As you have noticed, I have compiled several artists for this review. The reason is simple: Korean musicians and idols release far more EPs and singles than they do full length albums. So to cover some of my bases, as well as to expose you guys to what’s out there right now, I’ll be cranking out these servings of K-pop between album reviews.
Don’t forget to leave your own commentary on these songs in the comments section below!
Jewelry – “Back It Up”
Jewelry have been around for a very long time. They debuted back in 2001 and have gone through more members than I can remember. As of 2010, none of the current band mates (Eunjung, Baby J,Park Se Mi, Park Ye Won) were part of the original four members. In 2009, the veteran girl group lost two of their longest standing vocalists, Park Jung Ah and Seo In Young, who have been doing their own thing in the music industry since their departure.
Now, the girl group that keeps on keeping on is back with their latest single, “Back It Up.” The thing with Jewelry is that they’ve had a history of falling in and out of popularity with the masses, especially now with the influx of new K-pop enthusiasts. Their last single as a foursome was the overly emotional ballad “Love Story,” and before that, we had the auto-tuned number titled, “Vari2ty.”
Jewelry have followed every girl group trend down to the cutesy twirls we see from SNSD, a move I’m guessing is an effort to keep up with the mayhem of K-pop. So it’s not surprising to hear “Back It Up” sound completely different from their last song and exactly the same as Secret’s “Shy Boy.” The motown trend in mainstream music is already head-numbing, but hearing them sacrifice their potential for the sake of relevance really gives me a headache. I watched them perform this song live and it is clear that these girls (sans the rapper) can carry a tune and sell it pretty well on stage, but they’ve lost their identity and originality in the process.
2/5
K.Will – “Amazed” feat. Simon D (Supreme Team) and Hyorin (SISTAR)
K.Will did a great job of picking the features for this single, as a K.Will, Hyorin, and Simon D collaboration had never crossed my mind, but the idea sounds brilliant already. Each artist is specific to their niche in music (pop, rap, ballads), but as you’ll hear in “Amazed”, none took precedence over the other or compromised the integrity of the song.
Instead of “Amazed” being a mere K.Will song with Simon D and Hyorin chiming in at the breakdown or something, it’s the featured singer and rapper who carry the song for most of the beginning before K.Will enters to finish it off with style.
The beat is calm and neither Hyorin nor K.Will go over board on the singing. It’s a nice tune, but a pretty average song overall.
3.4/5
Kim Bo Kyung – “Haru Haru”
Here’s a new artist for you. Her name is Kim Bo Kyung, and if you’re a Superstar K2 follower, you know that she was one of the participants who was unexpectedly eliminated. “Haru Haru” is the title single to her very first EP, “The FIRST DAY“, that was released earlier this week.
Kim Bo Kyung has an attractive huskiness to her voice that sounds gorgeous when she starts belting out the highs and mids. She possesses an impressively broad chest voice and hardly steps foot into her head voice, which gives her songs a special richness and character. It’s no wonder Sony Musicsnatched her up faster than you can say: “Whoa.”
A couple songs I recommend off of her latest EP are “Brand New Day” and “About You“.
3.7/5
SNSD – “Visual Dreams”
Girls’ Generation debuted in 2007 with “Into The New World,” and since then have transformed into the top selling girl group in Korea. But they’ve also gone through a musical evolution.
During their humble beginnings, SNSD showed up on the K-pop scene out to prove that they can do it all: sing, dance, and perform. Based on their earliest material, I’d say they accomplished everything on their list and then some.
Fast forward four years later and SNSD are still around, but they have departed from their rookie mindset and delved into the land of cash cows. There was a certain force and genuine appeal to songs like “ITNW,” “Girls’ Generation,” and even “Genie,” but now, listening to their music is like a box of chocolates in that you’re not really sure what you’re going to get.
They’ve made it very clear that they’re the cutest girls in town, and we’ve heard it since their “Gee” days, but a concept shouldn’t interfere with the quality, execution, and substance of a song. Unfortunately, “Visual Dreams” fails all three standards.
Never mind the abundance of cuteness or the fact that this is for Intel Core, the song itself is, well, not much of a song. There’s no obvious structure to the ‘verses’ (at all) or the chorus, and the middle 8 feels very disjointed. The one saving grace is probably the instrumental, but let’s face it, this isn’t their best work.
Girls’ Generation actually have a few good singers, and they have done much better in the past, so they should still be able to produce good music. They have SM Entertainment right at their feet, so I know it’s possible. But right now, the deeper they dive into the bowls of aegyo, the harder it is to stomach their music.
1.6/5
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