Taebin - Performances - Cover Songs

Taebin's cover of songs sung by American artists such as Usher, Mario Winans, etc. I put all the performances together here:

Cover of Usher's "U Got It Bad" - I can never find a good quality of this performance, but this is the performance that first got me interested in Kpop. Taebin really has a unique style when he performs.




Cover of Mario Winans' "I Don't Wanna Know" -



Cover of P.Diddy's "I'm Missin You" -



Cover of Richard Marx's "Right Here Waiting" - Only the first part of the performance is the cover

Album Review: Khalil Fong – ‘Timeless’

Album release date: 2009
Genre: R&B/Soul, Cpop

Rating: 3.5/5

Review by: jct

R&B/Soul singer Khalil Fong’s fifth album, Timeless, is essentially a tribute to the artists and songs that inspired his music. He covers a range of artists and at the same time adding something new or incorporating his style to the songs. Thus, the album isn’t entirely retro as it somewhow manages to expertly and easily walk the line between classic and modern day R&B/Soul music.

Classic/Modern Day

If you’ve ever wondered how Khalil Fong has an overflowing amount of soul, a large part of the answer is within the songs in this album. He clearly covers the songs that he felt had influenced his music style and lyrics. The artists he covers range from Stevie Wonder to Faye Wong.  The opening track is Stevie Wonder’s “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life”, in which he kept the music the same as the original, but adding his own distinct sound to it. Maybe the album’s best song is Glenn Medeiros’ “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You” as Khalil kept the song simple but at the same time, updating the song to appeal to the younger generation. Not to mention he sings it smoothly with true genuine emotions. Also, deserving mentioning is the cover of Susanna Kwan’s “Frenzy (狂潮)” in which he adds an R&B flavour to it which makes it sound less classical. At the same time, he kept it clean and crisp. This version is certaintly unique as the vocals and style is different from the original. Also, the cover of Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba” is an impressive remake as the song is in Spanish and although he doesn’t speak the language, he delivers it very well. If you did not know better, you’d think he can actually speak Spanish. He also adjusted the music and beats of the original song to fit his style and vocals, and the result is impressive.

However, the album does falter slightly on some songs. Although the songs itself are good and well-sung by Khalil, some songs simply doesn’t fit his style or nothing new was added, such as the songs “Bad” and “Remember”.  Overall, the album lives up to its title, as he embedded the idea of timeless, and doing justice to the artists that inspired him musically.

Tracklist
1. You are the Sunshine of my Life (Stevie Wonder cover)
2. Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You (Glenn Medeiros cover)
3. Bad (Michael Jackson cover)
4. 狂潮 (Frenzy) (Susanna Kwan (關菊英) cover)
5. La Bamba (Ritchie Valens cover)
6. Red Bean (Faye Wong cover)
7. Georgia On My Mind (Ray Charles cover)
8. Remember (A-mei cover)
9. Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton cover)
10. Moon River (Andy William cover)

Album Review: Z-Chen – ‘Happiness’, ‘Love Tree’

Album release date: 2005, 2006
Genre: R&B, Cpop     
Review by: jct

Note: These two albums contain nearly the same songs, with only 2 new songs added to Love Tree. So, I wrote a review for both of them combined.

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In a perfect world, R&B singer, Z-Chen would be huge, while other, lesser-talented artists would flop instead of chart-topping successes. Z-Chen has a unique music style and his vocals are smooth and powerful. He might not top the charts, but Z-Chen is definitely an outstanding artist.

Hope & Love

In his 6th and 7th album, Happiness and Love Tree, respectively, Z-Chen continues with what he does best: creating music that tugs on your heartstrings. The albums are filled with a handful of slow and soothing songs with romantic lyrics. The title track of the 6th album, “Happiness” is a mid-tempo R&B song that he composed using a popular tune from the Cantonese song “Needing You Every Minute (分分钟需要你)” as a sample. The song is about being in love and understanding happiness in the process, as he smoothly sings in both Mandarin and Cantonese, “Loving you, I understand happiness/ It allows me to go through a rare and precious lecture/ Having you, I will become happier and also fulfilling”.  The title track of the 7th album, “Love Tree” is a slow-tempo R&B song about comparing one’s love to a tree. He sings, “The most painful thing in love is cannot lean close to each other/ But I will wait for you/ Recalling the season/ My love is a tree/ Never will it leave a step/ Snow and wind is so ruthless/ but I believe I can stand them all.”  Also deserving mentioning is the cover song of Shakin Stevens’ “Because I Love You”, as he sings completely in English to demonstrate his fluency in the language.

The albums do falter slightly as a couple of the songs may sound similar to the tracks from his previous albums. However, with his smooth vocals, the songs can still tug on the listener’s heartstrings and are pleasant to listen to. Although the two albums have nearly all the same songs, the addition of “Love Tree” and “Recovered” in the 7th album is certaintly welcoming. Overall, the two albums are very solid releases and are recommended for those who enjoy slow-tempo R&B and R&B/pop.

Overall Rating
Happiness - 4/5
Love Tree - 4.5/5

Tracklist

Happiness
1. 快樂 (Happiness)
2. Just Once
3. 讓時間開口 (Let The Time Say)
4. 擔心 (Worry)
5. 貼身情人 (Close Lover)
6. Because I Love You
7. 拖延 (Delay)
8. 樂天派 (Optimist)
9. 預言 (Premonition)
10. 放我的真心在你的手心 (Placing My Sincerity Into The Palm Of Your Hands)

Love Tree
1. 愛情樹 (Love Tree)
2. 快樂 (Happiness)
3. 痊癒 (Recovered)
4. 讓時間開口 (Let The Time Say)
5. Just Once
6. 擔心 (Worry)
7. 貼身情人 (Close Lover)
8. Because I Love You
9. 樂天派 (Optimist)
10. 預言 (Premonition)
11. 放我的真心在你的手心 (Placing My Sincerity Into The Palm Of Your Hands)

Artist bio: Z-Chen (張智成)

Profile
Date of Birth: May 8, 1973, in Malaysia
Education: Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Profession: singer
Debut Album: 名字 (My Name) 2001
Also Known as: Little Prince of R&B (R&B 小王子)

Early Life
Z-Chen (Zhang Zhi Cheng) was born and raised in Malaysia, but based his career in Taiwan. While in university, he was involved in many music activities. In 1996, he won first place at a national singing contest (Seven Star Cup Singing Contest) in Malaysia. This led to his debut and career in Taiwan.

Career
Z-Chen is an R&B singer-songwriter, but in general, he doesn’t compose much. Z-Chen has a unique style as he sings R&B genre and commits to it throughout his music career, which is rare in Cpop. His debut album was released in 2001 in Malaysia, but from 2002 and onwards, he focused his career mainly in Taiwan, where he gained the most success. In Taiwan, he is nick-named ‘Little Prince of R&B (R&B 小王子)'. Although his songs are in Mandarin, there are some songs that are in Cantonese and English. This allows him to gain a wider fan base in other countries like Hong Kong and Malaysia. Z-Chen is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, English and Malaysian.

Discography

名字 (My Name)   2001
May I Love You   2002
凌晨三點鐘 (3 a.m.)   2003
 Listen To Me     2003
蒐藏張智成 (Save Z-Chen) Z-Chen Greatest Hits    2004
快樂 (Happiness)     2005
愛情樹 (Love Tree)     2006
暗戀 (Secret Love)     2009
你愛上的…(In Love With…)  2011
記得,是最好的遺忘 (The Best Memory)  2013

Source: princezzz.blog (Z-Chen’s blog), itunes

New Music: Gummy & Bobby Kim - '러브 레시피 (Love Recipe)'

The single was released on November 23, 2010. Gummy and Bobby Kim are both great singers and their vocals are great together. I really like it!!

Yoon Jong Shin - KBS Music Warehouse Performances 10/11/17

Yoon Jong Shin appeared on KBS music show, Music Warehouse, on Nov 17, 2010. He performed songs from his new album, Vol. 12, and also several older songs, with a total of 7 songs.

Here are the performances:
 1. "You are so beautiful" - From Vol. 10. 




2. "Instinctively" feat. Swings - From Vol. 12. 





3. "The Temperature of Separation" - From Vol. 12





4. "Can't Live Without You (Late Autumn) - From Vol. 12. 





5. "몬스터" - From Vol. 10. 





6. "Walking Man" - From Vol. 12







Credits to jangyeun, windins2 for uploading videos

Album Review: 2AM – ‘Saint O’Clock’

Album release date: 2010
Genre: Kpop, Ballad, R&B/pop
Rating: 3.5/5                
Review by: jct

On their first full album, Korean male group, 2AM delivers more love ballads with tints of R&B/pop. Most of the songs properly showcase the group’s strong vocals and rely less on studio computerization. However, there are quite a handful of songs that sound very similar to their previous songs.

Strong Vocals…

2AM pretty much delivers their usual set of ballads onto their first full album, and the results are mixed. Despite being a young group, there’s nothing particulary fresh or new about what they’re offering. But despite that, the album does have its moments particulary around the middle of the album with more tender and slightly original tracks.

The album’s title track “You Wouldn’t Answer My Calls” is a piano-centered song about a broken heart. Both the title track and the second single, “Crazy”, sound very similar to their previous single, “Can’t Let You Go, Even If I Die”. Thus, the songs really lack originality. Things do get better though after these two songs, but most of the songs are quite typical especially the R&B/pop songs such as “Just Me feat. Glam" and “Mirage”. Both are mid-tempo songs with nice vocals, but it's nothing outstanding as they are simply the usual contemporary R&B/pop songs.

… but Same Old Song

As mentioned earlier, the problem with the songs in this album is a lack of originality. Nearly all of their songs sound similar to their previous singles. And the songs that do sound somewhat different simply aren’t that spectacular or outstanding. However, each member does have strong vocals, and they really stand out. Overall, the album is not bad at all, as it is expertly produced and well-sung, but most of the songs sound like the same old thing.

Tracklist
1. Intro – Phone
2. 전활 받지 않는 너에게 (You Wouldn’t Answer My Calls)
3. 미친 듯이 (Crazy)
4. 바로 나야 feat. GLAM (Just Me)
5. Mirage
6. 다시 사랑하기엔 (To Love Again)
7. 이젠 없다 (Not Now)
8. 불안하다 (Anxious)
9. Love U, Hate U (feat. 방탄소년단)
10. With Or Without U
11. 사랑한단 말 못해 (I Can’t Say I Love You)

Album Review: Yoon Jong Shin – ‘Vol. 1’ to ‘Vol. 10’

Album release date: 1991-2005

Genre: Ballad, R&B/pop, Kpop
Review by: jct

Note: This is a review for Yoon Jong Shin’s first 10 albums. That’s right, all in 1 review, :D! I decided to put them all together because there're probably not a lot of people who bother to listen to all his albums from that far back. So, this is like a summary which hopefully, help you know his music better.

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Fifteen years and ten albums deep into his career, Yoon Jong Shin has managed to solidify his status as a talented singer-songwriter with a distinct style. His music is mainly filled with love ballads that contain comforting tunes and original lyrics.

Incredibly Moving

For his first three albums, Yoon Jong Shin worked with other song-writers to produce mainly slow love ballads. However from the 4th album onward, Jong Shin sets himself apart from other ballad singers by not only composing and producing most of his own songs, but developing his own distinct style of ballad that is not generic or boring. Also, deserving mentioning is his close friends, Harim and Yoo Hee Yeol, who helped produce and compose a couple of songs from his earlier albums, which are really good.

On the first 5 albums, the focus was on romantic ballads with a tint of jazz tunes on some songs, but by the 6th album, his music has shifted towards more ballad/pop. The lyrics for these ballads are all very original and some are incredible moving such as “Your Wedding” from Vol. 2, which is a sad and sensitive ballad about receiving the news that your first love is getting married. He captured the emotions perfectly and he sang with true genuine emotions that you could shed tears upon listening to the song. (Note: “Your Wedding” also appeared in Vol. 6 but with different musical arrangements and beats. The lyrics are still the same though.) Some of the classic materials he had put out from the first 6 albums are “Like the First Time We Met (처음 만날때처럼)”, “Your Wedding (너의 결혼식)”, “One Day Long Ago (오래전 그날)”, “One of My Wish (내소중한사람에게)”, “Like Father’s Love (아버지의 사랑처럼)”, “Please(부디)” and “Reincarnation (환생)”.

Vivid, Sophisticated

From Vol. 7 to Vol. 10, Jong Shin began to explore pop and R&B and incorporating them into his ballads. It was definitely a great idea because these music genres truly fit well with his vocals. Vol. 8 is the album that has the most R&B/pop and R&B/ballad songs compare to his other albums. The most obvious song is “Anytime (언제라도)”, which is a mid-tempo R&B/pop song that actually sounds quite contemporary. On Vol. 9, the content is slightly different from his usual songs because it contains more fun, relaxing, up-tempo songs such as “Red Bean Sorbet (팥빙수)” which is about red bean ice cream. Vol. 10 is an album that truly stands out on its own as it demonstrated a wide range of his smooth vocals, and definitely an album that you could listen to from the beginning to the end many times. Some notable tracks from Vol. 7 to Vol. 10 are “Clueless Man and Woman feat. Lena Park (우둔남녀)”, "Gifts (선물)”, “Stay (머물러요)”, “A Present from Hee-Yeol (희열이가 준 선물)”, “Annie”, “Anytime (언제라도)”, “Red Bean Sorbet (팥빙수)”, “Expressway Romance (고속도로 Romance )”, “Because I Love You”, “No Schedule”, “You are so beautiful”, and “Goes to You (너에게 간다)”.

If there’s one thing that hinders him is perhaps his voice. Yes, it’s strong and can be powerful, but his voice seems to change slightly as the years go by. In the first 5 albums, it was more high pitch and soft, but later, it became slightly deeper and more distinct. However, he still sings smoothly and with passion, which is important because you can relate to the emotions that make up the songs. Anyone can easily puts themselves in his shoes as he sings about love and romance. This is a reason why Jong Shin has both female and male fans equally, unlike some male singers who only have a strong female fan base.

Although Jong Shin is a strong vocalist, he isn’t the most powerful, so he wisely plays to his strength on his albums, where he stays within slow ballads and mid-tempo love music. Over the course of his albums, Jong Shin’s protrayal of love’s many different shades is a vivid, sophisticated one, and thankfully contains none of the shallow, idealized versions of romance. Overall, his song production is on-point, and the lyrics are definitely intelligent and well-thought out. 

Solidifying His Status

In a world where things move forward on a daily basis, Jong Shin is able to adjust his music to reflect the growth and evolution of the music industry and his audience, but at the same time, he still manages to maintain the familiar sounds that his fans are accustomed to without radically switching up his style.  Unlike other artists, Jong Shin has passion, style and sophistication, and he’s able to put all three together and displays them in a fine fashion. He may not be as popular as he used to be, but he is definitely a talented singer-songwriter and occupies the top-tier in the music industry. Overall, his later albums (Vol. 7- Vol. 10) are highly recommended for those who enjoy ballad with some pop and R&B flavours in it. However, there are some songs from his older albums that are definitely worth listening to.

Overall Rating

Vol. 1 – 3/5

Vol. 2 – 3.5/5

Vol. 3 – 4/5

Vol. 4 – 3.5/5

Vol. 5 – 3.5/5

Vol. 6 – 3.5/5

Vol. 7 – 4/5

Vol. 8 – 4.5/5

Vol. 9 – 4/5

Vol. 10 – 4.5/5

Album Review: Khalil Fong – ‘Soul Boy’, ‘This Love’, ‘Wonderland’

Album release date: 2005-2007

Genre: R&B/Soul, Cpop

Review by: jct

Note: This is a review for Khalil Fong’s first 3 albums. All in 1 review!

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Khalil Fong’s music is truly a breath of fresh air compared to the souless, overly computerized music that defines contemporary R&B music. All the songs in the albums are earnest, heartfelt love ballads, and none are boring or generic. With his smooth and soulful vocals and outstanding production skills, Khalil is definitely a true, genuine artist.  

Smooth and Soulful

On his debut album, Khalil sets himself apart from the other Cpop singers by focusing his music on R&B/Soul. And he continued with this tone and image on the next two albums. Khalil’s approach on all the albums seemed to be if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And it worked because R&B/Soul is truly what he does best. However, on Wonderland, he did adjust his music style slightly as he provided more upbeat tunes rather than the slower ballads from his previous albums.

All three albums are pretty much filled with slow to mid-tempo love ballads, with just a couple of upbeat songs. Most of the songs have very original and romantic lyrics. For instance, in the song “Sorry” which is about finally realizing and understanding the pain he had caused to his lover, and apologizing. He sings, “When I turned around, I realized that it was I/That hurt you the most, owe you the most”, and he continues, “Your love is so deep, the deepest love is actually the most silent/ Love can be gentle, love can be cruel/Love’s selfishness, love’s freedom/ Love’s betrayal, love’s struggle/ All these I’ve experienced/ I also have your pain now/ I’m so sorry.” Also deserving mentioning is the song, “Travelling Quartet” which is a duet with Fiona Sit. It’s a love ballad about a brief encounter with a past lover, as they sing, “I didn’t have enough love to give at that time/ Looks like we can only be friends/ The happiness of the past doesn’t turn into sorrow/ Looks like at that moment/ We both were willing to let go.” Other notable tracks from the three albums include “Spring Breeze”, "South Sound", “Shu Li Zhen”, “If You Leave Me Now”, “Love Song”, and “Park”.

Although Khalil didn’t compose all the songs, he did arrange and produce most of them, and the results are amazing. In addition to his smooth vocals, his ad-libs are also really good, and not too overwhelming. Although, there are many highlights, there are a couple of drawbacks. One of the drawbacks is that some songs from one album may sound similar to the songs from a previous album. However, it can be forgiven because his songs are still fresh and compelling, and he sounds full of life.

The bottom line is that all three albums are solid packages and demonstrate Khalil’s smooth and soulful vocals. These three albums are highly recommended for those who enjoy R&B/Soul music.

Overall Rating

‘Soul Boy’  - 4.5/5

‘This Love’ – 4.5/5

‘Wonderland’ – 4.5/5

Tracklist
Soul Boy
1. Prologue
2. 妹妹 (Little Sister)
3. 春风吹 (Spring Breeze)
4. 每天每天 (Everyday)
5. 女人 (Women)
6. 叫我怎么说 (Tell Me How To Say)
7. 哪怕 (Who’s Scared)
8. 南音 (Sound of the South)
9. 我们能不能 (Can We)
10. 跳 (Jump)
11. 总结 (Conclusion)
12. 赶场 (Rushing)
13. 等着你回来 (Waiting For You To Be Back)

This Love
1. 愛愛愛 (Love, Love, Love)
2. 蘇麗珍 (Shu Li Zhen)
3. 歌手與模特兒 (A Musician and a Model)
4. 唉! (Oh, Dear!)
5. 四人遊 (Traveling Quartet)
6. 手拖手 (Pulling Hands)
7. 偷笑 (Grinning)
8. Goodbye Melody Rose
9. 詩人的情人 (Poet's Lover)
10. 拖男帶女 (Grab the Guys, Take the Girls)
11. Love Outro
12. If You Leave Me Now
13. 春風吹之吹吹風Mix (The Walk of the Blowing Spring Breeze)

Wonderland

1. Love Song
2. 夠不夠 (Enough?)
3. 暖 (Warm)
4. 愛在 (Love is There)
5. 公園 (Park)
6. 簡單最浪漫 (Simple is the most romantic)
7. 十九八七...  (10,9,8,7…)
8. 未來 (Future)
9. 忘了美麗 (Forgetting Beauty)
10. Sorry
11. 愛愛愛 (Acoustic Version) (Love, Love, Love)

Defconn (데프콘) - 동창회 (Feat. Yoon Jong Shin, Verbal Jint)

I just stumbled upon this song a while ago. It's a Hip Hop song with some R&B/pop sounds, from Defconn's Vol. 2 album in 2004. Yoon Jong Shin sings the chorus part and he sounds really good! I really like the songs he sang back in early 2000s since it was more R&B/pop.

Listen to it here:

New Music: T-Blue - 'Transform' Single Album

T-Blue is a Korean R&B/ballad rookie male group consisting of 3 members: Sung Yong, Sang Bin, and Yong Sung. Earlier this year, they released their first album, and this month, November, they released a single album which consists of 2 new songs and 2 instrumentals.

The two songs, “Need U Baby” and “Transform” feat JeanX, both have very catchy tunes, but they are still your typical R&B/ballad songs. Since their music are influenced by other established Korean R&B/ballad artists such as Fly To The Sky and SG Wannabe, their songs actually sound very similar to these artists. Thus, T-Blue lacks a distinct style and their vocals are actually pretty mediocre. But at only 19, 20 years of age, they still got plenty of room to grow.


Tracklist
1. Need U Baby
2. Transform (Feat. JeanX)
3. Need U Baby (Inst.)
4. Transform (Inst.)


Or you can listen to the songs here:

Brian Culbertson - 'Skies Wide Open feat. Avant' (2010)

Brian Culbertson is a smooth jazz keyboardist and trombone player, and his latest album, XII, features some R&B artists. "Skies Wide Open" is a romantic R&B/Smooth Jazz track sung by R&B artist, Avant. The vocals are smooth and soulful, as expected from Avant. The production of the song is also strong and gives off a comforting feel.

Listen below:



Lyrics:

When the sun shines on your face

Every day's a beautiful day

When the waves rushin' in

And a view from the bay 

When the birds sing their song 
And the wind hums along 
It's all about the love you give 
Baby, you're so positive 

I can't explain it baby 
You makin' me crazy 
I can't go a day without you 

You got my skies wide open 
For you and me to walk right into eternity 
Ooh baby, the beauty of love 
It rains down over me 
(All over me) 

I've never felt like this 
(No) 
I never thought this would ever exist 
(No) 
There's something about your love, baby 
It's got my skies wide open 

The stars align in your presence 
Baby girl, it's a beautiful thing 
And everything that you do 
Feel like the earth move 

And you don't ever have to worry 
'Bout another ever tryin' to take your place, yeah 
There's no excuse, I'll be a fool 
For you to walk out of my life, trust me, I ain't with it, baby 

It's hard to explain it 
You're makin' me crazy, yeah 
I can't go a day without you 

You got my skies wide open, baby 
For you and me to walk right into eternity 
The beauty of love 
It rains down over me 
(All over me) 

I've never felt like this 
(No) 
Never thought this would ever exist 
(Never) 
There's something about your love, baby 
It's got my skies wide open 

More than a song 
Melody, or a tune 
And I can go on and on 
And on and on and on 

The way that you love me 
Is more than I want 
As long as my world keeps spinnin', baby 
You will be in it 

Ooh, girl 
For you and me to walk right into eternity 
The beauty of love 
It rains down over me 

I've never felt like this 
Never thought this would ever exist 
(No) 
There's something about your love, baby 
(Oh, girl) 
It's got my skies wide open 

I can see you and me walking into eternity 
The beauty of love 
It rains down over me 

I've never felt like this 
(Never, baby) 
Never thought this would ever exist 
(Trust me) 
There's something about your love, baby 
(You got me) 
It's got my skies wide open 
(Skies wide open, skies wide open) 

It's got my skies wide open 
(Skies wide open, skies wide open) 
It's got my skies wide open 
(Skies wide open, skies wide open) 

It's got my skies wide open 
(Skies wide open) 
When the sun shines on your face 
Every day's a beautiful day 
When the waves rushin' in

Lyrics credit: onlylyrics.com
Lyrics reviewed: jctmusicnotes

Album Review: Yoon Jong Shin – ‘Vol. 12 行步 (행보) 2010 (Pace)’

Album release date: October 2010
Genre: Kpop
Rating: 4/5
Review by: jct

Note: This review focuses on the overall album as a whole with more emphasis on the songs that are not covered in the monthly project singles. Review of the monthly singles can be found here.
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Yoon Jong Shin’s 12^th album marked his 20^th anniversary since debut as a singer-songwriter, and it isn’t just a collection of outdated or mediocre materials. The album not only compiles the songs together from his monthly project singles 2010, but it also includes 5 new songs. In this album, he mixes different music genres along with his usual assortment of ballads. Although not all the results are spectacular, there are enough good moments that make Vol.12 worthwhile.

Versatile

The album starts off with songs sung completely by other artists, but composed and produced by Jong Shin. This is something he has never done before in any of his previous full albums, which obviously have its advantages and disadvantages. The artists, Lyn and Kim Yeon Woo, are chosen for the songs, “Refresh’ and “King of Regrets” respectively, are excellent as their vocals fit perfectly with the songs. However, this is not the case with the song sung by Yoo Hee Yeol. Although Yoo Hee Yeol is a talented producer, he seems to lack passion while singing the song, “Empty Confession”.

On this album, Jong Shin is certaintly taking a few chances musically as the songs are somewhat different from the type of materials he always recorded. He is definitely exploring different genres and incorporating them into ballad. The most obvious are the songs “Instinctively”, and “I hope, I hope”. Although, some works, some doesn’t at all especially “I hope, I hope”. In this song, he explores dance/disco music, and it’s so awful beyond words. Seriously, the less said about it, the better. (See ‘Album review: Yoon Jong Shin's monthly singles’ for details)

The album's biggest hit, “Instinctively”, is a mid-tempo vintage R&B/pop/rock song with the guest appearance of Swings. The pairing of the two is perfect as the rap complements well with Jong Shin’s distinct vocals. The lyrics are also very original. Also deserving mentioning is the song “Can’t Live Without You (Late Autumn version)”, which is a romantic ballad that displays a wide range of his vocals with sweet and original lyrics. The next song, “The Temperature of Separation” is also a love ballad with smooth vocals, with the accompaniment of some electric guitar sounds. The album then ends off nicely with a holiday song which gets everyone anticipated for the Christmas holiday. The musical arrangements and beats for this song fit nicely with his vocals.

Sending a Message

Basically, Jong Shin is a sending a message to his fans that he is able to break into new grounds in music production. This is a good thing, but at the same time, in stepping outside the box, he reveals that he’s only most impressive in ballad/pop/R&B genres. That is because he is a singer with a lot of passion and incredible lyrics, but sometimes ordinary when it comes to vocals. Of course, his vocals are at its most impressive when it comes to ballad. However, when he steps outside of ballad, only pop or R&B/pop music fits him best because these two genres are filled with singers with somewhat mediocre voices, but great style and song production. The other music genres just don’t fit him well.

Vol. 12 has 16 songs, and clocks in at slightly over an hour, so anyone buying it is likely to feel they’re getting their money’s worth. That said, some of the songs’ quality do falters. However, he does break into some new musical grounds in this album by integrating different music genres into ballad, which is impressive on some parts. Overall, Vol. 12 isn't his best album, but the album lives up to its title as he moves forward with his music.


Track list:

1. 새로고침 (Feat.서인국) (Vocal Lyn) (Refresh feat. Seo In Gook)
2. 빈 고백(Vocal Yoo Hee Yeol) (Empty Confession)

3. 그대 없이는 못살아 (Spring ver.) (Can't Live Without You)

4. 막걸리나 (Rice Wine)

5. 본능적으로 (Feat. Swings) (Instinctively)
6. 이성적으로 (Rationally)

7. 넌 완성이었어 (You were perfect)

8. 치과에서 (Feat.조정치) (At the Dentist)

9. 바래바래 (I hope, I hope)

10. 해변의 추억(Day ver.) (Memories of the beach)

11. 해변의 추억(Night ver.) (Memories of the beach)

12. 후회王 (Vocal Kim Yeon Woo) (King of Regrets)

13. 그대 없이는 못살아(늦가을) (Can’t Live Without You - Late Autumn version)
14. Walking Man
15. 이별의 온도 (The Temperature of Separation)

16. 12月 (December)

Album review: Yoon Jong Shin – ‘Monthly Project Album 2010 – April – October’

Album release date: April – October 2010
Genre: Kpop
Rating: 4/5 (exclude July)
Review by: jct

In these monthly projects, between April 2010 and October 2010, Yoon Jong Shin shows more musical ranges compare to his last full album (Vol. 11) which was filled mainly with love ballads. Here, he is able to once again demonstrate his distinct smooth vocals and excellent composition/production skills which makes him a well-rounded singer-songwriter.

Refreshing (April - June)
The monthly singles starts off with the April album, and the first song is his usual pop/ballad song, but the second track, “Rice Wine” is a light and casual pop song. The song “Rice wine” is actually just about rice wine since he did a commercial for it early this year. It’s actually quite unecessary to have this song here. The next monthly release focuses mainly on R&B/pop, especially the song, “Instinctively” with the guest appearance of Swings. Here, Jong Shin's distinct vocals fit the song very well. The June release focus mainly on pop with a tint of country music. Fortunately, his smooth vocals stand out so much that the slight background country beat can be easily ignored especially for those who are not a fan of country music.

… (July)

What is he thinking!! This is by far the worst song of his monthly project singles and his full albums. The two songs in this album have the same lyrics but different beats and arrangements. And they are fast-paced dance/disco tracks, - um, Jong Shin and dance tracks, no thanks - but the main issue here is the awful music beat that is beyond retro. We can call it trash, but that would be an insult to garbage. Seriously, the less said about it the better. 

Strong, Intelligent (August – October)

Fortunately, the August album is nothing like the July album. The ballad songs here capture the emotions through his smooth voice that fans are accustomed to. The September single is another ballad song, composed and produced by Yoon Jong Shin. However, it is completely sung by Kim Yeon Woo, and not featuring him as indicated by the album. This single definitely shows that Jong Shin still excels at composing and producing love ballads that are not generic or boring. The October single, “Can’t Live Without You” contains the same lyrics as the first song in the April album, but with different arrangements and beats. This version sounds better as it fits very well with his voice. Although, it is slower and similar to his traditional ballad, he is able to sing it with true genuine emotions.

It seems like Jong Shin is taking a slightly different approach in terms of production where he integrates different genres of music into ballad. However, these monthly singles reveal that he excels only in ballad/R&B/pop. Nonetheless, the monthly singles are a good effort.

Track list:

1. 그대 없이는 못살아 [Can’t Live Without You] (April)
2. 막걸리나 [Rice wine] (April)

3. 본능적으로 (Feat. Swings) [Instinctively] (May)

4. 성적으로 [Rationally] (May)
5. 넌 완성이었어 [You were perfect] (June)
6. 치과에서 (Feat. 조정치) [At the Dentist] (June)

7. 바래바래 [I hope, I hope] (July)

8. 바래바래 (Bossa Nova ver.) [I hope, I hope] (July)
9. 해변의 추억 (Day ver.) [Memories of the Beach] (August)

10. 해변의 추억 (Night ver.) [Memories of the Beach] (August)

11. 후회 王 (feat. Kim Yeon Woo) [King of Regrets] (September)
12. 그대 없이는 못살아 (늦가을) [Can’t Live Without You (Late Autumn)] (October)