This review may contain spoilers
Started well, took some weird turns then became very mediocre
My Rating: 7.5/10
Review
I went into I Wanna Hear Your Song excited for the unique orchestra setting and the underdog story of a timpanist fighting for her place in a professional ensemble. The early episodes hooked me hard with that premise — the passion, the training bits, the classical music woven throughout, and the intriguing mystery layered on top. Kim Se-jeong brings a lot of heart to the role, and the OST and orchestral performances are definite highlights.
However, the show quickly shifts priorities. What starts as a compelling musical journey with thriller elements becomes a mystery-heavy drama where the orchestra setting fades into more of a backdrop. The romance and investigation take center stage, but they come with some frustrating character choices and pacing issues that many viewers seem to notice. I’ve watched over 450 dramas, so I can roll with tropes — but it doesn’t quite deliver on the emotional payoff I was hoping for from the musical arc. Solid performances and an interesting concept, but execution is uneven.
I would not recommend this one with so many better options. I got bored with it. There were a lot of things that were just annoying and frustrating in terms of things characters did. So, I would not watch it again.
Spoilers
The biggest letdown for me was how the underdog musician story got sidelined. We open with her determination to become a permanent part of the orchestra, some fun and quirky training moments, and real stakes around her belonging there. Then it almost immediately pivots hard into the murder mystery, and we barely see her musical growth or integration afterward. She ends up mostly on the sidelines, which means the later orchestra performances lack the satisfying emotional punch they could have had. I wanted her journey to stay central; instead, it feels like the writers used the orchestra world mainly as atmosphere.
On the mystery side, it’s a decent whodunnit, but it has some logic gaps that became annoying. The stabbing incident felt obviously chaotic/self-defense/accidental from early on, so the prolonged guilt and suspicion around it dragged. The female lead’s excessive guilt complex (even over the death of a clearly nefarious character she only indirectly influenced) gets repetitive and frustrating. She also has important flashbacks revealing key details (including what looked like a kidnapping situation), but she only shares tiny fragments with others and doesn’t seem to piece things together proactively on her own. It makes her feel less smart and capable than the story needs her to be in a thriller.
Both leads also repeatedly throw personal safety out the window. Confronting suspects head-on, handing over weapons while accusing people of murder, and continuing risky behavior after already getting hurt — it’s classic “plot needs tension” decision-making that took me out of the story multiple times. We find out how the stabbing happened and that the conductor handed her the knife after attempting to rescue them. But, seriously, who runs down a slippery road in the rain with a knife pointed in front of you? Didn't we learn as children not to run with knives. I mean, I get it, she has some unknown person after her but pull the knife out when you can actually use it. Better yet give it to the guy who seems to be doing a lot better job of staying calm in chaos.
The male lead’s investigation style especially felt like throwing accusations at the wall hoping something sticks, which made the sleuthing less compelling. He was quite the thug. He just got of jail on suspicion of murder and is already holding conductor guy over a stairwell to get information.
Are they all stupid? They know CCTV is basically everywhere but they have confrontations even beat people up on camera and then try to lie to the police that they don't even know them. Like come on. I don't live in a country with cameras everywhere but I know better than to lie about things like that. They even offer to cover things up and lie for others to get what they want. So you are covering a crime and directly lying. That ought to end well for you.
The romance was another tricky element. It’s hard to fully buy his growing feelings while he still (at least partially) believed she viciously stabbed his brother. Even with the explanations given, the trust flip and emotional connection didn’t land as strongly as it needed to for me. She fell for him a bit too quickly after her ex cheated on her. It felt like she moved on from that lightening speed. And she liked this guy that was mostly stand offish and aloof with her. Did not seem to bother her a whole lot he, after knowing her a bit more, still thought she might just stab someone.
Overall, I get what the show was going for — trauma, guilt, hidden truths, and romance amid chaos — and it has some strong individual scenes thanks to the cast and music. But the imbalance between the promised musical underdog arc and the mystery, combined with character frustrations, kept it from being a standout. Many other viewers have noted the same issues with the sidelined orchestra elements, the reckless confrontations, the guilt trope, and the uneven mystery pacing.
Review
I went into I Wanna Hear Your Song excited for the unique orchestra setting and the underdog story of a timpanist fighting for her place in a professional ensemble. The early episodes hooked me hard with that premise — the passion, the training bits, the classical music woven throughout, and the intriguing mystery layered on top. Kim Se-jeong brings a lot of heart to the role, and the OST and orchestral performances are definite highlights.
However, the show quickly shifts priorities. What starts as a compelling musical journey with thriller elements becomes a mystery-heavy drama where the orchestra setting fades into more of a backdrop. The romance and investigation take center stage, but they come with some frustrating character choices and pacing issues that many viewers seem to notice. I’ve watched over 450 dramas, so I can roll with tropes — but it doesn’t quite deliver on the emotional payoff I was hoping for from the musical arc. Solid performances and an interesting concept, but execution is uneven.
I would not recommend this one with so many better options. I got bored with it. There were a lot of things that were just annoying and frustrating in terms of things characters did. So, I would not watch it again.
Spoilers
The biggest letdown for me was how the underdog musician story got sidelined. We open with her determination to become a permanent part of the orchestra, some fun and quirky training moments, and real stakes around her belonging there. Then it almost immediately pivots hard into the murder mystery, and we barely see her musical growth or integration afterward. She ends up mostly on the sidelines, which means the later orchestra performances lack the satisfying emotional punch they could have had. I wanted her journey to stay central; instead, it feels like the writers used the orchestra world mainly as atmosphere.
On the mystery side, it’s a decent whodunnit, but it has some logic gaps that became annoying. The stabbing incident felt obviously chaotic/self-defense/accidental from early on, so the prolonged guilt and suspicion around it dragged. The female lead’s excessive guilt complex (even over the death of a clearly nefarious character she only indirectly influenced) gets repetitive and frustrating. She also has important flashbacks revealing key details (including what looked like a kidnapping situation), but she only shares tiny fragments with others and doesn’t seem to piece things together proactively on her own. It makes her feel less smart and capable than the story needs her to be in a thriller.
Both leads also repeatedly throw personal safety out the window. Confronting suspects head-on, handing over weapons while accusing people of murder, and continuing risky behavior after already getting hurt — it’s classic “plot needs tension” decision-making that took me out of the story multiple times. We find out how the stabbing happened and that the conductor handed her the knife after attempting to rescue them. But, seriously, who runs down a slippery road in the rain with a knife pointed in front of you? Didn't we learn as children not to run with knives. I mean, I get it, she has some unknown person after her but pull the knife out when you can actually use it. Better yet give it to the guy who seems to be doing a lot better job of staying calm in chaos.
The male lead’s investigation style especially felt like throwing accusations at the wall hoping something sticks, which made the sleuthing less compelling. He was quite the thug. He just got of jail on suspicion of murder and is already holding conductor guy over a stairwell to get information.
Are they all stupid? They know CCTV is basically everywhere but they have confrontations even beat people up on camera and then try to lie to the police that they don't even know them. Like come on. I don't live in a country with cameras everywhere but I know better than to lie about things like that. They even offer to cover things up and lie for others to get what they want. So you are covering a crime and directly lying. That ought to end well for you.
The romance was another tricky element. It’s hard to fully buy his growing feelings while he still (at least partially) believed she viciously stabbed his brother. Even with the explanations given, the trust flip and emotional connection didn’t land as strongly as it needed to for me. She fell for him a bit too quickly after her ex cheated on her. It felt like she moved on from that lightening speed. And she liked this guy that was mostly stand offish and aloof with her. Did not seem to bother her a whole lot he, after knowing her a bit more, still thought she might just stab someone.
Overall, I get what the show was going for — trauma, guilt, hidden truths, and romance amid chaos — and it has some strong individual scenes thanks to the cast and music. But the imbalance between the promised musical underdog arc and the mystery, combined with character frustrations, kept it from being a standout. Many other viewers have noted the same issues with the sidelined orchestra elements, the reckless confrontations, the guilt trope, and the uneven mystery pacing.
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