YG confirmed triple title tracks for SECHSKIES’ new album… “Couple + Chivalry + Love” [Official announcement]
[스포츠조선=이유나 기자] The entire track list of “2016 Re-ALBUM”, SECHSKIES’ first full album in 16 years which is to be released on December 1, has been unveiled.
“2016 Re-ALBUM” has 10 songs that had been loved the most back in SECHSKIES’ golden days. Those past hit songs that are very familiar to people who remember K-pop in the 1990’s were recreated into 2016 versions, to make up SECHSKIES’ new album released after 16 years of their absence from the music scene.
The 10 songs include: “Com’ Back”, “Couple”, “Hunch”, “Come to Me Baby”, “Chivalry”, “Love”, “Reckless Love”, “Road Fighter”, “Hakwon Byeolgok”, and “To You Who I Love”. Plus, SECHSKIES’ new song “THREE WORDS” that took No.1 on Gaon weekly chart of October this year is also included in the album as a bonus track.
The most remarkable news about SECHSKIES’ new full album is that it has three title tracks: “Couple”, “Chivalry”, and “Love”.
Usually, singers have only one or at maximum two title tracks for a full album. Regarding the reason why SECHSKIES decided to have three title tracks for their new album, an YG insider explained, “All those songs had created mage-hits and they were title tracks of different albums released back then. As all of them are songs that took No.1 in TV music shows and music awards when they were released, it was difficult and meaningless to pick only one as the title of the new album”.
“Couple” is a song that represents SECHSKIES, which was super-popular to the extent of being called “every Korea’s favorite song”. The feel of the song goes perfectly well with the winter season. So, SECHSKIES is also shooting the song’s music video against the backdrop of snow in Sapporo, Japan, to release it on December 1.
The 10 SECHSKIES songs recreated by YG have new feel totally different from original versions of the songs released almost two decades ago. The melodies are familiar but they also subtly feel like wholly new songs, with new interpretation and sophisticated rearrangement.
Actually, recreating hit songs is a very dangerous and difficult task, as it is hard to go beyond the original songs’ popularity.
However, there is a reason why YG’s head producer YANG HYUN SUK decided to produce “2016 Re-ALBUM” in that way, even though he was aware of the danger and difficulty. It was very hard to get accompanying music for SECHSKIES’ concert in September this year, as SECHSKIES has not performed for the past 16 years. So, YANG ordered YG producers to create accompanying music for 15 songs from scratch, without any change in the feel and atmosphere of the original songs, because he believed that the feel of those songs that has been alive for the past 16 years must be kept as it is.
SECHSKIES members wanted to exclude “Hakwon Byeolgok” from the list of the performances of the concert and the reason was it was difficult and awkward to perform the lyrics of the song, as SECHSKIES members are now in their late 30s.
However, YANG persuaded SECHSKIES members to perform the song in the concert, saying that fans would feel disappointed if they cannot listen to it in the concert. YG rearranged the song to make it easier for performance and SECHSKIES presented a new version of “Hakwon Byeolgok” as the first encore song of their concert.
Fans showed explosively passionate responses to the performance. It began with many waving flags. Fans remember it as a shockingly memorable performance and they have been so curious about whether “Hakwon Byeolgok” will be included in SECHSKIES’ new full album “2016 Re-ALBUM”.
Such passionate responses of fans for “Hakwon Byeolgok” that YANG witnessed at the concert was the reason why he suggested to produce “2016 Re-ALBUM” to SECHSKIES members at the waiting room after the end of the concert.
In SECHSKIES’ performances that will be given as a gift for fans who have been listening to only the original version of the songs, they will be able to listen to high-quality sound.
Lastly, the biggest reason why YG decided to have three title tracks for SECHSKIES’ new full album was YANG and SECHSKIES members’ idea to “perform in TV music shows with the most popular song out of the three”. An YG insider explained, “The decision on the main title track will be made by fans”.
2016. 11. 25.
