[Review] Little Light – DOYOUNG (NCT)

It is a new week. And that comes with new comebacks and debuts. Kicking it off this week is DOYOUNG’s solo debut with the single Little Light and his first studio length album YOUTH. DOYOUNG becomes the fifth member of NCT after TAEYONG, MARK, TEN and JAEHYUN to have some sort of a solo career outside of their NCT works, which spans across NCT, NCT U and NCT 127 discography. If I also read correctly, we will be expecting more NCT solo works this year. We already have TAEYONG’s TAP and TEN’s Nightwalker (which I have yet to review) this year, and JAEHYUN is preparing a solo album himself.

But today’s focus is on DOYOUNG’s Little Light. The track is described as a band song with powerful guitar riffs (according to SOOMPI), which is an accurate description for Little Light. I would have also thrown in a ‘refreshing’, ‘revitalising’ and/or ‘uplifting’ descriptor into the mix when describing Little Light. When I first heard the song, I thought how nice some strings would have been in the background (particularly at the end of Little Light) and that led me to think of LUCY’s work (a South Korean band that I have reviewed before who is known for their use of strings in their band tracks). It turns out that Little Light is co-written by Cho Won Sang from LUCY! As for DOYOUNG, he sounds really nice. Not only does his vocal tone showcases those extra descriptive words I mentioned at the start of this section, I like how he presents himself throughout Little Light. There is a bit of a range with some some powerful notes, high notes and even some falsetto. Each were well used and at the right time, furthering Little Light as a captivating track. I do wish there was a bit more consistency within the melodies in Little Light to make it feel more cohesive. But as it stands, Little Light ticks off many boxes for me, especially the idea of it being a band track with a refreshing vibe.

The lyrics to Little Light talks about how a little light can lead someone to their hopes and dreams . Certain lines of the song speak about how it needs to be lit, is it can be the dimmest light you can ever find, or even be a star in the sky that is miles away etc. It is all quite clever imagery and presents to us the idea that little light can be something different for all of us. In the video, DOYOUNG goes searching for his little light, which he does come across a number of times. He goes chasing after it, but he loses sight of it just as many times as he spots it. But as it is his little light, it does come back to him to lead him forward. DOYOUNG went through windy conditions at one point, and also trips and grazes his face/hand. At one point, he almost gives up on his search. All of this represents the tribulations and journey we all must go on that is life. But in a happy ending, he finds his light and follows it to a hidden area that has even more little lights. While not shown, these lights somehow take him home. But before we think it all a dream, DOYOUNG notices his hands (and we can see his face) are still scraped, which alludes to the fact that journey he went through the previous night (i.e., life) still occurred. I also notice that the little light in the video is green in colour, which is also NCT’s colour. And I have a feeling that all those little lights that become one big light might be reference to the NCT fanclub. I also enjoyed the scenery and the aesthetic of band instruments behind him in the scenes where he is singing into a microphone. What a stunning backdrop.

Song – 9.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.3/10