After Ascend-, ZB1 in its current state began solo endeavors while still being part of a group. Word on the curb that next year will be the full group comeback even with Jiwoong having landed acting roles. While Taerae has yet to begin solo endeavors pertaining to music, Gunwook, Matthew, Hanbin and Jiwoong have all released music by this post being published.
Here's what's being reviewed:
- Matthew and Gunwook's official subunit of ZB1 known as EMP and their EP...sorry, "mixtape" We the Extra.
- Hanbin's solo debut EP, DEAD:ALIVE.
- Jiwoong's now 4 solo songs with commercial release ahead of his intended December 14th EP as part of a birthday stunt.
Largely, thank christ the group is releasing music in some capacity but after Ascend- left them shortchanged and that disappointing Return to Love mess, these releases did garner hype but wildly different reception (at least to me, but my blog my rules.)
First up, a mixed bag of a mixtape from Matthew and Gunwook in We the Extra.
It's no secret really that Matthew and Gunwook heavily fuck with R&B and Hip-Hop flavored music. Yeah, they're Asian and have "whiteboy flow" but that's not entirely what this blasted mixtape is. At 4 tracks, it seems lean but it's a symbolic victory in that Gunwook continues their songwriting and production efforts (and Matthew gets to bone up his résumé with songwriting and production here.) However, it's the time these two singers actually sing that this mixtape has a positive attribute. More on that in a bit, let's just go over the other three tracks.
"EMP", "Woofer" and "Pina C" each offer varied attempts at what can be best described as "Hands in the AYER" level pop flavored hip-hop/rap labeled tracks. "Woofer" being the most blatant "so much sauce we drippin' 'swagu'" of it and not the worst thing I've ever heard, but definitely something that spelled out the exact reason why We the Extra is a mixtape and not an EP.
"EMP" basically manages to be a slightly more useful attempt at opening a release since "Intro" from Ascend- was rendered useless. It is energetic enough to have the listener use it as a litmus test for how much "what it do shawty" levels of pop/rap applied to music they can withstand. It's basically all the swagger of "V For Vision" but without the polish that made that song a well concerted effort.
"Pina C" made sense as the title track, given it does split the difference between EMP being singers by trade and "rap matical, mathematical" spitting rhymes 'n stuff off the clock. It highlights a unique anomaly within pop music: that those who make pop music, don't listen to it on their own time. There's enough about "Pina C" that makes sense as the title track, as it has the least amount of problems with the quote unquote hip-hop/rap flavored sound they were going for. Plus as the closing track, EMP got their sequencing right instead of the group and that should be read as a scathing indictment against both Ascend- and especially Blue Paradise.
Finally, "In Your Rain" saves the fucking day by presenting and frankly reminding people that the members of ZB1 are singers. It's labeled as R&B/Pop and for once that label isn't entirely marketing. It does sound like relatively contemporary pop flavored R&B, so there's a better execution of music Matthew and Gunwook love and appreciate. Plus, it's a moment Matthew (or really his fans, Seokryudans*) have been clamoring for. Go with me here, we have to revisit Never Say Never a bit.
Aside from the mixtape name referring to the album's unit track "EXTRA", it was "Long Way Back" that garnered more favor. It was also the track that Matthew personally loved, despite not being on it (even singing a bit of it in a livestream.) This was also when Seokryudans* wished Matthew was on "Long Way Back" as well because of how much he loved how well crafted the song was.
*side note, fandom within KPOP is weird as shit, as members of the group have their own fanbase. I don't remember all of the solo stan names of ZB1 in its heyday but they also include "Rosins" (Hao solo stans), "Riyangis" (Ricky solo stans), "Allindans" (Hanbin solo stans) and Woongdeongies (Jiwoong solo stans). Matthew's solo stan name is a play on his last name and the fact that "seokryu" is Korean for pomegranate and "dan" means group. Like, a group of Matthew stans are like "pomegranate seeds".
This is also not the most out there solo stan name I've heard to date, as Kotoko from the now disbanded group UNIS, referred to her solo stans as "Takoz" (because her favorite food/one of her favorite foods is takoyaki.)
With regard to Matthew's vocal ability, his boyish tone works in his favor but was not the tea for "Long Way Back". That song needed punchy, rounded, muscular vocals that can hit diva level high notes. Let's put it this way, if Hanbin and his deceptively vast vocal range wasn't on "Long Way Back", Matthew had no real chance to land a part on the song. Hao and Taerae were exactly the punchy voiced divas needed for that song, along with Ricky and Jiwoong's emotional connection to the song and their uniquely adept, fluttery, syrupy vocals.
However, "In Your Rain" is the perfect song for boyish vocals like Matthew and Gunwook to let rip on because of what that song needed: clear, projected, rounded vocals that can sell the song. Sure, two things working against this song are the rap or "clearly not singing but not quite rapping either" bits and the under 3:00 runtime for an R&B flavored number. However, at 2:46, this feels less egregious than most other sub-3:00 songs and is certainly not 2:30 and lower TikPop pandering.
If you're wanting something energetic and sounds like workout music, give this a whirl at your discretion. Otherwise, take "In Your Rain" and beeline it out of there.
Next up, Hanbin's solo debut effort, DEAD:ALIVE.
Initially, when word of a solo Hanbin effort made waves, I was as intrigued as the other ZB1 fans. Hanbin as mentioned in Part 1 of the ZB1 Discography review, is the all-rounder with a lean to dance. Something I neglected to mention was that this man has about 700 side hustles per square mile. Aside from attending college as a psychology major (which is something entertainment industry talent should be allowed to complete for free at this rate), Hanbin is a licensed barista, dog walker, astronaut, shopkeep, gardener, lion tamer, dance teacher, fortune teller, butcher, birthday clown, longshoreman, yoga instructor, marine biologist, cabaret performer, makeup artist, nail tech, scribe, TV host, hairstylist and sex advice columnist. Alright, he's only three of these things, but try to narrow down what those are.
October 12th saw Hanbin's debut title track "UNDEAD" along with DEAD:ALIVE be released. No one could guess where the fuck this debut was going, especially with the teaser video and highlight medley being decidedly darker and more severe than what ZB1's usual aesthetic cues do. Hanbin had previously done OST work, namely "You Are Spring" and the OST songs I didn't cover in the discography review (K-drama fare, not that I couldn't attempt to get into them but none of them were BL, therefore iDoNotCare.)
The tracklist for DEAD:ALIVE reads as follows:
- "Killin' Me"
- "UNDEAD"
- "Insidious"
- "3AM"
- "Bloody Gravity"
- "Other Side"
- "섬광" [this meaning "Our Light"]
- "Steal the Thunder"
Well damn, so much for subtlety. Granted, there was a nagging sense of "this isn't quite swaggerjacking or copycatting but...are he and Heeseung/Evan acquainted with one another?" from the visuals presented. For those who don't know, Evan was a member of Enhypen and just debuted as a solo act with his release Death of Me back in September of 2026. Both are decidedly more severe than their previous efforts in a group. Here's a fundamental difference, and it has to do with where they are as soloists.
Hanbin has more flexibility creatively, because his home agency The L1VE isn't a big ticket name agency. Evan is a HYBE artist and you know any big ticket agency or label isn't too keen on so much flexibility (even for artists they invest in.) It's not entirely "nugu vs. fly guy", but those not under the biggest magnifying glass can attain a more forgiving audience.
As for what "UNDEAD" gave off within 2:52, it was what Evan needed for his debut in terms of energy...or at least something underneath the visuals. Hanbin's singing again, masks a deceptively vast vocal range. The song still feels truncated and cut off from say a high note or one last proper stab at the chorus. You know, what he did at the end of "ICONIK". The fact that a debut solo track can be cut off and people are expected to go with it (especially on something promising) is just another ugly, scathing indictment against the current music industry landscape.
DEAD:ALIVE as a debut effort sadly disappoints in terms of having short song lengths, with 3 tracks being under 2:30, notably the opener "Killin' Me" being 1:12 long. If this were an intro and labeled as such hey fine whatever, but eww at the song length. Despite being disgustingly short as a non intro labeled song, "Killin' Me" does a good job in opening the EP (which is another whacking for Ascend- and especially Blue Paradise.)
As for the other DEAD:ALIVE tracks, the other songs under 2:30 are "3AM" and "Our Light". "Bloody Gravity" and "Steal the Thunder" are over 3:00 which thank GOD on principal. But onto "Insidious" and "Other Side" as those are the remaining under 3:00 songs that don't completely piss me off with being 2:46 and 2:47 "respectively."
"Insidious" is straight-up 80s synthpop with a slight peppering of city pop. I can somewhat forgive the song length given "Die 4 U" by Prince is just as short but just as ruthlessly efficient. Again, somewhat forgive, because Jade's "Plastic Box" is 80s synthpop but at over 3 minutes. However, "Insidious" is the perfect song for Hanbin's vocals. Production with legroom for rounded, disciplined vocals is forever a winning formula for a reason.
"Other Side" is another cute addition, but this is case of the song length biting it in the ass. Just when something gets good toward the end, the song cuts off. Sure, the song may not have called for a bitchin' guitar solo or any rock out moment. When the song plays like a soundtrack song not actually featured in the movie, that's just appalling. It's not enough to have me hate the song, but it's underbaked.
The less said about "3AM" and its "Sexyback" but in a TikTok edit style sound, the better. It's forced macho meets "hornyposting to Twitter for attention" and the fact this even made the EP is an alarming lapse of quality control.
"Bloody Gravity" would then proceed to do "3AM" but leagues better, while showing off Hanbin's clear vocals but incorporating sex appeal into the mix (but still feeling natural.) By this point, the EP does a fabulous job of injecting pop/rock flavoring into a release of someone whose singing can still come across as a bit "technical" but still good. Think back to Part 1 of the ZB1 discography review for this part.
I had mentioned that music producers tend to listen to a group and then determine who gets to sing what, based on whose voice offers the most to work with. The term for such a voice is malleable (like what foil does to a plate of leftover food or leftover food in general.) A malleable voice is one that sounds great across multiple genres or styles within a genre, which in terms of versatility can be fantastic. However, there's a slight caveat to this, in that someone with a malleable voice will always technically match the energy the song requires.
Feeling or the emotive property of a song is something that malleable voices or "technical" singers miss. Hanbin is about the closest one could get to hearing a malleable or "technical" singer put feeling into the song [it's not stiff because he has learned what his voice sounds like and is using it to his advantage; plus, it's not entirely theatrical like say Seungeon when he sang "AJU NICE" on Boys Planet.] There is still however a slight feeling of "he can do this on any song, so what makes this special" or "he has just as much oomph on this as he does those OST ballads." It's a type of earnest, concerted effort every singer should have but to untrained ears can have him sound stiff or without feeling, which isn't the case.
"Our Light" is perfectly fine but sounds more like a rough draft or B-side to one of those OST songs he did. At least it's useful in beefing up his résumé with a songwriting and composer credit.
"Steal the Thunder" rounds off the EP as a wonderful closer. Well, energy wise, it does a good job closing the EP. Does it sound just this side of a "summer is just around the corner" travel ad to the Bahamas? Yes. Is this a bad tradeoff for closing an EP? Not entirely, because this can be applied for the next ZB1 comeback with a note of "DO BETTER WITH SEQUENCING."
If you want a cohesive mostly pop/rock flavored release, DEAD:ALIVE should be up your alley. Take what you can get from this EP, I know I did with "Insidious" and "Bloody Gravity".
Now onto "Closer", the first of four to date commercial singles for Jiwoong.
July 14th marked the beginning of a stunt that Jiwoong had devised in-between group activities and his venturing back into acting. Why the 14th of the month you ask, it's a bit of a complicated mess but go with me. Sometimes in KPOP, a member of a group releases music as a special release for the fans to celebrate their birthday. iCannot explain why that is or why they don't attempt to make it commercial so that more than their fans enjoy it. Let's quote RandomJ 3:16: Girl. Fire the whole management and marketing team.
Other members of ZB1 have released non-commercial singles too, namely Hanbin, Matthew and Gunwook. Hanbin with "Bad Boy", Matthew with "Say Yes" and "Love Ain't Easy" and Gunwook with "Placebo" and "Day After Day".
Jiwoong's birthday is December 14th. I don't understand the Korean age system as it has members of KPOP groups listed as one year older than they are, so as it stands, Jiwoong is 27 going on 28 (even though Korea has it as 28 going on 29.) He first released a non-commercial single, "Stand by me" in 2024 to celebrate turning 26. I'm telling you right now, this is his best song and I am mystified this hasn't been released commercially. "1214°C" came in 2025, and more on that later.
But then, July 14th came about with the surprise release of "Closer" and double surprise that the song was available for commercial release. As it stands, this song does nothing for him. Something pervasive with Jiwoong is that he is able to sing, but his vocals are syrupy, emotive and punchy under airtight productions. "And I", "Take My Hand", "SWEAT", "Yura Yura (Unmei no Hana)", "Checkmate", "Long Way Back", "Changes", "Exotic" and especially "Stand by me" are proof he has it in him with quality control being applied.
"Closer" was just a mess of a debut song as there was no solid identity established between what kind of music suited him (management skill issue if you ask me) and the visuals that help tie it in. Things get better from here but not by much per release. Although something to note here and for all his solo songs, he's a credited lyricist, meaning Jiwoong is beefing up his résumé and then some.
Enter the August 14th released, "Sign".
In terms of musical identity, the song does a better job of displaying his unique vocals. "Sign" is a bit beige to establish or keep momentum going. That and something that came up here the hardest is that, god bless him for trying but his grasp on English is so spotty. He has a case of the Namie Amuro, where they can speak English but you need to be on your game as to how it's said to them and what they deliver. Because sweet merciful god, I thought this was Amuro singing "Let Me Let You Go" levels of janky English.
In terms of musical identity, this is the closest at capturing Jiwoong's penchant for anything sentimental and emotional. Again, production being listless and airy is not helping support his unique vocals. Vibey music in general needs to be abolished right with dance challenge or TikPop level nonsense.
By this point, the disconnect between song and packaging can be traced to the 2025 released "1214°C". When "1214°C" was released, a notable clashing of elements took place. The song was pretty close to what Jiwoong had always liked, but then the video was a mess. Not even accounting that the song had a gorgeous piano intro that switched to some mid-tempo "unusually dancey for an Adult Contemporary song", there was relatively intense choreography for a song that does not require that.
It also played into something I squarely blame on Tyra Banks: when she said out loud on Cycle 17 of America's Next Top Model, "These days, we hear music with our eyes." I've gone into agonizing detail about this in the reviews of That's Showbiz Baby, Detour and PRIMA but the gist of it is, there's too many contradictory elements within pop packaging.
Then comes September 14th and "DRIVE".
This is not technically awful. It's at least somewhat energetic but still sounding like vibey after-sex music. Aesthetically, it plays into Jiwoong's entrancing sex appeal. Musically, it downplays his vocal ability for some attempt at smooth lounge. Again, all of this is on production for not remembering who their client is. Performances ranging from his BL songs "I'll be" and co-feature "Dream of You" to "Stand by me" and the aforementioned ZB1 songs: "And I", "Take My Hand", "SWEAT", "Yura Yura (Unmei no Hana)", "Checkmate", "Long Way Back", "Changes", "Exotic"...shit, even that remake of "The Sea" has better usage of Jiwoong's vocals.
The songs have been under 3 minutes, but because they're not showcasing all of Jiwoong properly, I'm not clamoring for them to be longer.
Then comes the most recent release, "잊지 못해" which thanks to online Woongdeongies means "Don't Forget" Sky Ferreira's impact
And in a turn of events, this song is good. Plus it's 2:53 or the closest to 3:00 which THANK GOD FOR THAT. "Don't Forget" has the exact kind of pop/rock sound that worked wonders for him on "Stand by me", down to the fact it compliments his voice beautifully. Although his team needs rightful scolding for getting it right ON THE FOURTH TRY. How have you seen your client in a group, with two non-commercially released singles and then fuck up three in a row? It's frankly a relief that the member of ZB1 with a unique vocal ability ends up getting it right at the 11th hour.
And in a turn of events, this song is good. Plus it's 2:53 or the closest to 3:00 which THANK GOD FOR THAT. "Don't Forget" has the exact kind of pop/rock sound that worked wonders for him on "Stand by me", down to the fact it compliments his voice beautifully. Although his team needs rightful scolding for getting it right ON THE FOURTH TRY. How have you seen your client in a group, with two non-commercially released singles and then fuck up three in a row? It's frankly a relief that the member of ZB1 with a unique vocal ability ends up getting it right at the 11th hour.
However, this is also because "Don't Forget" is basically "Stand by me" with a proper release. Never mind the fact that for all the other songs I mentioned, there's something about pop/rock flavorings that suit his penchant for emotional sentimentality for the best.
What are the rightful hits that need to be taken? 2/3 of the projects/release patterns with demonstrative quality control issues and improper development. I have no goddamn clue why there are six songs between EMP and Jiwoong that do nothing for them except channel "oh hot daiiiiiiiiyum, this is my jaiiiiiiiiiiiiyum / party on up until the AYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUM" level not-quite-rapping-but-for-sure-is-not-singing and "vibe" based on flimsy production tricks and woefully inconsistent grasps of English.
With Hanbin, there's potential that wasn't explored but have some promise. All that before remembering that "3AM" is utterly abominable. Visually, he's the most cohesive even if you ignore the admittedly surface level comparisons to Evan's debut made in this post.
So, what are the positives of the solo releases thus far? Creativity being explored and songwriting credits for members. Not everything has hit, given four songs total across three projects/release patterns is fucking terrifying. However, these hits do remind the listener of the fact that ZB1 members are singers by trade. Everyone has to have an airtight packaging to get it right, but when it's right, there are songs here they should be proud to have to their name.
Highlights:
- "In Your Rain" 🥇
- "Don't Forget" 🏆
- "Bloody Gravity" 💎
- "Insidious" 🥇
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