ZEROBASEONE has come a long way from their first debut album, establishing themselves as a force within the new generation of K-pop. Why, you may ask? One word—CINEMA PARADISE. The latter is easily one of the best k-pop albums of 2024, and many who had doubted them had no choice but turn their heads. I don’t have to explain myself here—the album speaks for itself.
Expectations are high for their upcoming Korean album, and its pre-release Doctor! Doctor! proves why they are a group worth following.
The song begins with a blatant reminder of what makes ZEROBASEONE such a powerhouse: their vocalists. The lyrics are a cheese fest (“Doctor, doctor help me”), but Zhang Hao’s power vocal, strong, masculine, yet vulnerable, serves as an evocative opening to the track. The melody is instantaneously catchy, and it only grows catchier with time.
As the song moves onto its mid-tempo, almost plodding verse 1, the song seems to be standard RnB fare. But when the pre-chorus comes with Matthew’s heartfelt vocal line, (“And I give it all”), I’m reminded once more that this is a ZEROBASEONE release. The melody is rich and emotionally charged, and it makes the overall package of the song much more believable. The distinct tonal quality of Matther’s voice only amplifies all the aforementioned qualities.
As the chorus comes in, the opening melody returns, this time, with synths backing certain moments for emphasis. Other instrumentals come in as well, and the song’s essense seems to reveal itself for the first time.
As the second verse comes in, the production becomes sparse, giving way for Matthew’s rap verse. I’m sure many ZB1 fans share the same sentiment as I do—Matthew rapping was not on our 2024 bingo card. But here he is, doing a convincingly good job. Many argue whether or not this section adds to the song, but I think this switch up adds a much needed variation to juxtapose the standard first verse. Better yet, Gunwook’s rap verse uses a different flow and style, expanding the melodic and rhythmic range of the song.
While the outro is cute fun, I’m not sure if I was fully convinced at first listen. Particularly, Yujin’s delivery did not completely sell me as much as Gyuvin’s did (props to him, by the way!). However, I don’t mind at this point in time.
The song ends rather quickly, but when I look back at everything that is in it, almost nothing feels redundant, and the final package feels much more satisfying than I expected.
Doctor! Doctor! will never be my favorite ZB1 song, but it is quite solid.
Note: From now on, the overall score will not be reflected by the average of the specific scores of Hooks, Production, and Vocal and Rap Delivery as I have found that the resulting scores often feel unrepresentative of what I actually feel about the song overall. This also helps explain some of the weird placements of my Top 40 K-pop songs list. Hence you can think about the individual aspect scores more as a place to showcase which parts a song can be commended for, even if I don’t like the overall product as much. And as always, my feelings towards any song are subject to change.
Hooks – 9
Production – 8
Vocal and Rap Delivery – 10
Overall – 8.5
K-pop Evaluated 
Leave a comment