Park Bom(박봄) - Spring(봄) Single Album Thoughts(Kpop)

   Usually, posts about singles will never be written on this blog unless it's for special reasons. I'm not a single kinda guy and I rather wait till the full album drops. This is not to say that I don't listen to singles at all….. …. ...OK! I'LL ADMIT!! I'M TOO LAZY TO MAKE A POST ABOUT EVERY SINGLE SONG THAT COMES OUT IN EAST ASIAN POP. It's way too many releases but in these constant steam of releases Park Bom crawled out of a hole with some new music. Spring is her first single in six years. She closed herself off from the public over the years, after having a drug smuggling scandal,(that wasn't as big a deal as the media made the whole situation out to be. She had medicine for health reasons.) Only communicating with fans through a hot mess of  Instagram posts that really concerned me. She's finally gotten herself together for a comeback that was a huge success commercially.  

Track List:
01. 봄 (Spring) (feat. 산다라박 Sandara Park)
02. 내연인 (My Lover)
03. 창피해 (Shameful)

   Spring comes to long time 2NE1 fans containing three love songs all sung by the rejuvenated singer. Spring is a pop and soul crossover song that even shares elements of Gospel. I believe the song was a success not just because of 2NE1's fame but also because no other song out in Korea has such a sound. The light touch of cute flare created by the keyboard played next to the beat gives a playful feel, yet Bom shows she has matured vocally when she starts to sing. Spring's bridge at the middle of the track is classic. Each sound synchronized together as the choir sings makes every dynamic heavenly. Kpop fans don't hear soloist sound like this anymore. Follow ups to Spring hold their own beyond my expectations. Bom and producers keep the single light pop but never fall flat when trying to keep the momentum after the title track. Both tracks come off as what Bom might have been performing had she not been placed in 2NE1 during her days signed to YG Entertainment. I also feel that the tracks make up for the downward spiral Please Don't Cry showed me was taking place in her solo music back in the day. Downsides for the single album lie in the name of the title track along with the lyrics. There's too many Korean songs called Spring. Roy Kim had a hit song called Spring Spring Spring a few years ago. Yes, Spring in Korean can be a catchy word to use lyrical. For me, the lyric sounds kinda of typical even in Park Bom's Spring. Sometimes lyrics in Korean can sound really cheesy when a producer tries too hard to make a good catchy song for an artist. This was the case for me when I first heard Bom's version of her singing about spring time. Who in the world knows how many situational love themes Korean people can tie in with a season…. I know they made the connection enough times for all of us. Spring's Production takes your attention of the lyrics which is a good thing at least for me.

   We going to keep all the way a hundred here. Bom has always been a good vocalist. Even in the days before 2NE1. Check the track Forever With You: a collaboration she did with then label mates G dragon and T.O.P… Her vocals seem like they have gotten more stable than they used to be however, I do still see a little bit of improvement that could be made to make her have a fuller vocal live without relaying on the taped backing vocal so much. What made me happy the most was how she's improved her live vocal, especially based on some of the comeback stages I saw. Her stage setups are perfection. Let's leave it at that cause I can rant all day about how good her stages look.

   Spring is a great comeback song for Bom to get her feet wet in the Korean music industry again. I can't wait to hear a full album from her in the future. I'm still hoping for a T.O.P album too…. Maybe he should take notes from BOM and run away from YG during the damn night!.