Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Yeah yeah, this review is late as hell, but I honestly didn’t know Ong Seong Wu was like … a thing. That’s likely because I didn’t follow ‘Broduce 101‘ or WANNA ONE all that closely and didn’t think this was anybody notable, but while that caused me to push this to the backburner, it also led me to listen to “Gravity” with a relatively clean slate. I was pleasantly surprised with the result.
As alluded to in the title, I was struck by the maturity of his vocals in the verses, as he fit into the pensive mold perfectly and managed to captivate me as a listener. Despite the downbeat nature of it, I never felt disengaged from the song as the tension was palpable. While it still needed a payoff at some point, “Gravity” certainly set the table impressively.
The composition is important because if you were engaged in the song to this point like I was, then the chorus comes as a jubilant release of the pent up energy. However, if your eyes were glossing over, then it might be easy to write it off as solid but generic. Really, I feel like this song wouldn’t be out of place in the Top 40 in America, which some may see as an insult or indictment of the track, but I like K-pop because I like … well, pop. And this is a great pop song, thanks in large part to the emotional boon of a melody that it provides listeners.
Perhaps the hook could’ve used something with a bit more punch or creativity but it left an impression nevertheless and has stuck with me so far. “Gravity” does risk becoming a bit stale by the second go around of the chorus, but at that moment it switches up in the post-chorus with a vocal transition to create something a bit different, almost as if the producers knew the listener would be feeling the repetitiveness of the hook. Well timed.
Ong Seong Woo isn’t pushing boundaries here, but not every artist has to. “Gravity” is simply an addictive pop track with a surprising amount of heft to it, and if he simply continues to put out quality efforts like that it’ll be hard to deny him his place among soloists even if he doesn’t evolve further. Considering he’s still at the beginning stages of his career, it’s a promising start.
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TheBiasList thought it was solid but not memorable, wishing he had done something to distinguish himself.
