Jung Joon Young(정준영)- The First Person(1인칭) Album Thoughts(K-Ballad/Alternative Rock)

Track List:
01. Intro
02. Princess
03. 나와 너 (Feat. 장혜진) [Me And You (Feat. Jang Hye Jin)] 
04. 화가
05. Star
06. Amy
07. 공감 (Orchestra Ver.)
08. PSYCHO
09. 메아리 (Outro)
 
  Jung Joon Young, a 27 year old singers who made a name for himself on the singing competition, Super Star K. He was a runner up but didn't win. This fact didn't stop him from being signed to record label and releasing a mini album that was praised highly by fans and critics in South Korea. Since then he has acted in a movie, hosted TV shows, become a radio mc, and released more music solo and with his own band.(Now known as Drug Restaurant.)


  The First Person counts as Joon Young's very first full length album. I didn't know that he had an album scheduled to be released this year but I was so ready to listen to it. He's my boy because of his honesty whenever he opens his mouth.  He has no filter during his interviews or when he talks period. Whatever is on his mind comes out of his mouth and he doesn't seem to care. I'm sure it turns a lot of people off because he makes himself look like an ass but he's probably a nice person too. Just brutally  honest. Joon Young's also one of the more popular male singers that does rock music on a more mainstream level in Korea. So I thought that this album was going to be a mix of Joon Young being more modest during his ballad tracks then unleashing his inner rock child for other tracks. The album turned out to be a whole other story all together. Ballads are the theme for this album and my time spent listening to these tracks was a dull one. Maybe my expectations were too high because I loved the other musical work he had done with his band as well as his first two mini albums. I just felt disappointed that he or his record label made him sell out for a ballad sound that they know the masses would like. Joon Young might have made this decision himself and I will respectfully say that I didn't like this album. My taste for his music came from the attraction of him being a wild child while he performed songs like Teenager and Be Stupid. The performance he did on SNL Korea was just WOW! I'm really sad that none of the old him can be found on this album. This music is too meek, too tame, to be Joon Young. The album has good tracks like the duet You and Me and the track Amy that also show his vocal growth. Who is Jang Hye Jin? She sang pretty good.  Joon young's lyrics are still good also but I question of some of his english lyrics... vocals are also still unique unlike his change from rock singer to ballad singer to fit in with everyone else. Be a leader, not a follower. Korea loves their ballads. I get it.....

  Joon Young has spoken about his vocal range in interviews before. He has a deep voice that struggles to hit higher notes. Once he said that it took him a long time to finally hit the high note that is vocalized in the song Teenager. After awhile he hit the note though. Thats the one problem I feel like he doesn't struggle with anymore. His high notes are much more controlled than before. He does still like to sing in a mostly lower tonal range but the sound quality of his voice is good.

  I'm going to give The First Person another listen to see if I can find something I like about it. Did his band Drug Restaurant come out with anything new? I need to go check for that now. Lets hope this is a phase for Joon Young OPPA!!! *shiver*** Ok, I'll stop...... BETTER DAYS EVERYONE!!!!!