Song Review: Kai (EXO) – Adult Swim

With Kai serving his mandatory military enlistment, it’s been just over two years since I’ve gotten to write about one of his solo singles. But now that he’s back, he’s wasted no time getting into the studio. A new mini album is on the way with pre-release Adult Swim tiding us over in the meantime.

This isn’t fair to Kai at all, but I often crave something different from his solo music. The world is so short on a certain kind of virtuosic male popstar that dotted pop music’s past. I’m thinking Michael Jackson, Prince, George Michael, Usher — or in K-pop terms, Taemin. It’s much more common for these acts to embrace a moodier, vibier sound that feels deliberately modest. To me, this simply belies their talent. Such is the case with Kai and Adult Swim. The song seems aimed for maximum virality, hinging on a spoken-word, catchphrase hook that literally anyone repeat. That’s the thing, though. I want popstars to deliver work that I can’t replicate. That’s the fun in being a fan!

Even by these standards, Adult Slim is quite slight. Beyond its mumbled hook, the track offers a muted verse over percussion that’s feeling more and more generic within SM Entertainment’s recent output. The melodies are so-so, killing time but never offering interesting turns or flourishes. Adult Swim begins to pick up toward its finale, but even here the song relies on clipped, repetitive hooks that don’t elicit much of anything. In another world, this style could be repurposed into something hypnotic and compelling. But for as exciting a performer as Kai is, Adult Swim is doing very little for me. Maybe SM should have spent his enlistment time crafting the biggest, best comeback song they could find.

Grade: C-