we done in the past 14 months?)
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Plus he also makes pretty regular videos for his YouTube channel…
(Well, I’ve watched almost everything he did the last 14 months or listened to his music 😃)
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Yes, also his youtube channel too, but that is just in his “free time” for “fun”.
KRY sure promoted their album last month everywhere, twice or thrice a day live performances.
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