Whew. The day has come. My most anticipated day of 2023 with regards to K-pop. The winning group that formed from Boys Planet, ZEROBASEONE, has debuted.
If one lurks within the K-pop online community anywhere, whether it be reddit, twitter, or YouTube, one will realise that the hype for this group is absolutely insane. They broke several long-held record records even before debut, and they already surpassed 1 million sales for their debut album. On the day of their debut. It is absolutely unbelievable, even for me, a pre-debut fan.
So here is the million dollar question- was their debut worth all the hype? I would say so.
Just from its short intro, one can tell that ZEROBASEONE is gonna be a different kind of boy group. The synths in the opening emanated qualities reminiscent of their produce-group seniors – particularly the girl group IZ*ONE– who were known for their more elegant, classy and flowery concept and songs. I would say their signature track, ‘Violeta‘, would be the perfect example to refer to so you could get an idea of what I mean, especially if you have never listened to an IZ*ONE song.
I listen to many k-pop songs every day, checking out both old and new releases so I can expand my K-pop soundscape and simply churn out better reviews. In my perspective, I have yet heard of a recent boy group song that sounds like ‘In Bloom’. Or at least, one that sticks in my memory.
The song starts off slightly tame, with Zhang Hao and Jiwoong’s vocals. However, towards the end of Jiwoong’s verse, the top line goes up, the vocal delivery shifts from a lighter placement to one with more chest engagement and tone shining through, and the piano and fast percussion enters with exuberant vibrance, pushing the song forward effortlessly and amping up the energy in preparation for the next verse.
The verse swells slightly as the fast percussion increases in volume, before dropping in energy for the pre-chorus, which introduces the iconic ‘Take On Me’ sample (originally by A-ha) to its instrumental. I find the pre-chorus to be the most interesting part of the song, at least in the musical aspect. It opts for an unusual structure, playing the main riff of the instrumental while simultaneously layering a somewhat isolated vocal line with it. The boys attempt to sound sensual, and it was successful. It was quite unexpected to be honest, but after a few listens, I can see why it works. The song needed to drop at least once before the chorus happens so that it can fulfil its very name, ‘In Bloom’, for when the chorus hits, the song ‘blooms’ with it. The way each section supports the next is very telling of how well-produced the song is.
In my humble opinion, the chorus is an absolute earworm. It has already been teased in the MV teasers, and it has been stuck in my head since. I greatly appreciate how the chorus melody does not rely on the ‘Take On Me’ sample and actually built upon the foundation it gave and created a fleshed-out and proper melody that does not feel incomplete. It may be cliche and pretentious to say this, but ‘In Bloom’ feels like an actual song. It’s like the producers went back to the basic building blocks of songwriting step by step. I will always nod my head to a strong melodic chorus in K-pop. The post-chorus is something I am slightly less enthusiastic about (my pet peeve of the use of ‘ohhhh’ in K-pop songs), but because it is Ricky’s voice (which I love), as well as the fact that it maintains its streamlined energy through and through, makes me quite forgiving towards it. I also appreciate the group chant they do at the end. It brings it all together.
For those who are tired of second-verse rap breakdowns, or just second verses loosing momentum in either its production or top line, there is a high chance you will appreciate In Bloom’s streamlined and consistent approach, letting some of the energy from the chorus bleed into the second verse. As the boys throw in some more difficult vocal lines that show their prowess, the fast percussion continues to swell, making the next pre-chorus drop even more satisfying than the first.
As for the bridge, I really like how they kept up the trend that echoed how the beginning of the song went. It started slow, and again, made use of the percussion to create a swell, but varied it in the top line by introducing a well-executed chant-rap that alternated between 4 members (because they were actually on beat xD). Just before the last chorus hits, the sample riff plays ones more, and it becomes quite easy to get the song’s hooks stuck in your head. Even as the song seems to end, it decides to take its time with an outro that delivers more vocals as if to keep reminding us that yes, they can sing.
Speaking of which, you know what frustrates me? The noticeable vocal processing used. Look, I get it. I really do. It is pitched quite high. Most boy groups would sound really flimsy when singing it raw. Hence, they would lather these effects to make up for it. The best example I can give you of this trend in action is in Astro’s excellent ‘Candy Sugar Pop‘. The song is great, but the layers of processing really hold me back from absolutely loving the song. However, I could understand why they did it as Astro is not a technically adept vocal group. This however, is not the case with ZEROBASEONE. Zhang Hao and Taerae surpass the majority of main vocalists technique-wise in this recent generation of K-pop groups, and the rest of the group have some sort of foundation. There was no need to be so heavy handed in the processing especially in the higher notes as it is simply not necessary.
There is a way to process the vocals and make them sound clean, but this particular style simply does nothing to enhance how they sound. This is particularly prevalent in the MV, so I’d highly recommend you listen to the Spotify version for the best listening experience. It is still noticeable there, but it is better.
However, other than that, I don’t have any complaints about the song so far, even as I try to take a more objective point of view and reduce my inherent bias.
ZEROBASEONE has managed to successfully deliver my favourite debut title track of 2023 through ‘In Bloom’, going from strength to strength as it mixes both modern and more traditional songwriting and production flourishes that make it an easy stand out among what K-pop currently has to offer.
Hooks – 9
Production – 9
Vocal Delivery – 10
Rap/Chant Delivery – 10
Overall – 9.5
I have also listened to the album, and I will say, ‘In Bloom’ is not even my favourite song. Keep your eyes out for an in-depth album review coming up soon! It might have already surpassed Cravity’s MASTER: PIECE as my favourite album of the year.
Update: Album Review can be found here.
Last but not least, as a big fan and not on the lens of a critic, I just want to say a massive congratulations to ZEROBASEONE for their mega-successful debut. They deserve all their success and I only look forward to what the next 2.5 years will bring. Part of me already wishes that they would be a permanent group, but that is something to worry about in the future.
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