Xia Casts Dancing Spell With ‘Tarantallegra’

JYJ fans, especially Junsu fans, have been waiting for this album for a long time. Ever since his debut with DBSK, he has been praised for his great talent in singing as well as dancing.

Therefore it comes as no surprise that Junsu, also fondly known as Xia, chose to have a mixture of dance as well as ballads in his first solo album.

This album is a great success for an artist who did not have a chance to promote his album as others did through advertisements as well as appearances on music shows. The album reached 100,000 pre-orders on the first day and the tickets to the concert tour have been snapped up quickly upon release.

  

The first track, Sunset, is an intro track that has a dark and mysterious vibe to it. It is featured in the opening strains of the music video for Tarantallegra.

  

Tarantallegra, the title track of the album, is fresh and different from many K-pop hits that flock into the market. It has a dark sound that somehow draws you in. Other than the repetitiveness of the catchy opener by Aziatix’s Flowsik ‘What music do you listen to?’ and the chorus ‘Tarantallegra’, the song has the Xia and Juno stamp all over it.

The Tarantallegra music video is one of the most mind-blowing videos for a K-pop song that I have watched so far. It’s sexy and gothic, and coupled with the dancing skills of Junsu, it left me wanting to hit the rewind button over and over again. The amount of flesh-baring shows that Junsu has put much thought over the fact that the music video would not be aired on Korean television, and might as well be used to target the international audience. Below is the music video for Tarantallegra, and for those yet to watch it, be prepared to be blown off your feet by Junsu!

Set Me Free is another dance track that just screams back at JYJ’s former company... so SM, please set them free!

No Gain is a very unique song, written by Jaejoong for Junsu. It has a melancholic tone, similar to that of In Heaven, just not that moving as the latter.

The fifth track, I Dislike Love, is the OST for Yoochun’s Rooftop Prince drama, and it was reported that while recording for this song, Junsu was so moved that he cried after singing the first verse. It’s a song about heartbreak, and Junsu’s vocals and interpretation makes it all the more beautiful and touching.

Turning Around and Around is another track on the album that fits to be an OST song.  It’s an optimistic song that’s really uplifting. One of my favourites on the album for sure!

The next song is Intoxication, one track that had previously been released in Japanese. Although the lyrics scream sexy and sensual, Junsu’s dancing made it an even sexier song. For the Korean remake, sounds of guitar strumming has been added in. Somehow, I felt the Japanese original is more livelier and upbeat, but hey, that’s just me.

Breath is another dance track, and rumoured to be the sequel to Mission. I was taken aback at the opening by Double K, and somehow the beat did not really get to me. Maybe I will have to watch Junsu dancing away to this one to appreciate it more!

Another ballad, Obviously Know, is another song on heartbreak, in the similar veins of DBSK’s former ballads. I really do wish to hear this sung by five of the greatest idols in K-pop (for me that is, and Cassies all over the world)!

Lullaby showcases Junsu’s soft vocals, showing the mellow side of him that is so different from the ‘dancing machine’ image that he shows during up-tempo songs. A great song to unwind after a long day.

Fever is a dance track that slows and picks up speed, and has a great beat. It doesn’t really stick on me though, and the cheesy English gets to me sometimes. ‘I make you Fever...’ Ah, Junsu... your Engrish is so funny... Tee hee!

The last track of the album, The Dew-Laden Tree, is definitely my most favourite track off the album. Although this ballad has a simple melody, there’s something to this song that just draws you in, and never letting you go. Many reviewers, and also Jaejoong as well, loved this particular track very much. The lyrics are also very touching, a person’s confession of love to a lover. Junsu’s vocal in this song is just perfect, soft and melodious. No one could have done a better job!

Junsu’s personality and hard work can be seen etched over this album. I hope that he continues to sing for many years to come, as a solo artist, as well as with his brothers as JYJ!

PS: For the English translation of the lyrics to all songs on the album, please click on JYJ3.net's link. 

The author is a huge fan of JYJ. Junsu’s latest release has turned her into a Xia fan, as she usually only focuses her attention on her bias!

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Aziatix Releases Latest Album Nocturnal

Aziatix, the Korean-American R&B trio of Flowsik, Nicky Lee and Eddie Shin, has recently released their latest full-length album. Comprising of 6 new songs and 5 previously released songs from their self-titled debut album, they certainly did not disappoint fans with their newest venture. Keeping to their formula from their debut album, Aziatix continues to churn out more great hits.

With music producer Jae Chong at the helm, Aziatix is not only creating waves in America, but in South Korea as well. On top of that, their total use of English throughout all their songs also created an international appeal towards their brand of music and they have managed to amass more fans in the process (I’m one of those many I-fans!).

The short Intro track is beautifully haunting, and is used in the teaser for Slippin' Away. In the teaser, Eddie can be seen falling into water in slow motion whilst the track plays in the background. The teaser was so captivating that it made anticipate the album’s release even more!

Slippin' Away, the title track of the album, opens with a Eddie’s amazing vocals which echoes throughout the track. Somehow I can’t get enough of the fact how the trio can blend so well together: Flowsik raps, Nicky sings smoothly, whilst Eddie’s vocals haunts beautifully.

The song tells of the experience of not being able to deal with a lover leaving. The lyrics goes “I don’t want you to go even if you’re telling me you’ve gotten over me girl, cos’ lately I realized without you I can’t live another day”. This song got me hitting the replay button again and again! Watch the wonderful music video for Slippin' Away here.

Superstar is a track laced with Autotune, yet managing to sound pretty decent. It’s a track that features more of Flowsik’s rap and it is the sort of song that winds you down after a night of hard partying. It is more similar in the vein of the previously released song, Another Day.

A Game sounds very much like a typical K-pop song at the start, especially with the synthesized beats, but what sets it apart from others is it has sort of an American feel to it somehow, maybe since Flowsik’s rap sounds very much like an American artist. I got addicted to the beat of this song after spinning it once.

Be With You gives you the feel of a boy band song, an easy-going song that also has hints of K-pop. It sounds pretty much like the previously released Go, but just a little more jazzed up.

Say Yeah, the last track, pretty much wraps up the whole album. It opens with a club beat that gets you swaying to it, and the trio’s harmonization will soon keep you “sayin’ Yeah Yeah”.

Pretty much I got what I expected of them, and I am glad to see that they do mix and match various styles in their songs as they have both slow and up tempo songs. Looking forwards to their next release already!

The author came across Aziatix while looking at the music producers for JYJ's English album The Beginning as they share the same fantastic and talented producer.

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