Girl against the world
IN the relatively male-dominated K-pop scene, Taeyeon has become an unlikely torch bearer of girl power, and it’s not hard to see why. She’s proven time and again that she can play with the big boys, with her music videos raking in million of views within days – a feat often only achieved by male idol groups.
What propels this kind of frenzy? The answer is in her debut full-length album’s title – My Voice – an apt representation of her artistry.
Despite its air-tight production and glossy sound, the star of the show on this 12-track collection (13 on the physical copy) is Taeyeon’s impressive voice.
It’s a trait that the 28-year-old showcases to glorifying heights on the lead single and album opener Fine. Think of it as I (the singer’s epic 2015 hit) on adrenaline. What begins deceptively as a folksy acoustic-driven track soon progresses into a powerhouse pop ballad with its soaring goosebumps-inducing chorus. This is Taeyeon at her absolute best.
She immediately follows up on that emotional roller-coaster with the technicoloured Cover up. At first listen, the tropical disco-dance number conjures up notions of last year’s EDM-influenced Why. It’s an effortless crowd pleaser, but its inclusion also hints at the mass manufactured ed pop template of My Voice.
Th here’s no shortage of genres here e as Taeyeon flits betw ween pop rock ( Fee el So Fine), R&B ( I Go ot Love) and atm mospheric rock ( Tim me Lapse) just to n ame a few.
WhileW the variety hereh highlight ts the dynamic qu uality of the song gstress’ voice, it kin nd of takes awa ay from the albu um’s overall liste ening experien nce. In that resp pect, My Voic ce lacks a cohe esiveness that wass displayed brill liantly in fellow bandmate Seoh hyun’s recently rele ased EP Don’t
Say No.
But one can’t accuse Taeyeon of being afraid to experiemtn. The polarising I Got Love – a song that takes risks with its “non-chorus” chorus – sheds light on a fierce and sassy pop star.
Elsewhere, she hits all the right notes on the mid-tempo numbers ( Sweet Love, When I Was Young, Lonely Night) which make up the more solid half of the album.
Whether or not My Voice will be paraded as a K-pop classic is up for contention really. But what’s for certain is that Taeyeon has certainly set a standard here. And the idea of other female K-pop artistes living up to that benchmark in the years to come is an exciting notion indeed. Various Artistes
Beauty And The Beast Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Universal Music
MOST anticipated Disney remake in recent years or not, one thing we can all agree about Emma Watson’s live-action Beauty And The Beast is that it’s bound to be one of the most polarising films this year. But that isn’t a free pass for Disney to dish out a maddeningly pathetic excuse of a cover.
We’re, of course, referring to Ariana Grande and John Legend’s update of the iconic title number. The awkward pairing sees both music superstars trying unsuccessfully to emulate the magnetic chemistry between Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson in the 1991 radioradio-friendly rendirendition.
But one can’t exactly fault Grande and Legend – who both excel at delivering pristine vocals – for this pop carnage. The song is let down by instrumentation that sounds unapologetically karaoke-y. This pop-friendly duet should have taken more artistic liberty – the way the movie does with a certain controversial character – and leave all that stayingtrue-to-the-original charm to the film version of the song (pleasantly performed by actress Emma Thompson).
It may be a song about a “tale as old as time”, but the lazy arrangements here make you wish it only lasts as long as the expiry date of low-fat milk.
Besides the original score, there are also two original numbers by Celine Dion ( How Does A Moment Last Forever) and Josh Groban ( Evermore) that are more in the vein of relatively new Disney greats such as Sarah McLachlan’s When She Loved Me and Phil Collins’ You’ll Be In My Heart.