Solo star Chungha is back with her newest single “Dream of You” featuring DJ and producer R3HAB. The track serves as her English solo debut in addition to being the third pre-release to her upcoming first album Querencia, which is set to be released in January 2021. “Dream of You” comes fresh on the heels of Chungha signing with record label 88rising to boost her career in the western hemisphere. This year, the singer has been keeping things busy with pre-releases and collaborations en masse showcasing her artistic versatility. Following her first appearance on the first season of Produce 101, and subsequently, debuting in IOI, Chungha has established herself as one of the leading solo artists due to her incredible dancing, singing, and performing skills.
After the sensual “Stay Tonight” and the colorful, summery “Play“, “Dream of You”, a heavy bass track, sees Chungha stay in familiar territory. She delivers due to the amazing music video, which perfectly showcases her dancing and performing skills. It may not be a groundbreaking release, but a good one that raises the anticipation for her upcoming first album.
A house pop track, “Dream of You” utilizes a simple arrangement that makes it highly infectious. Its strength is how well it fits Chungha’s voice; her vocals sound honeyed and enticing without any straining. Moreover, the pronunciation doesn’t come off as awkward or hampering, as Chungha is fluent in English. Lyrically, she confidently expresses her desire for her lover and her knowledge about him wanting her too.
The music video to “Dream of You” is a performance video paired with an impressive and stunning choreography that was made by one of the choreographers behind the phenomenal “Stay Tonight”. Chungha is an extremely gifted dancer as the video proves once again. Unlike her previous music videos, “Dream of You” is a pure dance video with no interpolation of additional scenes.
Set in a simple and clean dance studio, the video opens with a solo floor choreography, in which Chungha flaunts her sensual and enticing moves. This scene strongly evokes Janet Jackson vibes and is both sexy and powerful. As we break into the chorus, the singer is joined by her backup dancers and appears in a feminine, pastel suit. Here, the use of a hat for the choreography is striking to the eye. The dance for the chorus incorporates many moves, which are reminiscent of dance steps and moves by legendary singer Michael Jackson. As a result, the choreography comes off as both bold and compelling to watch.
For the second chorus, the video goes through a change of setting and colors, as the camera moves to a darkened studio that is illuminated by bright lights creating a disco-like atmosphere. Chungha now performs in a tight, black body outfit. Conspicuous is the contrast created between the first and second chorus. While the first chorus sees Chungha performing against a white background in a suit, for the second one she emerges in a sensual dark outfit engulfed in lights.
As the video progresses, this contrasting game with black and white, dark and light, continues. For the bridge, the choreography takes on a daintier and more daring shape with Chungha being encircled by her dancers and performing ballet-like moves paired with hand motions. This part fits the regressing beat especially well and the lighter moves create tension for the last part of the song.
With the start of the last chorus, both the choreography details and the contrasting color feature come full circle. Chungha picks up her hat once again to perform the dance in a black suit, a darker version of the one she was wearing in the first half of the video.
It becomes apparent that the change between outfits that can be perceived as both feminine and masculine serves the purpose of conveying the choreography’s gender neutrality; it is androgynous and thus can be performed by any gender. Chungha demonstrates this perfectly well through the combination of fierce and dainty moves for the choreography and the choice of costumes respectively.
All in all, “Dream of You” is a catchy and flirty track, one that fits Chungha’s voice exquisitely well and displays her skill of adjusting to different musical styles. “Dream of You” is a solid performance video and a nice addition to Chungha’s impressive discography, amping the anticipation for what is yet to come on Chungha’s upcoming Querencia.
(Youtube, Images via MNH Entertainment & Genie)
