K-Pop Songs of the Summer: SHINee- View*
Updated: May 19
Over time, the K-Pop Review community has grown from a few individuals into a full subset of the internet. Now, TheBiasList, Kbopped, 10/10 - Music, Hallyureviews, Jei’s Kulture Notes, Deforested Music, A Floating Realm in the Corner, 8.5 Music, and Kpopreviewed are working together, to create a series, where we review our favorite K-Pop summer song.
Be sure to check out everyone’s posts in the links below!
8.5 Music
Before I begin, let me thank 10/10 - Music for inviting me to participate in this collaboration. It's an honor to partake in this event with other like-minded people, making me feel welcome in the K-pop blogging community.
Now, let us move on to my review!
Background of Review
There are a lot of candidates I could've picked - BTS' Dope, Super Junior's Devil, Red Velvet's Red Flavor, etc. I could've been obvious and chosen one of Sistar's summer hits. The list of songs to review is endless!
That is when View came into play.
When thinking about what makes a song perfect for summer, I imagine the vocals and instrumental to sound lively, expecting a brass instrument. A summer song should be perfect for loudspeakers, played on the beach for people to dance to.
However, View is the opposite of what I described.
When hearing View, I imagine walking to a bar on a hazy summer evening. Once I enter, the song starts playing, slowly grabbing attention with its build-up. When the chorus arrives, people start grooving, not resisting its incredible hook. As a shy person, I also love to get into action. Therefore, I allow myself to be more open and dance the evening away without any worries.
That scenario comes to mind when listening to View.
What makes it so irresistible? It doesn't bring the same intensity as some other K-Pop summer tracks. To understand its value, let's go in-depth with its production.
Intro
The track opens up with an infectious synthesizer, setting up a calming, yet striking melody.
First Verse
The first verse is relatively short but provided tight vocal performances from Taemin and Onew. There's nothing passive about this section, yet the breathy deliveries are enticing to listen to.
Pre-Chorus
The pre-chorus picks things up a bit. While Key and Jonghyun offer great vocal melodies, the instrumental is the true backbone here. The ongoing synth from the intro alongside the percussion and rising synth effect make for an exciting build before the drop.
Chorus
We arrive at View's apex moment.
Compared to previous releases such as Why So Serious, Everybody, Dream Girl, and Sherlock, View presents a more subdued production. Despite not opting for another stadium-like sound, View still impresses with its combination of songwriting and instrumentation.
The repetition of "daun daun daun daun view" is the song's ultimate trump card. I think it's one of the best songwriting for choruses that K-Pop offers, presenting itself as a total earworm. The bassline underneath the melody provides a solid foundation for the chorus' appealing nature. It's brilliantly produced!
Post-Chorus
The song gets better with the post-chorus!
While the chorus is dominated by vocals, the post-chorus is all about the synthesizer.
Between the members singing "Neomu areumdaun" and Taemin spewing out three words, the synthesizer comes in to deliver a captivating melody. To add the cherry on top, this section ends with the elusive phrase "daun daun daun daun view".
Second Verse
Just like the first verse, the second verse is also short. Even though it only lasts 15 seconds, Jonghyun and Taemin made sure this section doesn't go to waste by offering stout and heavenly vocals.
The main difference I can pinpoint in this section is the addition of the percussion, making this verse livelier than the first. It's a cool little change that doesn't stand out much.
Bridge
The bridge, as always, offers us a chance to take a quick breather. Still, it's hard not to get swept up by the vocal performances of Taemin, Onew, and Jonghyun. Each delivers a sweeping vocal delivery, successfully showing what makes each shine on his own, all the while summing up a cohesive group effort.
Ending
The final 37 seconds of View focus more on the performance aspect of SHINee. It's not as high-energy as some of their other tracks, but its tempo and sound are tight enough to conjure a dance break.
Oh, and this section blesses us with the post-chorus synthesizer. Do I need to explain more?
Conclusion
Comparing this to Sherlock and Lucifer, View falls short of delivering something overwhelming. However, it realizes its strength by sounding simple yet effective. The vocals, songwriting, and instrumental created a K-Pop song that victoriously replicated the deep house genre.
Next up is Kpopreviewed. If you are reading this and aren't a part of this collaboration, I don't have any good hints about what song he's reviewing. The only thing I'll say is it came before this song.