Current Addiction: Taeyang's "Eyes, Nose, Lips"

It's been over a month since Taeyang released his new album RISE containing hit track "Eyes, Nose, Lips" and, to be really honest, I'm still not over how awesome this song is. It's an amazing contemporary R&B track with a haunting melody and an addictive hook. It's no wonder the song is everywhere.

In a smart marketing move, YG is not only accepting cover entries for an "Eyes, Nose, Lips" cover competition, they've also released 3 (so far) YG Family covers from Akdong Musician, Tablo, and Lydia Paek. Each one of these covers are awesome in their own right and despite changing up the lyrics - adding rap verses, or totally changing the song into English and just keeping the basic foundation of the song's hook - they've all just succeeded in making me fall in love with the original version even more.

Brother-sister duo Akdong Musician put their own spin on the song and the results are fantastic

Epik High's Tablo angrily rewrites the song and churns out a purely English rap version
with Taeyang joining in on the song's bridge and outro

Quest Crew member and YG producer and artist Lydia Paek puts out the same song minus the angst

I've been listening to these covers on repeat. They're awesome and, for covers, all quite unique. They took the original and spun the song on its feet and made it their own, without forgetting that they're all homages to Taeyang's awesome single.

As a testament to how awesome this song is, several different Korean artists have also come out with their own covers. Eric Nam's version (video posted below) is, by far, my favorite. I've ripped the audio from YouTube and I listen to it on repeat. K-pop groups 2BiC, BTS, and Topp Dogg have also uploaded their own renditions onto YouTube. Even Korean YouTube-star and guitar prodigy, Sungha Jung (a frequent YG collaborator) has released his own guitar cover of the song.

Solo artist Eric Nam loves the song so much that he came out with 2 different covers,
the English version posted above and a live Korean version

Now I'm off to watch more covers from fans all around the world. VIPs rock!

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Monster Rookie is killing it!

It's no secret that I'm hugely YG-biased, but I think it's safe to say that their newest family member, K-Pop Star 2nd placer Lee Hi, is just killing it and it comes to me as a shock that it's only been 5 months since the release of her debut single "1,2,3,4."

Lee Hi, at the tender age of 16 (Korean age is 18), has won over the k-pop listening audience worldwide with yet another number 1 hit, "Rose." And she's totally won me over. Every track on her first full-length album is worth listening to, some more than others - but still a brilliant showing for a debut album. 

I have immense love for her debut track "1,2,3,4" and it was shown the same amount of love in South Korea. Believe me when I say that when I was in Seoul in December of last year, that song was blasting quite loudly almost everywhere we went - from convenience stores, restaurants, drug stores, all over Hongdae, all over Myeongdong. I don't know how much airplay her second single "It's Over" got since I wasn't in Korea anymore at the time of its release, but based on her all-kills and many wins on music programs, I bet it was just as overplayed.

And now with her third and newest single "Rose," Lee Hi's album seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. The song, though not my favorite from the album, is pensive yet infectious in a very Enya-meets-electronic-dance-music kind of way. It's a tap your foot, nod your head, dance-y little track that still showcases Lee Hi's amazing vocals and rap skills. Too bad that it doesn't swell to higher notes when you keep expecting it to. Nonetheless, it's a pretty damn awesome song.

Having three very solid tracks in a debut album is noteworthy, but Lee Hi's First Love has more to offer in what some would expect to be "filler" songs, but they're not. Some of my other favorites have got to be her Tablo-penned song "Special" which features YG-trainee Jennie Kim and the soulful ballad "짝사랑 (One-Sided Love)" written by Sunwoo Jungah. Very strong songs, these ones. Another contender for favorite song would be the intro "Turn It Up" - which would rate much higher on my list should it have been a longer, full track. Here's to hoping they decide to release a full version.

I tend to forget that not everyone kept up with or looked through Lee Hi’s performances on K-Pop Star. So when people heard her rapping in "Rose" and were surprised that she can rap, I just keep wanting to refer them all to this video.

During her days as a contestant on the singing competition, she trained at YG for a bit and was mentored by T.O.P when she had to perform Yoon Mi Rae’s "As Time Goes By," changing the second verse into rap. The awkwardly adorable mentoring session with T.O.P starts at the 2:15 mark. Her actual performance starts at the 4:15 mark. 

YG sure did hit the jackpot having signed Lee Hi. At least, I think so. I'm such a Lee Hi fangirl... What are we called? Hi Heel? The fanclub needs a better name.

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