Tae Yang is one of the very talented members of the Korean hip hop group Big Bang, and I have to say the best singer of them all. He just recently his first solo mini-album, and I have to say I’m more impressed with this than some of the stuff Big Bang’s been coming out with in the last couple of months.

기도 (feat. Teddy) (Prayer) is my favorite track off of this mini-album. His voice has been digitally-edited for the majority of the song, which I felt really made his sweet tone pop out, yet match the more futuristic theme. The song has a rather mid-range tempo, so it’s not especially dance music, but it still has a distinctively hip hop beat to it that will at least get your feet tapping. Teddy’s rapping is very excellent in this song as well, but… that’s to be expected!

나만 바라봐 (Look at me) plays at about the same tempo of 기도 but has a much more ballad-feel to it. The music is slightly upbeat, but at the same time there is a sort of melancholy to it. The background is still very heavily electronic-sounded, a new recurring theme in a lot of YG productions. However, this song is all Tae Yang’s natural voice (well as natural as it gets on a studio recording), and he really belts his heart out, and it really shows off his vocal talents.

죄인 (Criminal) is easy-going and playful, yet driving and somewhat…mysterious? It plays very well into its title! There is something quite shady in the syncopated flow of the rhythm and lyrics. I can imagine this being in a hip hop-style musical, haha. The song is not very dark at all; it has a sort of playful beat to it that keeps it rather light.

Baby I’m Sorry is a full-blown R&B ballad that shows off Tae Yang’s voice beautifully. While his voice may not be the most unique out there, it has an amazingly silky, pure tenor tone that makes it perfect for this type of song. When he really starts pushing out those powerful notes, you can feel the heartbreak and regret.

Make Love (feat. Kush) could be considered somewhat of a hybrid between dance, rap, and ballad (but Koreans love raps in their ballads anyway). It’s not quite fast enough to be a full out dance number, but too fast to be a slow dance kind of song. However, there’s something about it that makes you want to just get up and move. I might be it’s sensual mood, which is only enhanced by Tae Yang and his background vocalists’ voices. Despite the sort of gentle feel mixed up in this song, Kush’s slightly grisly-sounding rap manages to fit in quite well.

Final thoughts: This mini-album is absolutely amazing! I can’t recommend it enough, especially to Big Bang and fans of other YG artists. They (the producers, etc.) really knew how to highlight and use Tae Yang’s voice and tailor it to near perfection. My one and only minor complaint is that there wasn’t a huge amount of variation, but then again this is only a six-song CD. But otherwise, I loooooooved it!

mink is a Korean singer who sings and works in Japan(ese). I personally think she’s one of the best female voices out there on the market currently. She has a sweet alto tone that’s a bit husky, but can also be strong and pure. She’s definitely very unique in both the pop and R&B genres in which she does most of her work.

Sense begins with a upbeat piano intro before moving into a more R&B/pop beat that’s got a bit of spunk to it, but at the same time stays pretty low key and ballad-y. Unfortunately, the background music is maybe the best part of this song. mink barely shows any of her amazing vocal talent in this song; there is barely any variety in the song and everything is more or less flat. There is one part where she tries to crescendo all at once, but it’s so out of place and hoarse, it just sounds like very loud squeak. For a title song, this is pretty disappointing.

Love is.. helps to save this single. The music is along the same vein as Sense, so that’s nothing too original. However, mink’s vocals get more of a showcase in this song. But, as is prevalent in many of mink’s song, the interesting part doesn’t come until the song is almost 2/3 over! But I’m a huge fangirl so I’ll wait that long to listen her gorgeous, strong alto resonate.

Guilty as sin is a sexy soul ballad, with a bit of an acoustic touch. With an Aretha Franklin sort of feel to it, this song is a gem. mink keeps her voice more on the low, husky side, which only helps to give the song more of a sensual feel. This is song is all in English, which I’m usually not a fan of, especially if the singer is not that great at it, but I think her English has definitely improved, so I have no complaints.

Amazing grace ～from mink summer live 2007 “Shalom”～ is really good, as well. She sounds just as good live as she does in a studio, which is really, really awesome. I don’t like the arrangement of the song too much in the beginning of the song; I think it was much to hoarse and whispery for a song like this. However, as the song continues, she redeems herself and really belts out those notes. With the chorus in the background, it almost sounds like a real bonafide church choir.

Final thoughts:
Compared to her last album, this single is a let down. It’s not terrible by any means, but from mink I’d usually expect a little bit more. The title song is rather forgettable, but luckily, it only gets better from there. Hopefully her upcoming mini-album will be much better.

01. Intro
02. 初恋 (First Love)
03. A Flame For You
04. 星愿 (I WILL) (Star Wish (I WILL))
05. 幸福的左岸 (Happiness’ Left Shore)
06. 后 (After)
07. 交错的爱 (Wrongly Given Love)
08. 相信爱 (Believe in Love)
09. 纯真的爱 (Pure Love)
10. One More Try
11. Y (Why…)
12. Timeless

Zhang Li Yin, known as Jang Ri In in Korea, is an amazing ballad singer under the SM Entertainment label. She gained popularity after her hugely successful September 2006 single, Timeless, a duet with Junsu of DBSG. She put a few singles here and there, but after a long, mostly silent period, she has released her first Chinese album.

初恋 is a decent enough starter song. It is one of her typical ballads, and there is nothing too outstanding about it. However, it does give a good introduction to her vocal talent and sets the tone for the rest of the album.

A Flame for You is powerful soul ballad. It’s chill and jazzy, perfect music for the stage of an old-style bar/club. She even has the group of background singers for the chorus. Li Yin’s sweet yet deep vocals are at times sensually subdued and other times thunder mightily. There is definitely a lot going in the background, and while she does get somewhat overpowered at times, she usually stands out against the noise.

星源 (I WILL) literally gives me shivers down my spine. I barely speak any Chinese, but the love and emotion of the song purely shine through with her voice. The instrumental track, composed mostly of strings, serve only to add a bit of mood to the song. Her vocals are strong and dynamic; there is a frank, raw openness to the song, but her voice stays beautifully controlled.

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01. 开始 (In the Beginning)
02. 第二天堂 (Second Heaven)
03. 子弹列车 (Bullet Train)
04. 起床了 (Morning Call)
05. 豆浆油条 (Perfect Match; lit. “Soy Milk and Dough Sticks”)
06. 江南 (River South)
07. 害怕 (Afraid)
08. 天使心 (Angel)
09. 森林浴 (In the Woods)
10. 精灵 (Spirit)
11. 相信无限 (Infinity)
12. 美人魚 (Mermaid)
13. 距离 (Distance)
14. 未完成 (To be Continued)
15. Endless Road

JJ Lin is one of my all-time favorite artists. He is from Singapore but has the most fame in Taiwan. He composes his own songs, ad well as composing for a few other artists, and can play several instruments as well. I think he is a very talented and innovative addition to the Chinese music scene, and I definitely suggest you check him out.

第二天堂 (Second Haven) is the title song of the album. It has a very definitive R&B and hiphop feel to it, but strays more on the ballad side of the spectrum (although it does have its fair share of rap). The thing is, the song has a very non-hiphop instrumental base. There is a lot of piano, orchestral instruments, and traditional Chinese elements to song, making it quite interesting. The only thing I didn’t like was the amount of sound effect. They do go along with the theme of the song, but I think they detract rather than add.

子彈列車 (Bullet Train) keeps up the R&B vein. In some strange way it reminds me of a Jay Chou, probably because of the style. For this song he sort of half-raps/half-sings over the music. Again, there are a lot of annoying sound effects, but they are significantly less abundant than in the last song (in which they had their own section!).

豆浆油条 (Perfect Match) is one of JJ’s signature love songs. The background music is a soft and acoustic, giving it a very “down-to-earth” feel. The guitar parts are especially helpful in creating this feeling. The song is not a ballad, but slightly upbeat and happy. His voice is gentle and clear, matching the atmosphere of the song.

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01. 그대가 있어서
02. 사랑해
03. 멀어져
04. 스노클링 (Snorkeling)
05. 예뻐요
06. 애써
07. Lost
08. 부딪쳐!
09. 내 님은 어디에
10. Hey, Buddy

Sweet Sorrow is finally back with a new album! I have been waiting for one since I happened to stumble upon their first earlier last year. They began to gain popularity through single tracks for soundtracks. I would consider them a ballad group, but they have a bigger pop influence on them than say, SG Wannabe.

그대가 있어서 is an amazing opening song. It is fairly simple and easygoing, and the instrumentals are low-key, giving the group a chance to introduce their voices. Their voices are fairly good by themselves, but when they harmonize, it’s truly wonderful. As this song crescendos towards the end, it leads well into the next song, 사랑해. It is sickeningly boy band-ish, haha. This song is sunshine, rainbows, and dates on Sunday. I could see SS501 singing this more than I can imagine these guys.

Things slow down with 멀어져, which is a full out ballad. The harmony in this song is absolutely gorgeous, and the main vocalist for this song shines. I think this song best shows off how well they sound together.

스노클링 (Snorkeling) is the Sweet Sorrow I remember. It has a good, sort of swaying beat to it. The acoustic guitar and piano add a natural background to their voices. The song has a very emotional feel to it, soaring higher and higher, before finally drifting down as the song ends.

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01. FREE FREE joins 中田ヤスタカ (capsule)
02. feel the beat (album vers.) joins SUGIURUMN
03. Potential Breakup Song joins ALY & AJ
04. Bitter… joins S.A.
05. SWEET DANCE joins RAM RIDER
06. The WeekeND joins CAPTAIN FUNK
07. SUPER MUSIC MAKER (radio edit) joins 中田ヤスタカ (capsule)
08. MUSIC joins RAM RIDER
09. Stereo Love joins Tomoe Shinohara☆☆☆
10. アイノウタ joins ROCKETMAN feat. YOU THE ROCK★
11. ２人はPOP joins ホフディラン
12. 新しい日々 joins YO-KING
13. if

Ami Suzuki is back with another pop/dance “joins” album. She’s hooked up with some pretty big names in the electronic world, namely Nakata Yasutaka and RAM RIDER. I was never really a fan before, but I think that she has really found her niche, and should stick with it. Her voice isn’t particularly strong, but it goes well with the genre, and she has a great ability to match her voice to the different artists’ styles. All of the covers for the different versions of this CD are pink, and I think the color perfectly describes the mood of the music.

FREE FREE is probably the strongest track on this album; unfortunately, it showcases more of Nakata’s talent, and her voice is somewhat swallowed by the vocoder and fancy effects. However, it really is electropop. The music is flowing and fun, electronic and yet, down to earth. SUPER MUSIC MAKER, her other song with Nakata, has a similar feel to it, but the music is much more disco-influenced.

Potential Breakup Song is really the song where she shines. It is much more pop than most of the other songs (for obvious reasons), and Ami gets to show off her voice. As I said, it’s nothing wondrous, but it has that sort of foxy teen tone that fits so well.

Bitter… is a nice break from the fast-paced earlier songs. It is more a chill song; not exactly a ballad, but definitely low key and relaxing.

The pace picks up a little bit more with SWEET DANCE. It’s still got that soft, chill feel to it, but it’s a bit more… happy? RAM RIDER has a very unique, calm, feel-good atmosphere to his music, and this song is no exception. MUSIC is also no exception, except that it is a little faster and upbeat.

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I know I am very late to the game with this review, but you’ll have to excuse me!
To be honest, I haven’t been too impressed with the most recent releases of Tohoshinki. After they released their Five in the Black album, it seemed like they got sucked into some terrible generic pop black hole. After hearing people absolutely raving about this single, I finally decided to give them another chance, and I (surprisingly) wasn’t disappointed.

Purple Line is a very sexy song with a great dance beat. There isn’t anything too outstanding about it to gush about, but if you’re looking for a good mixture of pop, hip-hop, and dance, it’s perfect. It’s obvious the boys have really been working on their voices; Yunho especially has improved a lot. I still think Yoochun should stick to rapping, though. The amount of Changmin and Junsu was great (although I would be pleased with more~); they both have strong, powerful voices to match the hard bassline, as compared to Jaejoong’s more raspy tone.

DEAD END -STY Gin n’ Tonic mix- is a so-so remix of a song from the FitB album. I personally think they slowed it down to the point of borderline boring. The harder rock edge has been replaced by a softer, piano background. Actually, it sounds like jazzed up lounge music.

ZION - Zero G Remix - is my favorite song on this single, to be honest. This is remix done well. Like DEAD END, the original song had a harder rock feel to it. However, unlike the other remix, they’ve managed to transform that hard edge into a fun, driving dance beat. It is actually very similar to Purple Line, with less of the hip hop and more trance.

Final thoughts:
This single is definitely an improvement over the hivemind pop they’ve been spitting out over the past couple months. I will definitely have Purple Line and the ZION remix on repeat for a while! I may even be so emboldened as actually try out their new album. Gasp!