NICOLE - FIRST ROMANCE

The ex-KARA member released her first solo album on November 19. There were plenty who helped her with her debut. SHINee's Key helped her with her fashion sense and style, Dongwoo apparently did her a favor by being in her song (probably because, from most accounts, he's a nice guy), and former bandmate Hara tweeted about her solo debut. Nothing wrong with friends helping out :) In the short interview in her showcase she said,"I am about to tear up. This is my first solo album, and I hope to make precious memories during my promotion period. I hope to see you often."



"Innocent?" (ft. Boa of SPICA) is the first track on the the disc, Boa singing along to a melody and Nicole doing spoken word on the track. Not only that, it definitely echoes, giving it an experimental feel to it. Regardless, I enjoyed it; it's not really something I hear in K-pop. Kudos to the composers.

The lead single, "MAMA," is a mid-tempo tune, starting with a faux-organ accompaniment and moving along at a decent clip. You can hear echoes of pianos and spoken words in the bridges between chorus and verse. It's a rather catchy and enjoyable tune. I had expected it to be more about her mother than it was; the message is "let's get some couple time while mom's asleep."


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"7-2=Misunderstanding" (ft. Dongwoo Of INFINITE) is where we cross into ballad territory. The tune starts with Nicole talking and then launches into Dongwoo half-rapping, half-singing. I like the song structure: honeyed vocals are a contrast to Dongwoo's raspy voice, each explaining about their love. The title refers to the 7 and the 2 positions on a standard clock face, almost as far apart as two hands can be. The lyrics equate this to not understanding each other enough to make love work.

The fourth track is "Joker" (ft. Ricky ), a straight-ahead pop song that has her singing along to what sounds like someone whistling, except it's so precise that it's likely synthetic. I can also hear what sounds like a xylophone in the instrumentation. An artist named Ricky has a turn in here, rapping near the end. I'm not sure if it's Ricky Kim, Ricky from TEEN TOP, or? No matter who he is, the raps are on point and the tune is better for it. The song is about jealousy and laughing while she's actually crying; it's an odd topic for an upbeat tune.



They slow the tempo way down for "LOVE," a lovelorn ballad sung to guitar and piano. It's competent enough, but I wasn't entirely sold on it. Three guesses what it's about :)

There's a preponderance of spoken word parts on this album. It's an interesting conceit: try to drum up a more personal response by having Nicole talk to you. Does it work? I think so. She has a pretty voice, whether she's singing or talking. And I enjoyed the album. The oddity that I saw is that there are no straight-up dance tracks. Maybe they're trying to debut her as a more mature artist now?



She is said to have had a fair amount of input into her songs and her style, and, if that's the case, I like the way she thinks. These are all pretty solid songs and the only one I didn't care for was "LOVE," but I am not a ballad guy in most cases. She's definitely shed KARA; I didn't really hear any influences on this EP that reminded me of them. I've read that she cried a lot making 'First Romance.' As far as my ears are concerned, she needn't have worried so much. This a daebak solo debut, and now I'm hungry for more.

MV REVIEW - 'MAMA'

Let me start out by saying that I really thought this MV was fantastic. Not terribly over-the-top sexy, but still sexy. There was distinct absence of plot here; although there may have been scenes with symbolism, they escaped me.

I thought her costumes were pretty dazzling. From a miniskirt to hooded bodysuits and whatever-that-was with the spiderweb-like designs (obviously, I'm not a fashionista). But again, I commend the people in charge of wardrobe.�



I really was entertained by the way certain scenes lined right up with the music. For example, there's a break and she lets all the balloons fly but one, and the song ends with a piano riff that is echoed by the male lead's fingers dancing on her hip like it were a keyboard. There were even more scenes that did this sort of thing. That is serious technical artistry there.

This had more subtlety to it than I'm used to seeing nowadays. And that is a great thing. Too many times they try to film these girls twerking, shove them into barely-there outfits, and then, because they can't think of a better dance, they have them thrust their hips at the camera. It becomes almost a parody at that point, overused and typical.



This is an example of the kind of video I want to see more of. These idol singers are all attractive. There is little to be gained by showing them off more than normal and then constantly shoving it in our faces. They're hot, I get it. But I remember a time, pre-2013, when that kind of thing was relatively rare. I wouldn't mind seeing more videos like this, where the girls are hot, but the artistry is there too.

SEE ALSO: Zico reflects on collaboration with Jennie for the single 'SPOT!'