Ha Sungwoon returns with his 8th mini album Blessed and title song of the same name
Sungwoon is back! I completely forgot that Taemin and Sungwoon are in the same company now – we love besties being united. I was rather excited about this new mini album because Sungwoon usually provides us with some quality music, whether it’s more sensual or more bubblegum pop-like. Forbidden Island and Focus are still well and alive on my playlist as well as his best album in my opinion which is Sneakers (having On & On and Don’t leave me alone on one album was a power move). However, based on the snippet I’ve heard, it seems that Blessed is going to bring us a completely different style and concept from Sungwoon and I’m interested to see how it plays out. Let’s review!
Blessed is much more hip-hop oriented than I’d expect from Sungwoon, who has always provided us with r&b and groovy tracks above everything else, but I guess he’s experimenting a bit with his style this time around. The verses are solid, even offering some pretty melody during the pre-chorus but the chorus is such a surprise for me? The verses definitely showcase a small peek of that r&b style we’ve grown to love from Sungwoon and then the chorus comes somewhat as a complete opposite of that which I’m not sure how I feel about right now. I can see the vision in the sense that it’s catchy but I just think it needed more melody and a hook backed up by a strong instrumental for Sungwoon to really shine here. It’s definitely the most bad-ass we’ve seen of Sungwoon in terms of music and attitude but I’m just a big fan of the chorus on the first two listens. It might grow on me more because I like the verses and I like Sungwoon’s performance in general but right now, this is not my favourite title of his.
Now, one thing about Sungwoon is that he does not miss when it comes to his b-sides. I feel like his albums so far have been excellent and severely underappreciated because he has such a distinctive and addictive sound every single time. This new album is no exception and while I’m unfortunately not the biggest fan of Blessed, the album of the same name delivers some incredibly catchy, summery, and melodic tracks I’ll be listening to this month. My two absolute favourites from the new album have to be I Wanna and I Already Lost You (which I could both totally see as the summer title tracks as well). I Wanna is upbeat, refreshing, and puts you in a good mood immediately. It’s definitely a song I’d prefer as the title this time around because it suits this time of the year, offers some much-needed groove, and showcases Sungwoon’s smooth vocals as a cherry on top. The chorus is so catchy and pretty, really luring me in on the first listen. On the other hand, I Already Lost You has that acoustic vibe that I love and is going to be a perfect late-summer-night soundtrack for July. Sungwoon sounds so good here and the chorus is so unexpectedly upbeat in the best way – he really delivered quality on this album!
While Blessed might not be my favourite Sungwoon title, this new album is an immediate hit as expected – he always knows just what to do on his b-sides and I really think his albums deserve a lot more love and appreciation!