Billboard spotlights TAEYANG: “One of K-pop’s rare R&B stars”
[동아닷컴 정준화 기자] Billboard spotlighted TAEYANG for his return with the 2nd full album on June 2 (local time).
It wrote, “The K-pop star also incorporates dance, hip-hop, gospel and more on his second full-length album ‘Rise’.”
It added, “In a similar move, BIGBANG vocalist TAEYANG makes a statement by stripping himself of all gimmicks, flashy elements — and a shirt — for an adult-R&B sound and simplistic video with “Eyes, Nose, Lips.” … At the 2014 GRAMMYs earlier this year, John Legend earned one of the night’s standout moments thanks to a stripped-down rendition of his heartfelt piano ballad “All of Me.” The performance was a tipping point for the single, igniting a surge in popularity that saw song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks last month.”
“Spending the first verse and chorus accompanied by just a piano, TAEYANG doles out reflective regrets of the way he treated a past love while recalling her features like her eyes, nose, fingernails and red lips. As the 26-year-old accepts his shortcomings, the song’s production grows more intricate with hollow percussion, snappy snares and classical violins. By the final chorus’ key change, the track blends the instruments plus back-up vocals to accompany TAEYANG’s touching ad-libs.”
It also wrote about “EYES, NOSE, LIPS” with such details. “Taking cues for the song’s aural elements, the accompanying “Eyes, Nose, Lips” visuals begins simple with a shirtless, shadowed TAEYANG. At first, the video almost looks as if it’s going to pull a D’Angelo “Untitled” on the viewer, but TAEYANG’s full body is revealed — with pants — as he continues his way through the track. The video stays simple throughout, focusing on TAEYANG’s emotional delivery, but adds some pryotechnics by way of a billboard with a woman’s face is set on fire before the intense bridge and final chorus.”
“[While] TAEYANG’s first full-length album since 2010’s “Solar” … shows off both his EDM, hip-hop and contemporary R&B tendencies, the “Rise” tracks show off more of TAEYANG’s musical sides.”
It highly praised the artist by writing; “Fellow BIGBANG member G-Dragon features on the emotional hip-hop/R&B hybrid “Stay With Me” while listeners can hear the voice of CL of 2NE1 on funky, dance banger “Body.” The tracks come together for a solid body of work, cementing Taeyang as one of K-pop’s rare R&B stars.”
Meanwhile, TAEYANG knocked down 10 major real-time music charts on Melon, Mnet, Bugs, Soribada, Daum, Naver, Genie, Olleh and Cyworld Music and Monkey 3 with his title track “EYES, NOSE, LIPS” of his new album “RISE” immediately after its release at midnight on June 2. On June 7 at 9 am, his song still stands at the top on 9 charts.
He topped R&B/Soul album charts in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand while sweeping across iTunes in 10 countries including Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. He ranked #23 on American iTunes album chart, boasting his borderless popularity as a global star.
2014. 6. 4.
