JJCC – 첨엔 다 그래 (At First)

When news first came out that Jackie Chan was preparing his own idol group to debut, I didn’t know how to take the news. My first thought was why isn’t he working on debuting a Mandopop group first; it would make more sense. But when it comes to business, I guess this decision makes sense in all sorts of way. After I got over that, I started looking forward to their debut, because, come on, it’s JACKIE CHAN. I’m sure that’s how a lot of fans reacted to JJCC when they first debuted, and JJCC was right to say that they feel honored to be known along with Jackie Chan, but that it can also be burdensome in that a lot will be expected of them. I was one of those fans who might have expected maybe too much. Alright, let’s get into the review for JJCC’s 첨엔 다 그래, At First.

I was expecting a debut that would just hit me and leave a remarkable imprint. However, JJCC’s debut didn’t hit me hard enough, but left enough of an imprint that makes me want to hear more of them in the future. “At First” is a smooth track overall that highlights the vocals well enough. As with all rookie groups, their vocals were nice, but I think with time, the vocals will become stronger and sound even better. It’s probably because they eventually develop a more comfortable tone and vocal sound, as well as find a way to have better control. I loved the chorus, with it’s catchy tune and all. From the entire song, I feel like the chorus contained the most emotion, and I know that Eddy was belting towards the end of the song, but I just didn’t feel it. The chorus just makes me want to sway to the beat. The rapping also didn’t impress me much. It was nice, but I’ve heard tracks with a smooth beat where the rapping still flows with a punch to it. However, I can see the potential in the rappers, and cannot wait until they get a track to show their skills. I also absolutely loved the instrumental.

The music video is simple. I know that one of the members was actually not present (I believe it was Prince Mak), so that was a little disappointing, and a little unprofessional from my standpoint. It just didn’t seem right to debut the music video without all the members. I know there’s an explanation out there by Prince Mak himself, but still…

Overall score; 7. The song was good and I liked it, but it took some time for it to grow on me. I like that they chose a song to portray the members’ vocals, but with a lot rookie debuts now a days, a song like that should have been used in a later album. However, it was not a disappointment, and I look forward to JJCC’s next song.