Tag: Ha Sung Woon

Making his final solo comeback yesterday before he carries out his military enlistment is Ha Sung Woon. He returns with the title track FOCUS and the mini-album Strange World. This comeback follows his recent special release, Can’t Live Without You, from earlier this year.

FOCUS is another neat pop song to add to the list. More could have been done in the song to make it even better, but that doesn’t mean what we have been presented with is bad. FOCUS is groovy vibes in the midst of its pop instrumental, thanks to the guitar work and that synthesizer synth in the instrumental half of the choruses. Said synthesizer synth was actually quite catchy The bass adds oomph to the song, while the percussion gives FOCUS a snappy effect. All of which helped make FOCUS very appealing as a track. Ha Sung Woon vocals were quite strong throughout. His falsettos in the bridge were nicely done, while the ad-libs he throws in the end were very cool. The staggered effect in which the choruses start off with (accented by the punchy bass) helped add a memorable aspect to the song, which I thought was rather cool. Like other songs recently, my gripe with regards to FOCUS is that the song could have done more. FOCUS never really strayed from its root sound, which I felt made the song too consistent. I kind of wished there was something else to FOCUS to give the song some more flair or dynamism. For example, I felt some rapping could have taken the FOCUS to the next level. Or even may be an instrumental breakdown that changes FOCUS‘ momentum ever so slightly. But as how we got it, FOCUS was still a great comeback track.

The music video shows Ha Sung Woon becoming infatuated with someone who he sees and likes. But he becomes so intent on her that he doesn’t notice that she leads him to his demise (i.e. the hypnosis, trapping him in the car and setting said car alight). We don’t actually see the car go up in flames, but the ending does show Ha Sung Woon in the middle of the ring of fire, which I presume alludes to the fact that he was in the car when it was alight. This storyline matches the lyrics, which is all about the dark side of focusing on a lover. I liked the darker looks and premise of the video, and I quite liked Ha Sung Woon’s looks throughout the video. All his expressions also look really good and conveys the story so well.

The sliding footwork is the best aspect of this choreography routine. It looks cool, sleek and has the potential to become iconic, in my opinion. I really liked the use of the dancers to make the routine more dynamic. The rest of the performance was captivating to watch (emphasising Ha Sung Woon’s performance skills) and I also liked how intense the routine got for the final chorus.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10

Ha Sung Woon also made his comeback on Wednesday with a special mini-album, You. Leading this mini-album is the title track Can’t Live Without You. This is Ha Sung Woon’s first release since he departed Star Crew Entertainment (his company for the past seven years) and his first since the release of Electrified and Electrified: Urban Nostalgia (which dropped late last year). Interestingly, this isn’t his first release under his new company, BPM Entertainment (the home to VIVIZ who also debuted on Wednesday). Not entirely sure why that is the case, but Can’t Live Without You and You are a nice treat nonetheless.

Can’t Live Without You is a light and mellow ballad, suitable when you want to take it easy, with a nice warm beverage in hand. It isn’t the most riveting song out there, nor does it gain points for being innovative. Nor is it the type of song that I usually steer to, as well. But it was extremely pleasant and nice sounding, and there is always time and need for a song like this. I also found Can’t Live Without You to be very warm and inviting, which I am sure was Ha Sung Woon’s intention for the song given that it is a song for his fans. As for Ha Sung Woon himself, he definitely sounds splendid. I like the husky tone he provided the song, which adds a nice texture to Can’t Live Without You. The softness and lightness of his vocals compliment the instrumental, but also at the same time, manages to pop out in a fitting manner. The melodies of this song are relatively simple, but definitely bring forth that swaying measure I look for in ballads and adds to the pleasantries of this song. Altogether, Can’t Live With You is a neat track that just feels perfectly soothing and comforting, for his fans and the casual listener alike.

That warm and comforting feeling was definitely well portrayed in his video. It was the main feeling that I got from the video, despite the surroundings seemed cold and chilly throughout the video. It seems like Ha Sung Woon spends all of the video alone, but it appears that we are by his side for parts of the video. He interacts with the camera at various points to give off the impression that we are with him. This indeed compliments the idea that this is a song for the fans. It is a fine accompaniment to the song.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

Ha Sung Woon is nominated for Best Male Soloist, and his release, Sneakers, is also nominated for Best Male Choreography (Solo) in the 2021 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Click here to support Ha Sung Woon and your other favourite artists.

Making his return yesterday as well was Ha Sung Woon. The title track of his sixth mini-album, Electrified: Urban Nostalgia, which also dropped yesterday is Electrified. His is Ha Sung Woon’s third comeback of the year, following the release of Sneakers in June and Strawberry Gum in August of this year. This also is the last release for Ha Sung Woon under Star Crew Entertainment, which he has been under since his debut in 2014 as part of HOTSHOT, which disbanded earlier this year.

Unlike what the title suggests, Electrified is not electrifying. It is more groovy and funky, in a laidback manner. While I do enjoy this style, I do think that what Electrified ended up being like was pretty typical and standard for nowadays, especially since groovy and funky has been really honed into this year once again. I wished that there was more of a zing to the song (i.e. be more electrifying) to match what I personally expecting from the song when I read it title. But I also think a bit of zing would have been helpful in giving Electrified some uniqueness to the song to set it apart from the rest of the other songs of a similar nature. But as I mentioned before, I am not troubled by the direction that Ha Sung Woon had ended up going in. I applaud the smooth consistency of the song throughout its almost four minute run. Had this been released earlier on in the retro and funky resurgence, I think Electrified would have been extremely satisfying to listen to. It is still satisfying at the moment, but just idea of the song sounding similar to others kind of gets in the way now of the feeling. Contributing to the smooth atmosphere of the song are Ha Sung Woon’s smooth vocals. While that might sound like the Electrified might be overly consistent, I find his breathy additions to be a nice change, yet also being within the boundaries of the smoothness parameter. His breathy moans throughout are quite memorable. The hooks and melodies felt subtle and don’t stick out as much like in other songs, but they still managed standout and had a nice ring to them as well. I also enjoyed the ‘La La La‘ at the end, especially with the slightly amped up instrumentation. I liked and enjoyed Electrified for the most part, but felt it could have been more individualised.

The music video was a bit bland for my taste. Ha Sung Woon essentially describes his feelings that the person who caught his attention in the lyrics. To match that type of vibe, we get a serenade from Ha Sung Woon to the female character in the video who is just browsing LPs. I did like the retro side of the video, with the LPs, the black and white style processing of photographs that is Ha Sung Woon’s job in this video and the neon lights. And I thought he looked good throughout the video. But aside from that, nothing else stands out for me.

It doesn’t seem like Ha Sung Woon is promoting Electrified and there isn’t much choreography in the music video (aside from some spinning), so I am skipping this part of the review. It won’t be factored into the score below.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 7/10
Overall Performance – 7.3/10

Apologies for another impromptu break once again. But I am back and will try to get through as many reviews over the coming few days. Today, I will be focusing on a release from Monday. Alongside ONF and The Boyz, Ha Sung Woon made his solo comeback with the repackaged version of his fifth mini-album. Originally titled Sneakers (which was also the title of the title track), Ha Sung Woon has re-titled the mini-album to Select Shop. Leading Select Shop is Strawberry Gum, which features Don Mills. Later this upcoming weekend, I will be fast tracking the album review for Sneakers/Select Shop as it has been on my radar for a couple of weeks for review already. But until then, here is my review for Strawberry Gum.

Personally, I feel Ha Sung Woon has an impossible task of upping the likes of Sneakers. It has become my favourite title track from the soloist, and its energy and vibrancy has managed to develop it into an addictive track. As expected, Strawberry Gum just doesn’t hit that same mark for me (let alone, surpass it). To me, I thought the new song lacked that vibrancy and energy that made his previous title track stand out and catapult it to the top. However, that doesn’t mean that Strawberry Gum is a bad song in anyway, nor did it lack such elements. It had all of that. But it just didn’t hit home for me. Strawberry Gum taps into the retro funk style of music that seems to elicit the need to get up and dance. The chorus was the peak of the effect. But the pull for this to happen just wasn’t the same as the previous comeback. Part of this was simply because I didn’t find the song to be that innovative. And the vibrancy just wasn’t as high as Sneakers. The song definitely played to his strengths, but it felt safe and was more of a ‘traditional’ take on the retro/funk genres. Don Mills featured in the second verse, rapping his way through the song. I liked how Don Mills didn’t distract you from the song. Rather, he blended in really well into Strawberry Gum, keeping the song consistent and helping drive the song forward. I think there was a bit of a sacrifice by keeping the raps close to the song’s profile, but I thought it was clever for reasons already mentioned. Throughout Strawberry Gum, I felt Ha Sung Woon’s vocals were very consistent and showed off some nice restraint. The most impressive display of such skills was during the bridge of the song. His delivery added some much needed oomph to the song, the high note we got added some smoothness to the song and the slight addition of autotune at the start of the section to accompany his vocals gave off some nice texture. Overall, Strawberry Gum is pleasant and nice. But if I were to pick, Sneakers is more up my alley.

Ha Sung Woon changes from a janitor to the centre of the party in the music video for this release. For the most part, the video is reflective of the song. Pleasant and nice. But it isn’t something that I find myself replaying because I thought it was gripping or captivating. Just pleasant and nice, for me. What I did like in the video was the different hairstyles that Ha Sung Woon had. I felt the hair stylists really outdone themselves with the four hairstyles that showed off different sides of the artist. I also enjoyed Don Mill’s appearance in the video. Always nice to have the featuring artist appear in the video.

But unfortunately, he doesn’t appear on stage. Instead, the rap sequence was delivered by Ha Sung Woon’s friend, Ravi (from VIXX). I liked how energetic the performance was and how bouncy the moves were. The moonwalk and the ‘Be-Be-Be-Baby Love Me‘ part in the hook were my favourite parts of the performance. I also liked the tinge of cuteness Ha Sung Woon gives the performance via his facial expressions, which I am sure fans enjoy.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.8/10

Also making his comeback yesterday is Ha Sung Woon with Sneakers, the title of both the lead single and mini-album. This is Ha Sung Woon’s first comeback in 2021, with his last being Forbidden Island and Mirage from November of last year. This is also his first comeback since the confirmed disbandment of HOTSHOT. It is always disappointing to hear the disbandment of a group, but at least fans could have some closure with the confirmation of the disbandment, especially since it has been almost three years since we last heard from the group (their last comeback was without Ha Sung Woon and titled I Hate You). But sad news aside, we are hear to listen to Sneakers today!

Sneakers had a slow yet pleasant start. I guess the intention of this is to start the song from point zero, as there was a patient buildup in the instrumentation as we progress through the first verse. The pleasantry of this part is the melody, which brings out Ha Sung Woon’s soft vocals really nicely. What came next is pretty unexpected. I don’t think anyone suspected the burst of vibrant energy and super upbeat nature that was Sneakers‘ chorus. Firstly, it is the highlight of the song for me. The chorus is always the central part of a song, and so it should standout. And that is exactly what we get in Sneakers. Secondly, the vibrant energy (thanks to the influx of percussion) is just so catchy and memorable. I also really like the bounce to the song, which is so cool. Same goes for all the melodies we get throughout this section of the song. And thirdly, the chorus brought a smile to my face. And I guess that is thanks to the same vibrant energy (and may also be due to the music video, but I will get to that soon). Once the first chorus, the second verse doesn’t revert back to the slow pace of the first verse entirely. Instead, it keeps the beat going for a bit, which is great, The slowness does return as part of the pre-chorus, though I think this helps make the second chorus feel even more explosive. We get a brief stripping of the instrumentation for the bridge, before a quick buildup to the final chorus. Ha Sungwoon’s vocals in this part sounds so good and I really like how clear it is. Ha Sungwoon shows off more of this vocals in the final chorus, with high notes and ad-libs. Overall, I really enjoyed Sneakers, as it is vibrant and a super fun track that makes me smile.

I feel the music video is very relatable, especially due to the past year. A lot of us were in lockdown for the most part of 2020, staying away from strangers and the world in hopes not to contract the COVID-19 virus. And Ha Sungwoon portrays that in this music video. However, I think Ha Sungwoon is isolating for other reasons other than a pandemic. He is in bunker and he basically locked himself in there. He also has a lot of supplies that looks like it might last him a while. While he was reaching for a new water bottle, he knocked over a box that contains some sneakers. Memories of times where he was hanging outside start flooding back and he even reminisces about those time. In the end, he decides to leave the bunker to re-experience those memories and it appears to be the best decision he has ever made, enjoying the fresh air and sunlight that he sees for the first time. I guess it helps that your bunker is in a prime location like how his one was. Though scenes of him enjoying the sun and air, along with his memories of those times, brought a smile to my face. It all looked very genuine, and his enjoyment is easily transferred to you.

A really energetic performance accompanies the release of Sneakers. While this is expected, I really think Ha Sungwoon and the dancers went above and beyond, incorporating jumps that are high and take up a lot of your energy. I do think there is opportunity for more footwork throughout the performance, to really show off the sneakers. This is on the basis (and I hope) there are some awesome sneakers worn during the promotional period.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9/10

Today, Ha Sung Woon continues his solo career with his latest comeback, Forbidden Island, which is the title track of his fourth mini-album, Mirage. It follows the release of Get Ready and Twilight Zone earlier this year. It is interesting to remind ourselves that Ha Sung Woon was once a member of HOTSHOT. I am a little surprised that he has yet to make an official return of HOTSHOT group’s promotions. It could potentially be that the group has gone on a hiatus due to military enlistments. But as Ha Sung Woon continues to make solo comebacks and his company continues to remain silent on a potential return, it is looking more like Ha Sung Woon had unofficially left the group’s lineup.

Forbidden Island is one of those songs that manages to surprises me as I listen to the song. And if you have already checked out the song, you probably know what I am talking about. There isn’t much to the start of the song aside from a building atmospheric instrumental piece and some clicks. I did like how he put forwards a raspy and breathy version of his vocals, further heightening the suspense that is slowly building. Nothing really happens until we reach the chorus. It changes up the song completely, driving forward with falsetto vocals and a funky instrumental (made up of guitar and percussion) that instantly lights up with energy. You could tell that a change up was bound to happen given how the song started. But what we got was not something I had expected. And I am digging it. The second verse pretty much is the same concept as the first, just the background has a little more momentum to make it feel appropriate following the first chorus. The bridge was stunning with the slowdown. It felt like it returned to how the song started, just without the suspense building in the background. His vocals, once again, stand out here, with an impressive high note. And the slowdown, per usual, makes the final chorus more vibrant and punchier. Overall, Forbidden Island is a strong release and possibly one of his best to date.

The music video shows a world without people, as suggested by Ha Sung Woon as he sings about this ‘Forbidden Island‘. He wants to be lead there by the person he is singing to – where we can only assume that life is infinity times better than with people. It sounds like an introvert’s dream. The setting of this video looked quite aesthetic, especially the scenes that one could describe as ‘in the dark’. I am talking specifically about the scenes where he is sitting on a chair surrounded by flowers, a circle that you can make out on the floor and some stage fog, or the scenes where is head is surrounded by colourful crystal-like structures. Even his choreography scenes and outdoor scenes looked really stunning.

You might feel that lifting people as part of a dance routine is something that happens quite a bit on stage. But I am impressed with the complexity of the lifting that happens in this particular routine. At the start, he is instantly lifted upon walking into the arms of the dancers. Towards the end, he is lifted to slide over one of the dancers in a really unique take of the move. Pretty much made me go wow. I also really liked how in sync he was with the dancers for the chorus and the duo moment that Ha Sung Woon and one of the dancers had during the second verse.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9/10

This Monday is loaded with comebacks and I won’t be able to get through all of them today (as I am running out of time to write them – the album review took a lot longer to write than expected). Apologies in advance. The rest of them will come Kicking us off with this week’s intense influx of comeback is Ha Sung Woon, who makes his return with Get Ready. This track is the title track off his 3rd mini-album, Twilight Zone, which was also released today. This is the soloists first comeback of 2020 and since the release of Blue mid-last year. Since this Blue comeback, Ha Sung Woon has been busy with a solo concert, collaborations, charity work and an OST release (based on his Wikipedia profile). After that busy absence from the music scene, let’s hear how his return fairs.

Prior to the release of Get Ready, we were promised with a funky number as his comeback title track. And that funkiness was delivered from the first second. Funky guitars and the featuring of one brass sound kicks us off into a very dynamic and upbeat track. During the verses, we got to hear some nice vocal work and I really liked the falsetto part (this funky falsetto combination reminded me to Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines for a brief moment). However, I didn’t like that sudden change up for the pre-chorus, which weakened the song in my opinion. Interestingly though, it felt fine in the second verse. It just doesn’t sit well with as part of the first verse and catches me off guard as it cuts the flow of the song. The chorus is no doubt the catchiest section, with it kicking up the energy of the song and applying more of the brass to up the funk. While add more brass makes logical sense to input more energy and funk into the song, I do have the concern that the brass overpowered the chorus and it doesn’t let the melodies or hooks (and hence vocals) shine. I think the melodies and hooks were fine as they were and the producers could have gone with a less overwhelming brass line. Apart from those falsetto moments, Get Ready‘s bridge was another favourite section, as it provided a bit of relief from the two choruses that surrounded it and allowed for Ha Sung Woon to show off his vocals before the brass drowned them out. The melody was smooth and the ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah‘ was quite catchy.

The music video starts off with a very mysterious sequence. We don’t have much context to the video, so everything is quite confusing. So here is a literal breakdown of what I see occurring. We see Ha Sung Woon swim to a house under the ocean. He enters the house while its under water, where there is a house party going on. He is thrust into the party (which looks really boring). He reflect that exact same feeling with some of the part goers later on in the video. About part way into the video, we see the house vibrating and Sung Woon jumps out of the house with a life buoy. Good thing he took that life buoy as he ends up floating away with it and the house was revealed to be floating in the sky. I would definitely like to know what this all means as I have no clue, even once I put it into words. What I can say is that the video looks quite good. His orange hair is a miss for me, even though I get Joker vibes from it.

While we haven’t seen a full performance just yet, what we managed to see in the music video promises a few things. The chemistry with the dancers make it look very appealing and adds that lighthearted vibe to the performance. The chorus looks fun and likable, especially how the dancers jump out from behind Ha Sung Woon for the final chorus. That looks unique. Overall, it looks dynamic and very fitting for the music.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.3/10