[Review] T-ARA Triplets Special

How about a tripleheader? T-ARA have fallen off the pedestal but they remain active as individuals. They're one of those "unofficially disbanded" groups because the members all say the group isn't dead but until they release music together they might as well be. In the meantime, we have some solo efforts to go over. The triplets of Eunjung, Hyomin, and Jiyeon were very powerful in their heyday and each of them have had some solo success with songs like "Never Ever" and "I'm Good." Let's see how their most recent stuff holds up.

Hyomin - Allure

I don't think it's too crazy to say that Hyomin has seen the least success as an independent act out of the three. Songs like "Nice Body," "Sketch," and "Mango" aren't bad but can't compete with Jiyeon and Eunjung's best. Hyomin's best song in my opinion is the ballad "Gold," which brought her less-exposed vocals to front and center. That song gives me goosebumps to this day, and illustrates how a perfectly sculpted song can meet a singer's needs and show their talents efficiently.

[Review] Eunjung - I'm Good (feat. K.Will)

I know I'm a month late, but did anyone else even know Eunjung made her solo debut already? She's the 3rd T-Ara member to release a solo song, following Jiyeon's "Never Ever" (incredible) and Hyomin's "Nice Body" (LOL). Eunjung also used a stage name in Elsie for...whatever reasons. I am not particularly fond of having random changes in names (see: 2PM's Junsu) so I'll still call her Eunjung, since I'm assuming she won't be using Elsie for T-Ara group promotions anyway.

News surrounding Eunjung's solo was quiet and "I'm Good" matches that in tone. The song is very sad, emotional, and slow. K.Will's appearance on the track is definitely more than a feature haha. They split the song about 50/50 so I'd say this is "Eunjung & K.Will" more than "Eunjung feat. K.Will" and irks my OCD / organization nerves when it comes to labeling music. That all being said, it's a beautiful duet and is a perfect addition to my ever-growing sad_zone playlist. Though to be perfectly honest, Eunjung's voice has never been her strongest asset. Hell, she doesn't really have a strongest asset, she is extremely well-rounded but isn't really known for one specific thing. Just comparing her to her teammates, Jiyeon has a more sultry voice and Soyeon is obviously the ballad specialist. Still, she does a good job with what she has and K.Will certainly helps her in the vocals.

Can I just say that Eunjung looks beautiful with long hair. She's one of the most prominent girls who rock the shirt cuts but here she is. Now that I've actually seen it, I would't mind her keeping this hairstyle for T-Ara's next comeback, whenever that is. Similar to Jiyeon's video and dance, "I'm Good" also uses simple choreography combined with limited backup dancers and couple choreography, though the latter is a very loose definition. In most dance scenes, Eunjung wears the same colour as the male backup dancer, while the actor standing in for K.Will and the female backup dancer have the same colour. These little touches are generally underappreciated so it's a treat to see. It is quite the shame K.Will couldn't appear on this video though, considering he sang so much of the song. Props to the actor for playing his part well.

It's a quiet release, quiet performance, quiet choreography, and solid MV. Sometimes that's all you can really ask for. While Eunjung didn't have quite the debut splash like Jiyeon and "Never Ever", it's better and helps erase the memories of Hyomin's disaster that was "Nice Body."

[ Overall: 80 / 100 ]