[Review] Smoke – JAEHYUN (NCT)

I flip back to the start of the week when JAEHYUN made his official solo debut with the single Smoke and his first studio album, J. Previously, JAEHYUN teased his solo debut a week ago through a unique music video combining the tracks Dandelion and Roses into one video. Through the NCT Lab project, he has also released other solo singles (Forever Only and Horizon).

Smoke ventures into the hip-hop side of the R&B genre. This shouldn’t be a surprise, given that JAEHYUN has shone under the R&B spotlight before (see his pre-release singles). And it makes sense for him to do something a little different, like infusing a bit of hip-hop into the folds of Smoke, rather than just doing straightforward R&B (which we got two sides of last week). While this sounds good, I don’t think it is well executed (more on that in a second). I must really highlight the guitar present throughout the track. It added rhythm to push the song along. Towards the end of the song, we hear a jazzy instrumental background come into the mix, which I thought was an excellent trajectory for the track. The piano here really sounded great! The Smoke‘s verses and bridge were fine. R&B comes through strongest during the verses, and JAEHYUN sounds like he is in his element. On the other hand, the choruses of Smoke were questionable. The hip-hop style becomes more prevalent here, and I like the deep, bouncy beat of the central piece. But his spoken delivery just didn’t do it for me. It takes away the sultry flow of the R&B building in the verses and leaves a void that wants to be filled. It also dulls the song, which I found to be an issue in the performances. I get that such a chorus is an attempt to do something different (as noted above), but ‘doing something different’ shouldn’t detract from the rest of the song. Smoke‘s chorus then leaves another problem – how does Smoke reclaim its glory and stand out positively? I don’t think it has the means to. The only logical part of Smoke to look towards is the verses. But while I do like the verses, I don’t think the verses were as memorable as the void-creating choruses and could not have compensated for the choruses. I guess JAEHYUN should have just kept to Roses.

I am confused about how the music video and song relate. The song’s lyrics invite one’s lover on a sexy car trip. But the music video tells a reimagined story of Narcissus, a Greek mythology of someone falling in love with his own reflection. In the video, JAEHYUN plays a narcissist who desires to escape the “suffocating gaze of the outside world and face oneself” (this quote is taken from JAEHYUN’s commentary on the video – see the pinned comment in the YouTube comments for the video). Hence, he tapes or covers up all the gaps, holes, cameras, windows and mirrors in his room. But the narcissist he is, he ends up watching himself in his own mirror and sees his reflection in the bathtub. He is then interrupted by a person knocking on the door. Narcissistic JAEHYUN struggles with the constant knocking (and his desire mentioned above) and escapes through the couch, taking him into a different world to live out his desired life (which I guess replaces the part of Narcissus’ story where he disappears). The person knocking is revealed to be another JAEHYUN (dressed in white), which I guess represents the white flower that sprouts in the same place where Narcissus disappears in Greek mythology. In the video, the JAEHYUN in white ventures out into the world in place of the narcissist JAEHYUN we saw throughout the video. JAEHYUN’s acting throughout the video was very good, particularly when he struggled with his reflection in the mirror. The noir vibe of the video was also quite exciting and an aesthetic way of portraying this story.

I applaud JAEHYUN for performing during a week of turmoil for his group. It definitely would not be easy on JAEHYUN, and he should be acknowledged for that. I like how the choreography vibes with the different parts of the song. While I am not a fan of the choruses in the song, the way that part comes through in the choreography is my favourite part of the routine. And I like how the jazzy instrumental at the end is used for JAEHYUN and his dancers to show their performance skills in this comeback.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10