Rookie soloist EI released the MV for his title track “Remember,” which was produced by the Brave Brothers, off of his debut single. EI, who is managed by Plus K Entertainment, is causing a bit of a stir because he’s one of the few solo artists debuting in the boy band/girl group saturated Kpop scene. Will his debut prove to be memorable?
“Remember” is a mid tempo piano and synth heavy pop song. EI’s vocals are decent when it can be heard over the dissonant piano and synthesizer. I think the mixing of the track wasn’t done well- the piano was especially grating and very loud in the song. “Remember” clocks in at only 2:14 minutes and the ending is somewhat abrupt. I actually searched for different versions of the MV thinking that the first one I found cut the song off.
The MV for the song which was just released is shot well and shows the relationship of a man and woman. It has already caused controversy due to some partial nudity and a co-ed shower scene.
I actually prefer the second track on the single titled “Only You’ featuring Maboos of the Electroboyz better because the mixing of the music and vocals are more balanced. I’m not sure what it is, but recently I’ve been having a lot of issues with songs done by the Brave Brothers- there always seems to be something about the song that is a little off.
I can understand why a lot of Kpop artists don’t debut as soloists (other than that the whole trend is for groups), it’s because it is a lot of work, responsibility, and pressure to undertake for just one person, at least with a group everything can be distributed. Recently, the only soloists debuting have been Superstar K finalists who have the advantage of already having some kind of fan base, so I think EI’s debut is good for Kpop. He’s a talented singer and brings a little bit more diversity to the Korean music industry. In my opinion, if his songs were a tad stronger he could have made a bigger impact on the Kpop scene and maybe have triggered a resurgence of solo artists, but that’s just me- we’ll have to wait and see if Kpop fans will ‘remember’ EI.
