In my review of ‘EASY’, I emphasised how the production’s lack of substance, both in terms of foundations, or interesting parts to listen, hindered it from being a stronger track. ‘Smart’ fares much better off.
To begin with, the melodies which was were used to construct the entirety of ‘Smart’ are inherently catchy. I did not need to listen to the song several times to appreciate its strengths. In fact, I only listened to ‘Smart’ once and the entirety of its melody, both verses and chorus, were already stuck in my head. Not to mention, it is catchy in the most pleasant way. Some songs get stuck in your head not because it is pleasant. Yet, I was willing to indulge my brain into the melodies of ‘smarter baby smarter’. I think that it is easily going to be one of the melodies that I will be remembering for the rest of the year and beyond. This was the same effect that NewJeans’ ‘Hypeboy’ and ‘Ditto’ had on me. Right of the bat, the foundations of ‘Smart’ are much stronger than ‘EASY’.
However, the production of ‘Smart’, though having a generally stronger foundation than ‘EASY’, still doesn’t have any particularly interesting aspects to note. It supports the top line well, but it doesn’t add much besides establishing the atmosphere of the track. Unlike ‘EASY’, which doesn’t really build to anything, ‘Smart’ does feel like the song progresses slightly from section to section, adding adlibs to the final chorus which feel needed and adds a nice touch. On the other hand, it uses autotune even more prominently than in ‘EASY’. Over time, I have grown to appreciate its stylistic effect, but I think it still wouldn’t hurt to turn it down slightly to improve its quality. Overall, its production definitely better than ‘EASY’, but it still suffers from similar weakness.
Finally, its vocal delivery was good for the most part. However, Yunjin’s voice during the adlibs of the final chorus does sound quite closed and restricted. Chaewon fares better off. Similar to what I said in my latest review, I hope she fixes her bad habits and strengthens her singing foundations.
Overall, ‘Smart’ is a great improvement from ‘EASY’. However, I know that LE SSERAFIM are capable of so much more.
Hooks – 10
Production – 8
Vocal Delivery – 8
Overall – 8.5
K-pop Evaluated 
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