[Review] Zhou Mi - Rewind (feat. Tao)

S.M. has had diverging paths in the year 2014. Their group management has been atrocious, with members leaving left and right. On the other hand, they have been shifting sights towards solo artists, debuting a handful with rather solid results. Zhou Mi is the latest to crawl out of the dungeon. The Super Junior-M member has had chances to shine with the group but now has his own stage.

"Rewind" is a good song. It plays to Zhou Mi's strengths as a singer with his soft and clear voice for the R&B sound. The intro is especially strong with the toned down background instrumental for Zhou Mi to lead. This is Zhou Mi in his comfort zone, which is a good place to be when you're making your solo debut. The background repetition of "Hey hey hey" was quite annoying, but not more than the autotune in GOT7's "Stop Stop It." At least that wasn't around in the chorus or I'd have flipped.

Oh, the token white girl in a Kpop video. How often does this happen? Probably more often than we'd like. This title literally gives S.M an excuse to spam the slow motion reverse controls they adore so much, and the camera work for the choreography shots are pretty good. Zhou Mi has such a height where some of the dance moves look a little lanky and awkward, something that usually is hidden behind Super Junior-M, but perhaps he's in the spotlight front and center this becomes more noticeable. The choreography itself is also pretty good, with the chorus and bridge sections being both highlights and in character with the title "Rewind."

Tao's showing in "Rewind" is quite strong. I'm glad that they didn't have Henry appear, as Tao is an infinitely better rapper than Henry. Tao's lines are short and to the point, and the Mandarin flows well (in comparison to Chanyeol in the Korean version) and his tough rap was a nice addition and compliment to the smooth vocals from Zhou Mi.

Maybe S.M. is just trying to divert attention away from the disaster of a year that their groups have suffered, but nonetheless, the stream of solo releases have been very kind to each singer. With news of more solos on their way in 2015, I think S.M. will be picking themselves up a bit, at least in terms of music.

[ Score: 82 / 100 ]