In the vast landscape of Korean entertainment, sometimes it’s the little things that bring us joy (or disappointment) and make our fan girl/boy/folk hearts beat a little faster.
Each month, we ask our writers to share: Among the many Hallyu things vying for your attention, what’s caught your eye, is on your mind, or has made your heart skip a beat?
The (Slightly Mysterious) Appeal of Izna’s “Sign”
— Siena
Amidst an abundance of promising rookie acts, I find myself constantly circling back to Izna. They aren’t the most polished or creative of the rookie bunch, and their music so far has been solid but not a home-run. Perhaps I’m just attached from watching their formation via I-Land 2 (one of the few recent survival shows I’ve made it all the way through… those three-hour long episodes are an endurance test!), but I can’t help feeling that they have a certain magic just waiting to properly unleash itself.
Their sophomore comeback “Sign” initially struck me as a disappointment. I love the deeper vocal register and I think the opening verses build fantastic momentum… but what follows never bursts into full life (the chorus feels particularly lacking). Still, I kept coming back to “Sign,” checking out multiple music show stages and getting little snippets of the track stuck in my head. Apparently, I’m not the only one being slowly drawn in by the flawed but catchy song: Izna claimed their first music show win in mid-April.
In some ways, I think “Sign” is like Izna themselves: not quite there, but bursting with charisma and magnetic promise. The song, to its credit, does showcase Izna’s two standout skills, their performance abilities and their vocal chops (and that’s with them missing a main vocalist, Jiyoon, who is currently on health hiatus). I’m very hopeful for the rookie group’s future, and until their next release, I’ll be side-eyeing “Sign” while it slowly sneaks its way onto one of my playlists!
Boy Group Excellence from Close Your Eyes and Just B (+ Just B’s Bain’s Momentous Announcement)
— Sabrina
Boy group releases have mostly not caught my attention over March and April, but there have been a few notable exceptions. New group Close Your Eyes came from the survival show Project 7, which I did not see—but I did recognize the name of the group’s creative director, Lee Haein, from her impressive rollout of six pre-debut linked music videos for Kiss of Life. Continuing her strong artistic direction, the trailer for “Close Your Eyes,” the intro to their album Eternalt, revealed a clear concept, dreamy and nostalgic. Like the group name promises, you could just close your eyes and feel transported by the delicate vocals and string instrumentation. I have been missing this ethereal ambiance from boy groups. Less than a week after debut, Close Your Eyes already won a music show for their laid back R&B title track “All My Poetry,” which bodes well for them.
Just B is a group I have loosely followed in the past. I recognized members Geonu and Siwoo (formerly JM) from their time on I-Land, and checked out their debut “Damage,” produced by Bang Yongguk. I also liked their more pop punk-influenced singles, particularly the incredibly catchy “Medusa.” However, I had not yet explored them in depth, but their latest EP Just Odd and title track “Chest” is starting to change that. Just B explore many genres, and Just Odd includes some rock and EDM elements that are cohesive with past work, while “Chest” embraces hyperpop. The repetitive refrain and processed vocals of “Chest” initially put me at a distance, but I enjoyed the textures, from the frenetic synths, to heavy-hitting beats. The song just got addictive the more I listened to it and could appreciate the complex layers of its production. Just B seem incredibly confident in this sound, perhaps buoyed by DY and Geonu’s songwriting and producing contributions to the album.
This week, member Bain also courageously came out as gay at Just B’s LA concert, which is momentous, as he is reportedly the first active Korean boy group idol to do so. So far, I have seen an outpouring of support in fan spaces. I hope he can feel that love, and he and the group can find even more success as they continue to express themselves.
