Se7en with Lil Kim - Girls

I'm not extremely excited about Koreans trying to break the US mainly because I don't think it's superior to breaking the UK or an artists' own country - it doesn't change who he/she is. I am however curious about how different countries and companies in Korea approach breaking the territory. BoA's US debut wasn't my type - I found the lyrics disturbing and I'm not someone who looks at lyrics very often, Rain's debut has mainly been acting-based so nothing especially interesting there and Se7en - I never really noticed him until recently.

A little background on the guy - whenever a new solo guy singer who emphasizes the dancing element of the equation comes along, he is always and I mean always compared to Rain AND Se7en. For valid reasons - because of the explosion of the two around 2002(Rain) - 2003(Se7en), every company that ever existed in Korea has sought out to create their male-singing-dancing machine to counter them. What I've observed is that dozens tried but in the end Rain and Se7en showed that they really were worthy of the hype they had created - they survived long after the average shelf life and were actually good at what they did. His last full-length album was in 2006(but the singles from it weren't really that good..) and from what I'm reading he's been working on a US debut since then.

This is what he came up with.

That's more like it. I mean, if you're gonna make a song that's tailored for the US market (although I'm with Craig David on this issue - I don't see why an artist has to change to crack another country..) - you better do it well. With the BoA song being odd and Rain getting a role in the flop of a movie that was Speed Racer and a role in a movie whose release date keeps on being pushed back(Ninja Assassin) - I'd say this guy isn't doing that bad in the 'cracking the US' movement.

The song is somewhat generic but he has the style and genre correct - I'd say it'll reach the top 15 with enough promotion and airplay(although who am I to judge?). He's almost got the English thing, apart from a few parts with an accent(which aren't that bad as well..) the vocals are strong. The hook is short and repetitive, I've come to know a lot of number one hits that have that element. Melody-wise the song is competent, it's not something to faint over at the start but listening to it might give you the sudden urge to dance - not bad at all. The more you listen though, the more you like - it's a slow burn which may or may not be good for him.

A slow burn could mean that it'll take time for the Americans to like the song so it'll start low but once it hits them it might do well OR it'll take too much time for them to like it so they move on.

Then of course there's another name in the song - Lil Kim. I personally think it's a good strategy because the Lil Kim fans might get curious about this mysterious new guy singing with her so they'll hear the song - possibly like it and possibly buy it. Smart YG Entertainment, smart.

4.6/5