Wanna One did a thing today, and released a new mini album for the world to enjoy. This one is entitled 0+1=1 (I Promise You), and the music on it is pretty dang catchy, as this is something that Wanna One excels at. I will note that I did pre-order this album ahead of time, so there will be an album unboxing once that gets in (insert more posts for you all to look forward to). The reasoning as to why I spent my money ahead of time? Kang Daniel and Ong Seong Woo. I will buy anything that has their faces on it.
I also do a lot of my album shopping on Music Plaza LA. Additionally, if you have never used Music Plaza before, this link will get you an extra 5% off of your first purchase!
You can also order a copy of the album from an eBay, as they typically have good prices. Plus, with eBay, you can save a little bit of money by using the E-Bates extension on your browser, as it will save you 2% on all album purchases, which definitely adds up.
What is E-Bates?
E-Bates is a cashback site that gives you money for purchases you may have already made. They even have an extension for multiple browsers so when you go to a website that uses Ebates, it will automatically pop up the cashback button to make sure you are saving money. I use this all the time, and I got over 80$ back from them for purchases I was going to make anyway. That’s about 3 more albums I can buy!
If you’ve never used EBates before, you can use this link to get $10 when making a qualified purchase of $25 when using EBates. You will also get whatever percent cashback is being offered from the site you are purchasing from. Sephora, typically has 4% cashback, through here. Sokoglam typically has 3%. These percentages Many other major retailers are on there as well.
Wanna One (원나원) 0+1=1 I Promise You, Track by Track:
Okay, I’ve already listened to the mini album through a number of times, so lets get right into it.
- Gold: I think this track is a perfect way to open the album. It’s upbeat, it is fun, you can dance to it, and I think it perfectly captures the energy of Wanna One. I do think that the members need to work on their high notes, as they do have bad vocal placement when singing them. There is a simple correction that they can make when singing that would eliminate most of that, but it is something you have to consciously think about for a long until it becomes second nature, unless you are one of those people who just have natural perfect vocal chords *cough cough* EXO’s Chen *cough cough*. Honestly, with this song, I can see why they struggle with it, as the vocals have A LOT of octave jumps in it, so it’s no wonder that they cannot get the placement right.
- I Promise You (I.P. U.): This song has been out for a few weeks, as it was pre-released for their 300 days since Produce 101. So, it has been around the block once or twice for me. I honestly really enjoy this song. It is SUPER catchy, and the singers do extremely well on this song (this song is definitely easier to sing than the last one though). This style is the style that really suits Wanna One, as a dance group. What I think could make the song a bit better is a ton of really great harmonies. This song did make it into my playlist.
- Boomerang: Okay, I really enjoy the electro-trap style of this song. I also really enjoy how the music video of this song has whole sections that are just Daniel doing things. Watch it here if you want lots of close-ups of Daniel. I love how they use brass to build a sick beat in the song, and I really like how upbeat and fun the song is too. Do I think it is a typical pop song? Absolutely. Do I still like it? Yes. Is it in my playlist? Yes. It will be a great song to go running to, and that is typically what I look for in songs like this. If I feel like I can’t run to it, I scrap it.
- We Are: Another upbeat pop song here. I was a little bit more unsure of this song when I first heard it, as I wasn’t a massive fan of the melody, especially the chorus where it legit just repeats “We Are” over and over again. The song has grown on me though, and I did add it to my playlist, despite how typical the song is. I did throw it into my playlist though. We will see how long it lasts. There is definitely a chance it will get removed in a few weeks, but I will give it a shot.
- Day By Day: Taking the beat down a bit into more of a chill-out song that has some pretty damn good harmonies to it that I seriously approve of. Actually, as I’m writing this, I think this song is becoming my favorite track on the mini-album. I honestly think that this song really matches the members’ voices, and has a bit of a mature sound to it than the previous tracks. This could be a peek into their future. Not much else to say on this track besides I really dig it, and it’s R&B electro vibe.
- I’ll Remember: By now, you should be aware of how picky I am on ballads. I feel that ballads are the hardest musical styling for an artist to succeed, as each word is drawn out more, and it makes it more apparent. On top of that, the background music in ballads typically has less instrumentation that could compete with the vocals, which also adds to it being more noticeable. Almost every single singer in Wanna One has that white noise that you have in your voice when you don’t know how to direct the sound correctly. This is normal when you are young, as learning how to control your breath comes along with time, and in their defense, theirs is not as bad as I have heard on some other artists. It is really hard to get rid of the white noise and do it consistently, so I hope they will figure that out with time. Do I think it hampers the quality of the ballad? Absolutely. Does that mean that I hate the song? No, because it is mild, and at some points, in the song, they do have it in control. It’s more obvious when they are trying to sing softly. I will point out though, once you notice it, you cannot stop noticing it. That was my main takeaway from this track, as I didn’t read into the lyrics to much on it, because I was too bust focusing on that noise.
- I Promise You (Propose Ver.): This is the slowed down and stripped back version of the second track. I actually think I like this version better than the original, but I am also someone who really enjoys acoustic versions of songs anyways. I’m not going to say much else about this track, as it is the same as the second track, just with different instrumentation, but I will point out, you can hear the white noise in their voice again.
K-Points: 522/5
So, this mini-album didn’t blow me out of the water, and coming in, I didn’t expect it to. I wouldn’t say any of the tracks on this album are fire, but they are definitely above average in production quality. They are also extremely catchy and will be stuck in my head for months. I think the members did a very good job, and with a few tweaks, they could go from being good to great. I would definitely consider it to be above average, even if most of the songs have a relatively typical sound, which is why it is getting 522/5 K-Points.
Should you buy a copy of this album? Probably not. I personally only bought the albums to support the group. You are 100% safe to stream it, and not regret having a copy of this, as if these tracks randomly disappeared from streaming, I don’t think I would be dying of disappointment like I would with some other albums. The only reason that I would buy it is if you do have a bias in the group that you need to support (whispers Kang Daniel and Ong Seong Woo).
Who is your bias in Wanna One? Let me know in the comments below.
사랑합니다!
–Rachel
