Ten Lee is a member of kpop giant NCT, as well as their subunits NCT U and WayV, and super group SuperM. He’s one of a growing number of kpop idols from Thailand, like CLC’s Sorn, (G)I-DLE’s Minnie, or 2PM’s Nichkhun, not to mention BLACKPINK’s Lisa. He debuted as a soloist back in 2018 but only recently has come out with EPs.

Here are my credentials: Through my various deep dives on NCT, NCT U, and WayV (see the links for those above), I’ve slowly become a huge fan of Ten, and have considered him one of my favorite idols for the last year or so. I think he’s incredibly talented, in dancing and singing, and have been wanting to cover his solo career for a while now, but have waited until now so I had a larger body of work to cover. So, let’s get into it!

Single #1: Dream In A Dream

Dream In A Dream is one of those music videos that catches you the moment it begins, shade of highly saturated reds and oranges, blues and purples that draw your eye right towards Ten. The song is unobtrusive and light-footed, drifting in and out in a way that makes you wonder if you’ve just imagined it. The instrumentation takes inspiration from Thai and Chinese traditional music, very flute-and-string heavy, and just makes you feel like you’re floating out in an abyss, or possibly in a Wuxia drama. Pictures really don’t do it justice. From the start, it’s more like a performance piece than a song, with the first minute and several points later being devoid of lyrics, but where I’d usually mind it, I really don’t.

Slight disclaimer: I am a terrible dancer, though I have learned a few kpop choreographies, but what I can say is that Ten is really in a class by himself—and, as the title suggests, Taemin. I see the connection specifically in the fact that he’s light on his feet, yes, but it’s more than that; there’s a fluidity and a bonelessness to his movements, that, paired with his level of body control, is just incredible to see. Like I said, it’s hard to complain when you get to watch him dance. Add to that that he also has a great voice and you have what may be one of the most unique debuts in kpop history.

Single #2: New Heroes

“Nobody knows how I got here // nobody cares for my dreams”, New Heroes begins. With such a woeful opening line, perhaps you’d expect a ballad, but no; it’s synthy and almost detached with an understated city jazz interpolation as the verses build, while the choruses are simple, just a line or two. Normally that’s a pet peeve of mine, non-fleshed out choruses, but it doesn’t feel that way here, since they’re very vocal-heavy, and feel sprawling even if not much is said. I really liked the bridge / outro too, which manages to help escalate the sound but doesn’t come out of left field like so many other songs I can think of. The dancing here is a mix of the flowiness of Dream In A Dream and some sharper edges that match with the heavy EDM underlying the very light synths layered on top. It’s such an interesting song to listen to, because every time you do you hear something new, whether in the instrumental or in his voice.

Single #3: Paint Me Naked

As far as kpop song titles go, Paint Me Naked is a pretty blunt one, and from it I was expecting a seductive sound, possibly R & B or trap like WayV’s own Phantom or Love Talk. Instead it’s effervescent and irreverent, as Ten tiptoes along the beat like he’s playing hopscotch with the viewer, in a collection of outfits that toe the line of what’s flattering and what’s crazy. There’s a pink mesh shirt under a blue leather jacket covered in faux graffiti paired with a pink beret, there’s a cheetah print jacket with matching basketball shorts and a bright orange cap, I could go on. This may be technically a love song, but it feels like a celebration of oddity just filling in the outline of one, and I mean that as a compliment. The bridge’s build especially is honestly kind of heartwarming, which sounds strange to say about a track with a name like this, but I know so many people who would watch his joy there and feel a little less alone.

The song itself is a mix of classic hip-hop, funk, and k-pop hallmarks, but Ten puts his own spin on it with some eyebrow-raising high notes and a few well-timed vocal fries in the hooks, with a chorus that’s just a lot of fun. The dancing here is very different from the first two songs, though no less impressive. I feel that often in k-pop, when making choreography for something with a hip-hop base, the moves are very heavy and in-your-face, but it doesn’t feel like that here. Instead, the movements feel so effortless, almost like walking with a few flourishes. I’m probably not describing it nearly as well as a dancer would but, safe to say, thumbs up.

(Side note, I’m sorry, but, where’s the ‘girl’ he’s talking about in the chorus? There is not a single woman in this music video, Tennie, and you’re over here wearing a magenta collared shirt under a black and white checkerboard suit like you’re a queer version of Beetlejuice. Or, you know, Beetlejuice. Great show, btw, go see it on tour.)

Single #4: Birthday

Birthday was the most popular of Ten’s solos before his first EP came out, and though I wasn’t that into kpop at the time (which I know is hard to believe now that I spend enough time on it per week to basically be a part-time job), I do remember seeing the teaser photos and being intrigued. The song turn out to be what I assumed Paint Me Naked was going to be: a creeping, sensual track with some R & B and a hint or two of trap. There’s the making eyes at the camera, the intimate choreo with the backup dancers, the chains, everything you’d expect. Except this is Ten and we just can’t have that.

There’s something very subversive in the specific way he performs the song. It toes the line between confidently reeling the listener in in the verses, which he sings at his regular tone, and a more vulnerable, desperate undercurrent in the choruses, which he sings in tsome of the highest-pitched falsetto I’ve heard from a k-pop idol. The dancing too may be some of his most incredible, managing to use the floor and a mirror like it’s another person for him to play off of. The choreography reads both like he’s praying to some higher entity and like he’s free-falling, but whether he’s letting himself fall, I don’t know if even he knows.

(Also, damn, I want the wide-brimmed hat he’s wearing with the black see-through veil; it looks like he just shoved his cheating husband over a balcony for insurance money, and that aesthetic’s really just my goal in life. Anyway. Moving on.)

EP #1: TEN

There’s so much to say about Nightwalker, and a lot of it I said back in my solo rankings review that included it. Creepy. There’s so many small details in the song and MV that make me shiver: the sweat stains on his shirts, the dead-eyed looks he wears throughout, and especially the choice to shoot so much of the video like it’s through security camera footage. The verses tiptoe along with an eerie, creeping tone, and then the pre-chorus adds in this almost-gospel element as Ten reaches his voice up to the sky in a pitch-perfect falsetto. The chorus then returns to the tiptoeing, with an anti-drop that, if you’ve read any post on this blog before, you may be surprised that I don’t hate. But I really don’t.

In many ways, this song feels like it takes the best parts of each of the singles that came before: the falsetto of Birthday, the confidence of Paint Me Naked, and the almost meditative calm of Dream In A Dream, though of course the last is twisted here. The dancing too adds to the eeriness; at points it’s disjointed and flailing, at others it’s sharp and entirely controlled, and the contrast is just haunting. I remember once, a friend of mine who’d seen Taemin saying he danced like he was possessed, and I think that’s the best way to describe this too, so, thanks Fran!

This EP was honestly one of my top mini albums of 2024, and the thing that cemented Ten as one of my favorite kpop artists. I enjoyed the lilting vocals and building pre-chorus of Shadow, the disco-y, dance-ready Dangerous, and the soothing, minimalistic Water. It’s such a difficult mini-album to pick a hidden gem from, but if I had to, it’d likely be the synthy, quietly heartbreaking Lie With You, that feels like a reflection on a late night when you can’t sleep, in the best way. That extra element of vulnerability really offers an interesting contrast to the confidence he carries through the rest of the release, and I always like it when artists have it in their work.

Single #5: Bambola

Bambola is perhaps the most “NCT” one of Ten’s singles has been so far, which, unsurprisingly, makes it my least favorite. There are instances of what make him such an engaging performer—like the mile-a-minute beat or the fritzy pre-chorus or the impressive off-the-cuff feel of the rapping in the verses. But then the chorus throws all that away for a hook that’s not only irritating to my ears but feels very out of left field. It sounds very patronizing to do the whole “I’m not mad, just disappointed” routine, so perhaps a better way to put it is that I don’t really understand what the thought process was behind it. All of his past singles have shown something new about Ten as a person, as a performer, as…something. This one doesn’t. It feels like something meant for Taeyong, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not for me.

(Also, I apologize for this, but the “yaba daba” hook just makes me think of Yabba Dabba Doo, you know, like Fred from the Flintstones, which I don’t think is what Ten was going for)

EP #2: Stunner

From the start, Stunner toes the line between gliding along and following the more secure beat underpinning it. The pre-chorus is one of his best, in my opinion, making the most of the ethereal quality his voice often tends towards. The chorus is less my speed, I confess, but I became more enthused as it continued on. The song has an odd structure, in general, actually. For one, it opts to go straight from the rap verse to the bridge without a second chorus, and making the choice to go for a rap verse instead of a sung one, which feels a bit out of place.

The last chorus elevates the whole song, frankly, feeling worth the wait in just the way it should, and I wish what made it feel so momentous was present in the rest of the track. The song doesn’t seem to know whether it wants to remain ethereal and light-footed in Ten’s comfort zone or to go for a harsher NCT-esque sound in the way Bambola did, and while the contrast mostly works, it makes for some awkward transitions in places. Ten pulls it off, to his credit, but that”s mostly due to him and not the strength of the song, bringing the disparate sides together with his melding of harsh and smooth in his dancing and the effortlessness in his voice.

This EP was the original reason for this deep dive, as I’d told myself after TEN (the 1st EP) that whenever he came back I’d write a review. So here we are, and Stunner has some big shoes to fill. So, from it, I enjoyed Sweet As Sin’s synthy bridge, the tropical influences and soothing back-and-forth of Waves, and the encouraging lyrics of Stunner’s English version. I didn’t like it as much as the first one, but if I had to pick a hidden gem, it’d be Butterfly. Sounding like it’s just on the right side of flying away, its build feels earned in the best way, and best of all, it lets Ten’s vocals take center stage.

EP #3: Humanity

The operative word for single Silence is ethereal. The song feels like it’s shrouded in mist like matured, distilled version of Dream In A Dream with a stronger underlying electro beat. I loved the traditional instrumentation like I did there, though I honestly wish it had been stronger. My one gripe is that the verses are gorgeous and detached while the choruses are much more befitting of a song like Nightwalker, though they grew on me as the song went on. I also really liked the MV, which goes back and forth from haunting black-and-white scenes of Ten with ashy angel wings playing piano (apparently he also plays piano; I swear I’ll wake up one day and he’ll be scuba diving in the Pacific), and startlingly colorful ones of him stomping around a miniature city in flames like Godzilla. Overall, I thought it was a good song, albeit not quite as good as the other two.

From the EP, I enjoyed the jazz-tinged coffee-shop sound of Living Now, the acoustic Yumenotsuzuki, and the mix of harsh and gentle vocals in Silence.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this! I didn’t know it was possible, but I feel like I’ve become even more of a fan of Ten than I was before. Of course I knew that he was a good dancer and a good singer, but I don’t think I quite grasped the level of his talent, which is just…indescribable. I watched him on Eunhyuk and Donghae’s YouTube show, as well as his first interview in Thailand with Woody, and his feature on Dive studios’ Get Real podcast. Basically, I wanted to do one in each of his main languages, to get to know him as best as I could. Hilariously, I couldn’t find a solo one in Mandarin, so, please give me suggestions.

My Top 5 songs were Nightwalker, Lie With You, New Heroes, Stunner, and Dangerous, with Butterfly as an honorable mention. Ten gets a 9 out of 10 from me. Though he’s not even 30, he’s such an excellent artist and an engaging performer, elevating material that could feel one-note without him. There may be some missteps here and there, so I feel like I can’t give him a higher score, but honestly, I haven’t been so impressed by a singular idol in a long time. I know the title may seem hyperbolic to some, but I really do think that Ten is one of the few people in the industry that is even close to being on the same level as Taemin. And I think, as a diehard ShaWol, that the man himself would agree.

Next time, we’re onto a boy group. Tschüss!