[Review] 'You Are The Best Of My Life' by Lee Hyun of 8eight

"You Are The Best Of My Life" is the title of Lee Hyun's second mini album, and Lee Hyun is the leader and main vocalist of one of Korea's top pop-ballad ensemble. Accompanied by Baek Chan (the rapper) and�Joo Hee (the female vocalist), 8eight have been dishing out K-pop ballads since 2007, with their last release, "The Bridge", coming last spring. For one reason or another, Korean pop composers seem to enjoy writing ballads that sound like something taken out of an over-the-moon Disney princess movie.� Just about every idol has released an album with a ballad chock-full of frilly violins, tons of chimes, and all of the bells and whistles you'd hear in Snow White.� Sometimes it works, but at this point, there are so many of the same 'fairy tale orchestrated slow jams' that it's hard to name one that truly stands out. But because 8eight focus strictly on ballads (with an occasional up tempo for good measure), they've learned how to spice up a slow single to give it that extra kick, but still remain entirely emotive, engaging, and meaningful. Individually, they are amazing talents, but put them together and you get something rather enthralling to hear in K-pop.� Here's "The End Is Coming", performed live during their 2010 promotions on Music Bank. Lee Hyun's latest endeavor reflects the same 8eight treatment to slow songs, but it is nonetheless unique to his musical style. - Track List 01 You Are The Best Of My Life 02 ?? 03 Heart Beat (Feat. Song Hee Ran) 04 Bad Girl (Feat. Glam & Bulletproof Boy Scouts) 05 ? ?? ??? (Album Version) - The title track, "You Are The Best Of My Life", is the one song that feels like an 8eight single.� It's vivid and full, but there were moments when I was expecting Joo Hee to burst out with that delicate voice of hers. Lee Hyun has a very strong singing voice, but his timbre is very similar to the members of 2AM, which�explains why he teamed up with Changmin for 'Homme' last year. "You Are The Best Of My Life" sounds pretty good the first time through, but I'm sure it could have had a more interesting instrumental.� Well, not necessarily interesting, but the levels in volume could have been played out better. They never let up after the first verse, and there were points in this song that the instrumental could have allowed for necessary breathing room.� Lee Hyun's singing is powerful already, so occasionally quieting down the background noise could have given this song an even stronger impression.� Not bad, though. In "??", everything melds a lot better.� Lee Hyun's singing is more in the spotlight, with a gratuitous orchestration taking center stage in the music. String sections in K-pop songs aren't particularly my cup of tea, basically because they're too 'violin' oriented.� What I mean is the orchestrations generally sound way over done and too drawn out in the high registers, i.e. Disney princess galore. It happens in "??", but there are moments when certain instruments get solo time, and there's even a pizzicato section somewhere in the middle that at least give these strings some variety. (??) - Where I think Lee Hyun could have sharpened the overall delivery of this mini album is in the production.� His producers relied so much on reverb and delay, that it ends up tiring as the EP progresses. For instance,� "Heart Beat" is the kind of song that is dependent on a strong beat, which it has and actually sounds nice because it starts pulsing like (surprise, surprise) a heart beat.� But more than a strong beat, it also doesn't require much in the instrumental-department to get the message across.� Here someone decided it would be a thrilling idea to have an echoing piano line play throughout the entire song, never changing and never ending.� If it wasn't so persistent, the song would have sounded less droopy and as gorgeous and crisp as I think it should have sounded.� Basically, less is sometimes more, but again, not bad at all (Heart Beat). What follows, on the other hand, is the best song on the mini album, titled "Bad Girl" (featuring Glam and Bulletproof Boy Scouts).� It proves one HUGE point:� Lee Hyun has the voice for up tempo songs. There are so many ballad singers and idols in Korean pop that have amazing singing voices, but for some reason people think their broad and thick vocals should be slapped on slow songs for the rest of their careers.� As "Bad Girl" proves, however, certain singers have the ability to take that aforementioned broad and thick voice and apply it to a faster paced song. And what do you get?� Perfection.� From the female feature to the rap break, this song is perfect in its own way. - It's no secret to anybody that Lee Hyun is an awesome singer and has the range that some idols wish they had.� This mini album, with its highs and lows, is a perfect testament to his talent.� There's enough variety to appease 8eight fans, but also to appeal to those listeners unfamiliar with their music.� From the killer up tempo to the solid ballads, this is one of the better efforts you're going to hear from a ballad singer in K-pop. Lee Hyun has definitely worked it out on this mini album.� Oh, and if you need a good example of the kind of production and arrangement that I think does him justice, listen to the last song, "? ?? ???". �That, ladies and gentlemen, is a good ballad. -- Overall Rating: 4.4/5 -- What are your thoughts on the album? � Suggestions for a�future�review? �Hit the author up on�Twitter (@rothsresidence) or via�e-mail (arnold.arteaga@allkpop.com)! � Note: This article does not reflect the opinions of allkpop, only of the author.