I really wanted to love this drama, and in the beginning I kinda did, but sadly that love didn't last. I think the main problem is that this drama had such an intriguing start. "I Wanna Hear Your Song" starts out as equal parts rom-com and thriller, which immediately got me hooked, but unfortunately the drama behind it all never quite lived up to all the build-up. Still, the two leads are great together, so I can't complain too much.

Of all the characters I liked Yeon Woo Jin as Jang Yoon the best because you could never quite tell what his intentions were. I've definitely liked him in other dramas but seeing him being so duplicitous made me like him even more as an actor. I loved how charming yet sinister he could be, and that made me really want to know what his motives were. He is matched with Kim Se Jung as
Hong Yi Young, who I liked much more than I thought I would. At first, I thought she would be too young to hold her own with him, but her character was written in a refreshing way so she wasn't a doormat and often spoke her mind directly. Her "YOLO" tendencies could have easily been annoying, but she was so likable that I wanted to root for her. Even her being a timpanist is a cool choice. I think the two of them also had some great chemistry moments, which along with the mystery of Yi Young's forgotten summer made me eager to watch each episode. There are other characters who are pretty good too, though most are just filler. The best part of this drama is the idea of their love story, but as Yi Young says early on, this is NOT a love story.

Yes, a lot of this story involves romance, but the bulk of it is a murder mystery. The mystery storyline is revealed in interesting pieces and the world of the orchestra was a great setting, but once all the pieces start to come together in the later episodes the story starts to get really boring because it feels so drawn out. There are so many repeated flashbacks in the final few episodes that I actually started to get annoyed. Then the reveal of what happened and wrap up of all the characters was an even bigger disappointment because it felt so forced, cliché, and contrived. Song Jae Rim as Maestro Nam had the best story arc of the side characters, but Park Ji Yeon was completely underutilized. Many of the other characters were forgettable and very one-note, even her BFF. If it weren't for the romance elements this drama would have felt like a complete waste of time, and even the romance was a let down at the end no matter how hard they tried to recapture moments from earlier episodes.

Would I watch this again? I doubt it. I'm sorta curious about how watching this drama would be now that I already know what really happened, but I can't imagine watching any of the later episodes again. And as for the soundtrack, as much as I liked the orchestra, especially the baby shark moment, I despised the "Beautiful Day" song that they kept insisting on repeating! I know she's an idol and stuff but I'd rather hear Jang Yoon sing me a full concert than hear that song ever again. I don't wanna hear that song!

Overall, this drama goes from an exciting start to a basic ending. Maybe if it were shorter it would have been better, or maybe if the ending was less obvious and dragged out I would have liked it a lot more. Instead, this is a drama that I am likely to forget by next summer. Maybe it's worth a watch since there are much worse dramas out there, but I suspect you will lose interest towards the end. Perhaps it's better to watch the first part and then when you're ready to drop it ask for spoilers instead of suffering through the final episodes. Unless you need a cure for insomnia too? If so, just treat the last episodes like a serenade from Jang Yoon and let them lull you to sleep.