[Review] DAY6 - Congratulations

JYP sure is liking his bands lately. The newest rookies of JYP Nation are DAY6, and thankfully, there are 6 members in the group. Considering that GOT7 had a very 2PM-esque debut with "Girls Girls Girls," and since the Wonder Girls take on the band concept wasn't as smooth as I would have liked, I didn't really know what to expect out of this group.

This is most certainly rock / pop rock, and I am very pleased. As someone who first discovered Younha with songs like "Houki Boshi," "Ima Ga Daisuki," and "Te Wo Tsunaide," "Congratulations" rings out familiar nostalgic vibes. The chorus is driven off the instruments, along with the chants powering behind the "congratulations." For a while, I wondered why GOT7 struggled with their vocalists, but turns out they were all waiting to debut under DAY6 ha. Seriously though, Sungjin and especially Jae definitely stand out with their voices and delivery. I'm not sure how I feel about the rap from Young K. It's not bad, and I'm convincingly reminded of Yubin's segment in "I Feel You." At the end of the day, a decent rap that doesn't hurt the song should be good enough. Both raps are good enough and build into the final chorus so there's not much else to be said after that.

Unlike Wonder Girls and "I Feel You," "Congratulations" differs in having no choreography since they were primarily marketed as band. This makes sense. DAY6 is a band from the get-go, as opposed to Wonder Girls who were a group-turned-band (sort of). I'd dare say that this group's take on being a band is more serious than their sunbaes (though I understand WG did indeed practice their instruments). Maybe it's once again the fact that they're a band from the start but their style seems more authentic to me, or I'm just weird. Moving onto the MV, we get a decent plot behind everything, another nice change of pace compared to "I Feel You," which was just rertro fanservice of sorts. The story involves a young man and his ex-girlfriend in a chance encounter on the subway. Complete with flashbacks and everything, the video is cut up into him staring her down, reminiscing on past love, and shots of the band (of course). Might I add that setting up on a subway probably isn't the brightest idea, that seems like a safety hazard. Also, why is Young K the only member who "talk to" the girl? I thought that was a little weird since nobody prior had scenes with the new couple.

DAY6 starts off their career on the right foot, with a splendid song and a relatable MV. The instruments power through the song and provide a strong backbone while Jae's vocals give the song extra flair. Young K's rapping may not be spectacular but it's able to work with the song and he honestly may be one of JYP's better male rappers already. "Congratulations" is the debut track DAY6 needed to show that JYP can put together not just groups, but bands, too.

[ Overall: 87 / 100 ]