Excuse me, Jun.K. Is that what we’re all calling him now?
Well, regardless of whatever moniker he’s going by, 2PM’s Junsu released his debut solo track, “Alive,” today. Check it out below:
I don’t know if this theory makes any sense outside of the crazy confines of my brain, but this song just has this grown-in-studio vibe to it, and you can almost see Junsu sitting at the keyboard and mixer as he puts together this song. It definitely showcases Junsu’s own musical style to a T, but it also shows the passion of an artist who loves playing in the studio, recording sound as it flows through his brain and his fingertips and letting spontaneity lead the way.. In K-pop, it’s not often that we see artists writing and recording a song that’s all their own – but when they do, you can hear the difference.
Granted, that kind of free spirited-ness and spontaneity doesn’t come without a few weaknesses. There’s a lot of good stuff going on throughout the song, but it feels a little disjointed and the themes are a bit scattered. I loved the orchestral-choral feel of the opening bars, and I wish that he kept that as a solid, running theme throughout the entire song, instead of throwing it in for a few bars every so often as a thematic transition. The orchestral theme is great, and the hip-hop theme is great. If only everything were just a bit more cohesive, we’d be golden.
I don’t take much offense at Junsu’s rapping; if anything, I’m glad that he’s broken out of the shell of being 2PM’s token lead vocal and is pursuing different sorts of vocal music apart from heartwrenching ballads and soaring ad-libs. I find it interesting that Junsu chooses not to fully show off his vocal ability in “Alive,” but instead focuses the attention on his composition and production skills. Besides, it’s not as if the entire world doesn’t already know that the boy can sing his way to the moon and back. But with this solo album, Junsu’s completely front and center in every aspect of this release.
But I digress. The teaser for the MV was also released yesterday – and yes, everyone and their mother’s already made the comment that it looks an awful lot like T.O.P.’s “Turn It Up” MV…but I think that that has more to do with the sound of the song than anything else. And the song in its entirety sounds nothing like “Turn It Up”…so chill, guys. It looks like it’s gonna be a good one.
