Review: Woozi - Ruby

Few K-Pop boy bands, or boy bands in general, had as incredible of a 2021 as Seventeen. A large part of that was due to member Woozi, who composes the group's material, while also acting as the group's lead vocalist and vocal team leader since the band's inception. He remains one of K-Pop's most talented voices, both figuratively and literally, as songs such as Simple and Miracle show.

With Ruby, Woozi finally makes his official solo debut, with a sound, unlike his previous releases. Instead of hopeful and nostalgic, the song is based on '60s-inspired rock with distinctly pop-heavy elements. Compared to the razor-clean K-Pop image of Woozi, Ruby is openly provocative, with Woozi self-censoring a potential swear in the chorus, and even giving out a minor curse or two in the verses. This is new for Woozi, along with the English lyrics, but he nails it. In fact, as far as English-sung K-Pop songs go, this is certainly one of the better ones.

After an extended orchestral introduction, driven by melody and hope, the song drops into its gritty groove with an instant effect. Woozi's voice is highly filtered and processed, but with excellent effect. It works so well with the instrumentation, going along with the tempting and taunting instrumentation.

Speaking of the instrumentation here, it flows grittily and musically. Simple rock guitar and drums make the landscape, waiting for the groovy chorus. Woozi knows what he is doing with the repeated refrain instantly memorable.

Unfortunately, at two minutes and forty-five seconds, the song does not get a chance to build to what it could be, leaving it as more of a proof-of-concept rather than a functional single. The guitar riff and jazz piano near the tail-end of the song are intrinsic touches that increase the texture of the song but should have led to a blazing high-note and theatrical finale, but it does not. An extra minute would do Ruby a world of good, but it is memorable in its own light.

Rating: 8/10

Image Source: Seoul Pop