If Park Bom was still under YG Entertainment, we wouldn’t be able to see much of her in the near distant future. But the good news is that Park Bom is no longer under YG Entertainment and therefore we are able to see her more often. Back in March, Park Bom returned with her first solo single in 8 years, titled Spring and featured fellow 2NE1 member Sandara Park. Within a month and a half, the soloist has returned with 4:44, which features Mamamoo’s Wheein. And in a recent interview, Park Bom hinted towards other comebacks within the year! So rejoice Park Bom fans, she is here to stay!

From the very start of 4:44, you can tell that there is a heavy emotional tone to the song. It also tells you what type of direction the song would go into. Despite being in a time of sudden changes, I think vocally-centred and emotionally-based songs don’t become affected by such trends. But a trend that did affect the song is the use of an electronic instrumental for this R&B ballad. Even some of Park Bom’s vocals are autotuned. I am not too bothered by as they all blend well together. But they could have been a little lighter with the autotune. I find 4:44 very interesting for two reasons. Part of me finds certain moments quite nostalgic as it brings me back to her earlier solo works. Leading right after is that the Park Bom’s voice is very husky and airy in this track, reminding me of Soyou’s vocals when her collaborations were the go-to track to download. I think Wheein gave the song some lightness and crispness. Her part had a slightly faster tempo and this gave dynamic appeal. I also liked Park Bom’s ad-libs during Wheein’s feature, which I thought were rather cool.

Once again, the emphasis is on the colour blue. It definitely made itself the centre of attention. Apart from that, there isn’t a whole heap going on. Park Bom, for the majority of the video, walks around. I like the idea but I think she could have been a little less rigid while walking, which would have made the video appear softer. I also understand that Wheein wasn’t in the video. Many times, featuring artists cannot fit music video filming into their schedule. But getting the main actress to lip-sync doesn’t really cut it for me. And the small opening of the mouth really annoyed me. Maybe there was an artistic reason for this. But I just thought the lip-syncing was unnecessary.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 6/10
Overall Rating – 7.8/10