Kim Jaehwan has a voice that can elevate any pop song. Too often, these voices are relegated to ballad after ballad after ballad. But, I love nothing more than hearing a powerful vocalist collide with an equally powerful dance or rock track. It’s one of the factors that made me such a huge fan of Infinite. Unsurprisingly, my most-loved Jaehwan tracks opt for more up-tempo arrangements.
I don’t know that I’d call I Wouldn’t Look For You (찾지 않을게) “up-tempo,” but it does have a satisfying emotional drive. Kim Jaehwan whips out his guitar for the track, and its steady strum gives the instrumental its forward momentum. The arrangement is joined by brass during the chorus, but the production wisely puts his vocals front and center. This is a song that thrives on its emotive delivery, and Jaehwan is a master at wringing passion from the simplest of melodies.
Speaking of melody, I Wouldn’t Look For You is quite straightforward. Its verse, pre-chorus and chorus all have a similar flow and structure. K-pop’s title tracks love switching things up as much as possible, so hearing a song like this – with such a strong through line – feels almost subversive. Thankfully, I Wouldn’t Look For You’s melodic core is sturdy, and Jaehwan’s delivery is robust and dynamic enough to keep its repetition fresh and compelling. I’ll always prefer his rock and funk sides, but this is a nice showcase for his considerable talent.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
I really like this! I love his voice in general and I feel like he can do all sorts of things music-wise, but this tempo suits him well too.
Saw that Pray from the album was described as Sam Smith inspired (on Twitter, not sure if that was an official description or just fans commenting) so I had to check it out and his voice is so powerful. It’s slower than this but I like it as well.
Glad you aren’t majorly disappointed with this release.
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Oh this one sounds like butter. What a difference a nice vocal can make, with a melody. The instrumental also adds value, the nice acoustic guitar, the piano, subtle latin beat. This is the upscale coffee house that suits me.
I haven’t seen a live version or music show uploaded yet – eagerly awaiting one of those.
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I really love these type of powerful voices, but they are only stationed for ballads…..
Anyways, I love this song, It’s passionate in it’s delivery and feels emotionally raw. Maybe some sad funk from this guy? I don’t know why, but I am curious to hear angsty funk…I think it might be dynamic.
NOW!
Girls Generation
EXO
TXT
NCT Dream
ONF
SHINee
Highlight
Sistar
BAE173
We only need three things to flesh this out perfectly:
TVXQ to do an ambitious/ballsy SMP track.
Bigbang to return with an alive-esque album series.
Infinite to reunite as one under the company of Sweetune.
Currently, only one of them has been completed with SHINee coming back with a *classic* SHINee Track, GO HOLY QUARTINET!
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Can you please explain your list to us – comebacks you would like to see, comebacks in the coming, comebacks on the dream list, what?
And where the hell are Big Bang? The world needs a MADE part two with whatever angsty gestalt they are feeling right now.
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Comebacks in the coming!
I heard that Girls Generation is coming back in May and Highlight have shared comebacks. Nick has shared the arrival of EXO in his twitter and Sistar hinted at a reunion! ONF and SHINee are coming back with repackages. We are getting SuperM and NCT Dream with an extra add of TXT coming back in May.
2021 has been shaping perfectly!
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Unfortunately I think that the SNSD post you saw was for April Fools. 😦
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I am not sure about that, probably because the time it was announced was a little too early for April fools.
https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/girls-generation-make-full-ot8-comeback-may-sm-ent-responds-617811
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I mean I would be happy if it happened but we will see then. 🤷🏽♀️ I saw a post for April Fools that went really viral so I thought of that lol.
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Ooh, I hadn’t heard that Sistar had hinted at a possible reunion. That would be VERY welcome if true!
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Sorry! Not Sistar but one of the members Dasom had hinted on it.
I am sorry to anyone who had high expectations.
This is where I got the news.
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After re-checking this comment it sounds like I am blaming Nick. So I just wanted to Clarify that I had no intention of blaming him for my dumb mistake and apologies for the comments in advance.
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No apology necessary! I didn’t take it that way at all 🙂
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Haha also I totally forgot tweeting that!
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Ugh what I would do for another Alive! Curious for the SHINee comeback though. Also NCT Dream – hopefully a true ‘dream’ track again. I love so many of their earlier songs.
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You can definitely look forward to the SHINee track 😉
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