New albums and singles preview - 2008 February week 4

Big Bang: 2nd live concert - great (February 27)

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01 Crazy Dog + You In My Fantasy
02 Shake It
03 Wild Wild West
04 I’m Smiling (DaeSung Solo)
05 Next Day (SeungRi Solo)
06 Ma Girl (TaeYang Solo)
07 la la la
08 Fool
09 This Love
10 Lie
11 Act as If Nothing’s Wrong (TOP Solo)
12 A Fool’s Tears
13 But I Love U (GD Solo)
14 Last Farewell
15 Always (Encore)
16 Lie (Encore)

2008 Big Bang 2nd Live Album ‘The Great’
Big Bang, who swept the K-pop world with their popularity in 2007, held their 2nd Live Concert late last year (Dec 28-30). This live album, ‘Great’, captures the memories for fans who want to relive the concert and those who couldn’t attend the sold-out event. Consisting of a total of sixteen explosive tracks, the album includes never before performed songs by TOP and G-Dragon, as well as band versions of DaeSung and SeungRi’s solo songs. Along with TaeYang’s solo, each member was able to showcase his individual talents. The group’s popular track off their Hot Issue Mini Album, Fool, which regretfully was not promoted in Korea due to their activities in Japan, was also performed at this concert. Fans and hip-hop lovers will definitely enjoy this album.

H-Eugene Vol. 2 - H-Eugene And The Family (released)

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01 Welcome Back
02 He’s a Stranger feat. Shinji of Koyote
03 Kiss Me feat. Bae Seul Gi
04 As Many as There Are Tears feat. Young Ji
05 Shorty feat. Teddy of 1TYM, Master Wu, Park Jang Geun
06 I’m Waiting feat. Oh Jong Hyuk, Hoo Ni Hoon
07 My L.U.V
08 I Don’t Know feat. Miryo of Brown Eyed Girls
09 H-Eugene VS MC Mong feat. MC Mong
10 Maverick Part 2 feat. Yoo Seung Joon, Han Esther
11 Kiss Me (Instrumental)
12 He’s a Stranger (Instrumental)

H-Eugene is a skilful rapper who has participated in many hit songs such as Yoo Seung Joon’s ‘I Hope You Find Me’, and MC Mong’s ‘180 Degrees’ and ‘Invincible’. In August 2006, H-Eugene released his own solo album with the title song, Maverick. Two years later, he has come back with better beats. He has collaborated with Oh Sung Hoon, who also composed popular songs such as Tei’s ‘My Heart is Sad’ and KCM’s ‘Sad Snowman’. H-Eugene is already acknowledged as a skilful rapper and writer. For this album, he has turned into a chameleon as he was able to fit his voice in many different genres.

The title track, ‘Kiss Me’, features Bae Seul Gi and is a sweet song about how a separated couple still has a chance to love again. With rap lyrics such as “Oh kiss me, oh kiss me” and strong melodies, this candy-like song is expected to gain many fans. ‘He’s a Stranger’, featuring Shinji of Koyote, was supposed to be the title track of this album until the last minute. It is a duet and has an R&B vibe to it that Shinji had never tried until now, so this is a must-listen. The interaction of the two singers with rap and melody can be heard in this song. Master Wu starts off the narration in the song ‘Shorty’ and Teddy of 1TYM, who is currently in the States, composed the song. Young Ji, ex-member of Bubble Sisters, features in a duet track, ‘As Many as There Are Tears’, and fans of medium tempo hip-hop and rap will especially enjoy the song. In addition to all these collaborations, many other famous artistes such as Miryo of Brown Eyed Girls and Yoo Seung Joon are featured as well.

Cho Young Soo: All Star Vol. 2 (released)

01 Young Day
02 Young Day (Inst.)

Popular composer Jo Young Soo and heavenly V.O.S have released their first music story, ‘All Star’. In the previous All Star album, Jo Young Soo collaborated with many famous artistes such as SG Wannabe, See Ya, Kim Jong Gook, Lee Ki Chan, Lee Seung Gi, and Lee Seung Chul. This first part of Volume 2 features V.O.S, who sing ‘Young Day’. The song is about being filled with sadness due to a breakup and the emotions V.O.S bring into the song make one imagine the song being played in a melodrama.

Wonder Girls - Army Song (released)

01 Army Song

Wonder Girls, known as Korea’s ‘younger sisters’, have sung the Army Song, arousing more interest from the public. One can feel closeness with the melody and the cute lyrics, as anyone can easily sing along to the Army Logo Song. What make the song even more enjoyable are the little insertions of the girls’ dialogue between the choruses. This song has definitely changed the image of a stiff soldier to one of familiarity and affection. Let us all sing the army song with our now friendly military.

Na Yoon Kwon (single) - 사랑이 싫어요 (released)

01 I Don’t Like Love

After the release of his second album, Na Yoon Kwon is back with his first digital single, which features a more mature look and voice. This time, the single, I Don’t Like Love, is not a mainstream type of ballad but one that fits Na Yoon Kwon; it is a song with much feeling and lyrics that clearly send a message to the listeners. I Don’t Like Love was composed by producer Kim Hyung Sik and was written by Shim Jae Hee, who is known for writing for many famous artistes such as Sung Shi Kyung. The song is about a man who is lonely because of a broken relationship and is waiting for his love to come back, but at the same time resenting her.

Other releases:

Leo - Liberty (released)
Sung Je - Gift (February 25)
Sweetsoap - Appetizer (February 28)
Mustangs Vol. 2 - Acid Trip (February 28)

Sources: Hanteo, YesAsia, Dosirak