[Review] Super Junior - 2YA2YAO!

Oh man it's Super Junior. They're still kicking it and got something for us early in the 2020 cycle. Sungmin is still not officially back with the group despite releasing new music under their label. Here's hoping that the next release will feature his return. As I constantly debate over how much I really want to review songs, January will conclude with a second review and future months will likely see a similar number of review posts. One possible workaround is to have much bigger Late Reports per month to cover some of the music. The other option is to simply focus more on non-review writing but my indecisiveness towards this subject will continue to know no bounds.

Let's talk the good shit: that chorus is very strong. Naturally this is what happens when you have your power vocalists shine during the most critical component of any song. Thank you Dr. Seuss. Anyway, "2ya2yao" is definitely one of the weirdest phrases ever uttered in a Korean song but I'll give Super Junior credit for making it work. If any rocket scientists want to let us all know what "2ya2yao" is supposed to mean that'd be great. Juxtaposing that line with "we are young" was really clever even if I couldn't tell that was English the first listen. Also it's ironic hearing members of Super Junior singing that since they're one of the oldest groups with some of the oldest members in all of Kpop now.

I wish the repeating five deep notes that form the backbone of the instrumental were more repressed during the verses...or really anything that wasn't the chorus and dance break. As I find the latter two to be the best parts of the song, having those notes more pronounced during those times would've been optimal setup. What was up with the "and now the breakdown" line that was literally ripped from Taeyeon's "Something New?" I was really confused when I heard it the first time. Hopefully this isn't going to become SM's version of the JYP whisper. God that would be terrible.

As an incompetent dancer, I appreciate the dance break and dance itself. It helps represent how Super Junior's career has arced out and where they are at this point in time. The movements are subtle and flow well, in contrast to how sharp they were during their glory days. In the same way, they used to be super "mainstream" but now that they're older incorporate more Latin elements in their music. Glad to see they gave Shindong some love and spotlight because he's definitely a poster child of not getting enough screentime over the years. The only thing missing from this choreography would be more Latin elements, not that I'd know what those look like (I'm not a dancer) even if included.

Everything else is meh. That was what I originally wrote during the skeleton notes of this song review and I'm keeping it. Seriously, everything else is mediocre at best. The verses and bridge are quite forgettable, especially when you thrown in the usual English bits. Eunhyuk started rapping and I instinctively went to go mute the audio because it's that bad. As always SM rappers not from NCT should drop the mic 100%. Also poor Heechul man. The hero of variety (and also dating Momo apparently???) has been relegated to an afterthought since his age and injury problems prevent him from performing. But as far as I could tell, outside of a few personal shots he didn't even get a single line? I'll have to check the lyrics later.

At the end of the day, Super Junior don't have anything to prove. This song blends some of what they did during the "Sorry Sorry" era and also represents how they've evolved and matured now that the gang is all in their 30's. The chorus of "2YA2YAO!" is the only reason this release will not be mired in mediocrity.