Song Review: Hui – BINGO

Though Hui is most well-known as the leader and main vocalist of Pentagon, he’s also the pen behind some fantastic K-pop tracks from other artists. We have him to thank for Wanna One’s Energetic, for example. Because of this, I’m always interested to hear his solo work. He knows his way around a good pop melody, and new single BINGO draws upon that skill. This year has been very light on summer bangers — the kind of pinwheeling pop songs that used to be a stalwart of the season. BINGO throws its hat into the ring, bursting forth with a bright energy. Stabs of celebratory synth brass and an incessantly peppy beat place us in familiar summer territory as rhythm guitar adds a dose of funk. This is about as upbeat as you can imagine and may irritate those who find it too cheesy. I’m on the fence about the B-I-N-G-O part of the chorus, mostly because spelling out words is usually quite annoying in pop songs. Apart from that, this track is pretty airtight. I love the second half of the hook, where Hui draws upon peaks of falsetto to give BINGO an exciting dynamic. I’m also heartened by the presence of a bridge, made even better by Hui’s powerful vocal. It’s always nice (and increasingly ...