Since his stint on Produce X 101 and resulting group X1, I have been completely charmed by Han Seungwoo. He singlehandedly got me to pay more attention to Victon’s discography and his talent as a musician really shouldn’t be underestimated. He reminds me alot of INFINITE’s Dongwoo, an idol who can both rap and sing to a very high level. In theory this makes him the perfect solo star and so you can just guess my excitement when it was announced he was getting his own solo project. But with Sacrifice it’s clear that Seungwoo and I have completely different musical preferences.
While many may come to love Sacrifice, it’s a song that pretty much encapsulates many of the issues I’ve had with 2020 kpop in one package. There are moments that I do enjoy but as a whole Sacrifice just feels very bland. It’s lurching instrumental feels completely lifeless and while Seungwoo does his best to elevate the track through sheer personality and charisma alone, it’s hard to transform somthing like this into a standout. While the chorus does hinge on a rather generic melody, it’s probably my favourite part of the track. It manages to conjure some anthemic heft and while the production here feels oddly compressed, Seungwoo’s vocal is enough to get this part of Sacrifice over the line. It’s nothing revolutionary but it’s probably the only moment where I am able to catch a glimpse of the Seungwoo that caught my eye in songs like U Got It and Flash.
Now a decent chorus usually isn’t enough to singlehandedly carry a track and Sacrifice is no exception. Apart from that decent centrepiece, Sacrifice is completely forgettable and could easily be interchanged with songs like Kang Daniel’s Who U Are from last week. This isn’t a dig on Seungwoo but rather his production team. The entire track just feels completely lifeless to the point where it basically feels inert. It isn’t as boring as the aforementioned Daniel song but I honestly feel like i’ve seen this same song multiple times before. Sacrifice doesn’t do anything inherently bad but it doesn’t do anything to stand out. And in some ways that’s the worst position to be in. Especially for a debut. It’s a disservice to Seungwoo’s talent and I honestly hope there will be material on the album I’ll enjoy more than this. Oh Seungwoo, you can do so much better.
Verses: 6
Chorus: 7
Production: 6
Performance: 8
Final Rating: 6.75 / 10
KBopped 