[Review] Jieun - 25

Secret’s lead vocalist Jieun has always had a place in my heart. She has one of the clearest / most crystal voices in the industry, and I would place her at the #1/#2 slot in regards to that (for those wondering, Sera would be the other member). With the recent incredible release of “Don’t Look At Me Like That,” the following track would showcase a more poppy and peppy side of her that “would be a refreshing change of image.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t buy that one bit, seeing as she’s part of Secret and their identity crisis is something that plagues their effectiveness as a group, and especially for Jieun, whose talents go to waste in some of their songs. Nonetheless, I wasn’t ready to give up quite yet.

This is indeed a more lively side of Jieun and could have very well been a Secret song. The classy saxophone reminds me of “Poison,” and in general I could easily visualize the other members’ roles. Hyosung would share a verse, Hana would grab the “pretty age 25” “rap” bridge, and Sunhwa would get some filler. That being said, since this is all Jieun all the time, the song sounds fantastic. I still don’t like the rapping considering how it’s only a single line being repeated ad nauseam but the sheer quality of Jieun’s vocals override that. Her English is also very crisp, and since the words “Beautiful young and free” and part of the chorus, she executes this rather splendidly.

Even though there’s plenty of choreography, the MV roughly clouds the dancing but it’s still just your average video. Jieun indeed looks beautiful and young (maybe not free, given the boxes, ha). I’d have preferred some interaction like in “Don’t Look At Me Like That,” but I suppose one can’t argue against more eye candy. And Jieun is absolutely gorgeous.

In the end, I think Jieun showed us many sides to her and her abilities. She’s cute, sassy, playful, sexy, and pure at the same time, and if there was ever a song that should convince you she could be a star soloist, this would probably be the song.

[ Score: 85 / 100 ]