[Review] I’ll Never Love Again – WOODZ

It has been a while since we last heard from WOODZ. The last time I reviewed him was for his previous comeback, Amnesia, from 2023, before his military enlistment. More recently, WOODZ unexpectedly resurged on the charts this year with Drowning from his 2023 Oo-Li mini-album (which I never reviewed, but I did review its pre-release and lead singles). This week, WOODZ made his first official comeback since completing his military enlistment, I’ll Never Love Again.

WOODZ really puts himself out there with I’ll Never Love Again. This song begins soothingly, almost like a ballad. The vocals in this moment are soft and delicate. Still in the first verse, WOODZ earns his first wow from me when the song briefly introduces the intense rock guitar riff and his passionate vocals. From then on, I’ll Never Love Again provides a little more to itself to make it richer, before leading into the song’s ultimate form—a powerful rock song. Again, I love WOODZ’s passionate display throughout I’ll Never Love Again. He doesn’t hold back his emotions, and this elevates I’ll Never Love Again to new heights. The raspiness of his vocals, especially during the song’s most intense moments, adds so much texture and colour to the song. The gospel choir and its influence in the background provide the rock song with additional depth and dimension, making it even better. And I love its satisfying end. WOODZ did a fantastic job with this single, and I hope that everyone else can also appreciate it in I’ll Never Love Again.

The lyrics of I’ll Never Love Again speak to the emotions one experiences at the end of a relationship, with WOODZ expressing the idea that someone may choose not to love again if it ends in heartbreak. Within the music video, we see multiple couples experience love and heartbreak, with WOODZ cleaning up after his own heartbreak (the fire and mess represent potential thoughts and emotions he may have had during the moment of his own heartbreak). What I really liked about the video is that it doesn’t just show young love, but also depicts an elderly couple (where the older man is experiencing poor health), love for a pet and even a hobby (which I think is what the photoshoot scenes are about). It shows us love comes in many forms, as well as heartbreak. What makes this more interesting are the comments WOODZ made in relation to the song (as summarised in the SOOMPI article): “The song reflects on the moment of a final breakup or the end of love, and asks: ‘If that moment comes, would you choose that love again—or not?“. This makes the video a lot more thought-provoking than expected.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.6/10