#chungha soft effect | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

married-2-the-music · 8 months

Text

K-pop Discography Deep Dives: Kim Sejeong

Here are my credentials: I don’t know Kim Sejeong that well, as I was never that big a fan of I.O.I. (or her later group Gugudan), and I don’t know many songs by them either. I did watch Business Proposal and had some laughs, to be sure, and then I stumbled across her solo career. I’m looking forward to hearing more about her.

Kim Sejeong, like Chungha, got her start in k-pop through the project group I.O.I., in 2016. After it disbanded she found success working as an actress and debuted as a soloist with Flower Way in 2017.

Flower Way is about what I expected from Sejeong’s first release: sentimental, soft, and nostalgic, very much the norm for a k-drama OST by an idol. I will say, I enjoyed this a lot more than I normally enjoy songs in this vein, though a lot of that was due to the excellent music video and especially the split-screen between her child self and grown-up self, which made me a little emotional, truth be told! I liked the flourishes of strings and especially the line addressed to parents: “to raise a single flower, how much rain fell in your eyes?” Though I wouldn’t listen to it everyday, it was lovely!

Star Blossom is an SM station video that features a collab between Sejeong and NCT’s Doyoung (who looks so young here, oh my god!), and though it’s still subdued, it takes a more R & B / softly jazzy route than Flower Way. It’s not the most unique when it comes to station tracks, but it’s very cute, and I enjoyed hearing their voices harmonize together. It also made me sad that Doyoung doesn’t get a chance to sing more in NCT’s tracks, but that’s a gripe for another time.

Plant starts with the sound of dripping water and Sejeong’s humming. It’s definitely quiet, but is undeniably comforting and soothing. Sejeong has such a natural warmth imbued in her voice that gives her music a lot more depth than it would have without it. I like the mix of strings and piano in the instrumental here, and how it complements the central message. It’s rare in k-pop that we get a love song to someone other than a person, and hearing one dedicated to the simple joy of nurturing a plant is just so utterly wholesome that I can’t help but be won over.

From Plant, the EP, though I didn’t have a hidden gem, I enjoyed the befittingly hopeful slow build and strings in Hopes For Tomorrow, and the sunny feelings and old-Gfriend-like acoustic guitar in Skyline.

Whale is more upbeat than any of the titles so far, with a chugging beat that gives me road trip vibes, though still a very light vocal delivery Surprisingly, the lyrics are about losing someone, comparing them to a whale. My favorite part was probably the bridge, where the acoustic guitar and flutes come in before the last chorus returns with more energy than before.

Baby I Love U is also pretty bright, and also features an acoustic guitar and electro beat, but I don’t really have much to say about this one. It doesn’t have the same kind of personality as Whale, and feels more like a b-side than title track worthy. Sejeong’s voice is great as always, though, especially in the high notes.

Warning begins with a high piano mixed with a light electro beat that reminded me of an IU track. I enjoyed the humor and bright colors in this one’s music video, especially the bubbly words. Here comes a criticism I’ve said many times: this song absolutely does not need a rapper. Sejeong’s voice and the song itself are strong enough on their own, and ILLBOI’s verse comes out of nowhere, being the only issue I have with this song at all.

From the EP, I’M, I enjoyed the typing sound effects and bubbly percussion in Do Dum Chit, and especially the somewhat synthy, very catchy, and deceptively light Let’s Go Home (which was my hidden gem).

Voyage is a pre-release, but it was the first song I’d heard of Sejeong’s, and what a place to start! It’s probably her best title, taking her clear, bright voice and pairing it with a bubbly, nostalgic track that pulls from Celtic folk with its sprightly fiddle, earthy drums, and twinkling piano. It’s an honest-to-goodness gem, and soon became one of my favorite k-pop tracks, even though I had no idea who Sejeong was. It feels so warm and delightful, taking the sense of community that Celtic folk should impart and adding a distinctly k-pop twist. And I love that high note just before the last chorus.

Top Or Cliff is the actual single from the album, and takes a turn so out of left field that I was left thinking I’d clicked onto the wrong video. The MV is 7 minutes long and R-rated, for starters, and follows Sejeong wreaking havoc (and committing murder) in a flowy white dress reminiscent of her many previous songs. Though Sejeong’s voice is as excellent as ever and the song and MV are pretty good on their own, I don’t feel like they complement each other.

The song feels more like BIBI’s Animal Farm with its coolly angry vocals, story of vengeance, and gory MV, and I think I would enjoy it more if that was the case. I have no idea what the reason was for this sudden total tonal shift (perhaps to pitch Sejeong as the lead actress for a revenge flick?) but I don’t think it takes advantage of her strengths. However, I do want to say that I appreciate her ability to pull it off pretty well.

From the album, Door, I enjoyed the acoustic guitar in soothing lullaby If We Do, the roadtrip-made, wistfully nostalgic Between Summer And Winter, the bubbly, upbeat Destiny, the clinkling of wooden blocks and plucky strings in Jenga, the bright string flourishes in Send A Letter, and the sweetly lovely lyrics and emotional appeal of Over The Rainbow. However, my hidden gem was undoubtedly In The Rain. It takes the strings I loved so much in Send A Letter and brings them higher, adding a delightful nostalgia, vocals that absolutely reach for the stars, and a last chorus with a backing choir that gives it an almost gospel spin.

So, I’m glad I did this! I learned that I love the album Door even more than I thought and added it to my list of my favorite k-pop albums. I also grew to appreciate Sejeong’s excellent voice, which I didn’t give nearly enough credit in my first listens of her tracks, and I added a few b-sides to my playlist.

My Top 5 songs are Voyage, Plant, In The Rain, Whale, and Send A Letter, with Between Summer and Winter as an honorable mention. Kim Sejeong gets an 8 out of 10 from me, as, though she has such an excellent voice and I do enjoy some of her music, I find that it's a bit too overwhelmingly quiet and melancholy for me. This isn’t a knock on the quality of it at all—she’s great at this—but it does limit my enjoyment. I hope she does more tracks in the wistful, Oh-My-Girl-esque upbeat pop area, because when she does, she’s made some great ones.