[Bonus] Best Of Younha

Younha is one of the originals who contributed to the success of current Hallyu stars today. Younha along with BoA were some of the first Korean artists to become popular in Japan. Fluent in both Japanese and Korean, Younha possesses an extremely underestimated and versatile voice (#1 in my heart). While her work is predominantly pop rock, I’ll be introducing a varying ten of Younha’s songs which I find just too good, in this writeup. I tried to include many different varieties of Younha’s work, since pop rock / ballads may not be your cup of tea. If you have never heard of this singer, you will definitely want to check these out and see what you like.
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10. Password 486 (The Perfect Day To Say I Love You)

- Password 486 is probably the staple of Younha’s pop rock style. With the standard instrumentals in the background, Younha doesn’t do anything too out of the ordinary with her voice, but it’s one of the more catchy choruses and easy on the ears. If I were to fault the song it’d be for the lackluster ending which seemed strange and was repetitive.

9. Please Take Care Of My Boyfriend (Lost In Love)

- This release is one of my overall favourite ballads in terms of vocal performance. The emotion and high range of notes is truly impressive. I think the drums could be toned down a little though, especially during the bridge (right before the final chorus).

8. Memory (feat. Tablo) (2집 Someday)

- One of two songs on the list with features, Tablo joins in for a fast paced ballad. Tablo’s raps start off slow and increase in tempo and complexity as the song goes on which is a nice touch. The slow verses countered with the upbeat and almost frantic chorus sound strong together.

7. Telepathy (2집 Someday)

- Take the style of Password 486, now intensify everything: the instrumental, the voice, the speed, the power, and throw in a sassy piano solo, and that’s what Telepathy is in essence. As a bonus, the music video is absolutely hilarious.

6. Delete (The Perfect Day To Say I Love You)

- I’m not really sure how I would describe Delete. It comes off as a medium paced ballad that suddenly explodes into a frenzy of drums and high notes at the chorus, before transitioning back to the slower tempo. This song seemed to be one of the earlier songs in which Younha experimented with various options and arrived at quite the pleasant result. The increasing usage of power notes at the end are the highlight of this song.

5. I Like You (3집 Part B: Growing Season)

- While Password 486 is a staple, I Like You is the epitome of Younha’s pop rock releases.Trading in piano for strong electric guitar riffs,Younha sings her heart out from beginning to end. The muffled voice in transition between chorus and verse is a tad strange, but is offset by the great high note and adlibs following.

4. My Song And (2집 Someday)

- The first full English song, Younha shows off her perfect English. There were no flaws whatsoever. The instrumental is very soft which compliments the softness and innocence of her vocals. This song paved the way for future English covers and hopefully more English songs.

3. Would We Have Changed (feat. John Park) (4집 Supersonic)

- This song boasts really amazing harmonization work between Younha and John Park. John Park’s smooth baritone notes compliment Younha’s higher pure notes. While Younha excels at slow emotional ballads (and everything else), I think she perfects this specific style of ballad, and easily rocketed to a high rank on this list.

2. Broke Up Today (3집 Part B: Growing Season)

- One of Younha’s most prized ballads, Broke Up Today combines the simple instrumentals of My Song And with the smooth and moving vocals in Memory. The chorus structure is very pretty and also relatively catchy, a trait I find not many ballads have. I’m not one for the background vocals who make short appearances, even if it was Younha’s voice, they still sounded funny.

1. Hero (2집 Someday)

- Hero is Younha’s gold and hands down one of the best songs ever. Right from the start, Younha brings power, emotion, and stability to the table and the intense instrumental is with her all the way. And how can you say that the piano solo was not one of the best you have ever heard. The song was so amazing that upon my first listen years ago, I thought this had to be the title track, simply because of how good it was. To quote a certain someone “absolutely sublime from start to finish and I will jam forks into my eyes if I ever use those words to describe anything else ever again.”
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“Honorable Mentions”

Houki Boshi (Go! Younha)

Time2Rock (Audition)

Ima Ga Daisuki (Single)

Gossip Boy (2집 Someday)

“Everything Younha has.” -Miharu hyung
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So get out there and discover the brilliance of Younha and which songs / style you like most!