Mini-album Review: Jay Park’s Take A Deeper Look

Posted on May 7, 2011 by floatingstars

It’s been a long time coming… now he’s back, bitches.

Call it a musical mayhem, idol propagation or KPOP mating season—but you can’t deny that KPOP’s been pretty interesting lately. Aside from the newbie boy and girl groups spilling all over music shows, one bouncing after another, even before we pin a name on their faces—there’s just a lot of rookies battling it out against each other. Plus, a lot of big names have made a comeback: Big Bang, TVXQ, 4minute, f(x), a whole lot! Even legendary group Shinhwa is planning an anniversary comeback! Whew. And so now I’m back again from the ashes to drop this album review of none other than Jay Park!

I won’t go on and scratch old wounds about his former stint as 2PM’s leadja. We all knew what that was about, and now I think it’s time to move on from all the drama. Jay certainly has picked himself up and shrugged off the dust. Plus, there’s no point about stirring fangirl world war 3 between Hottests and JayWalkers, now is there? So, for everyone and my own personal safety from fangirl daggers… let’s move on. After what seemed like forever, he slowly made his presence known. From his youtube uploads of music covers, to his funny Facebook posts and his random tweets (lol yes, I’ve been stalking him ever since), before we knew it—shit just got real. He came out with “Take A Deeper Look” a fitting name for everything that he’s been through, and a glimpse of what he’s up to next.

Not gonna lie, I wasn’t really expecting anything big from his comeback at first. I mean, I’m a fan and all, but when he first came out with his rendition of “Nothing On You,” I was not blown away. He’s got flow, but it was a bit weak for a starting point. Even the video seemed pretty low on the budget. But it’s understandable, Jay was still picking up the pieces, and there were still talks about which company he was going to sign. Then came Sidus HQ. A Korean talent agency famous for bringing up stars such as Song Joongki, Jang Hyuk, Cha Tae Hyun, Han Yeh Sul, etc. It was also My Sassy Girl’s Jeon Ji Hyun’s former agency. Not bad at all! It seems like a really good start for Jay, being the only Hip-Hop/RnB artist in his label. And I personally think it’s the best move for his career because somehow he didn’t fit in with the biggies like, well, JYP (though he did for a while), SM Ent. Close to his style would be YG, but then again there’s still a lot of difference, though him joining would’ve been epic. But it’s impressive how Sidus is handling his comeback. They pretty much gave Jay reigns on his music, dance, image, and the people that he wants to work with. Interestingly, you won’t hear Jay say the name of his company before a song (ahem, like JYP). You’d hear him give a shoutout to his crew AOM instead.

THE ABANDONED VIDEO. I can say a lot about the mv, but if there’s one thing that’s definitely obvious—it was sleek, polished, and out to ram every rookie/group out there a run for their money. Finally! I’m all for personalized youtube vids and homemade ones, but there’s nothing like a vid that was made out of huge preparation, effort and well, budget. lol. The dance sequences were siiiick! Somehow it was able to show doable/ easily recognizable dance moves while mixing it with complicated, well-thought out steps. AND the styling of the outfits was just right. Not too ghetto wannabe gangsta, not too boy band pop either. It’s SO Jay! Not gonna even expound on the leading lady with the big boobies everyone has been talking about. He “abandoned’ Jay after all. Lol lame pun, sorray!

More MV stills…

Love this move! So smexy drunk! lol

THE SONGS: It was revealed that 3 songs were written by Jay, and he had help from DOK2, The Quiett and some of his friends. Through his tweets it seemed like Jay was really involved in the behind-the-scenes making of his music. I was really excited when the delivery guy knocked on our door to give me my pre-ordered copy! (*AKIRASHOCK!)

Touch The Sky (Feat. The Quiett). For a first track, this song is pretty chill. It reminded everyone that Jay does rap (he and Taec used to alternate raps in 2PM) and also reveals that yes, he CAN sing. And he does both rapping and singing really well. Listening to it despite my poor Korean skills, Jay was telling his story through this track. Introducing himself as “b-boy from AOM,” and mentioning his influences like “Michael Jackson,” the track gives a positive message that says, “Put your hands up in the sky, ain’t nobody gonna stop us… We’re gonna fly.” Sweet.

ABANDONED. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. Can’t stress that enough. First I heard it I was like, “Oh okay. He’s going for a slow start. A bit meh.” But then as the song progresses, strong beats slowly build up to a fast chorus, and seamlessly goes back again to a slow melody. The chorus is REALLY strong. You’d hear Jay sing a high noted “Abandoned” in the background while he mixes it up with sleek vocals. His live performance was impressive as he was able to carry out the dance moves with this kind of song. A lot of people have been comparing it as the second (or the next) Look at only Me/Naman Baraba by Taeyang. Hmmm… the genre is similar but their styles are totally different. Taeyang’s got his own sexy flow going on, while Jay is more street and edgy. I see fangirls over at forums and vids squat it out but hey, there’s enough smex to share everybody so what’s the fuss?

TONIGHT feat Davichi’s Kang Minyoung. This time, Jay goes electropop with this likeable number, which I’m sure a lot of his fans will appreciate. It shows his cuter, more playful side everyone has come to know about him. Kang Min Kyoung’s singing right just when the song was about to end gives it a really nice surprise. Objectively, it’s not the most original in terms of the style compared to other KPOP releases out right now. You can even say it vaguely sounds like Big Bang’s “Hand’s Up” and I can see GD grooving to this beat. This song follows a recent trend, not that it’s a bad thing. But it’s good that it stayed within Jay’s style, and the song didn’t use synths that KPOP is overusing these days. It seems like this track would be his second promotional single, though I would’ve preferred another track.

Can’t live without you. This is what I’m talking about. It would be interesting to see Jay perform this after Abandoned. He wrote the lyrics, after all. It’s melancholic, but not too sappy. Even with the lyrics “I’m so hurt girl, I need a doctor.” lol. You’d feel him meaning every word.

Ain’t a complete Jay post without abs.

Don’t let go. This is another hot track that would be REALLY interesting to see onstage. It’s written by Jay (from experience maybe? lol) and it’s about a couple’s “romantic night.” *insert dirty fangirl thoughts here* Lyrics go: “Just let me touch you, love you, please you, tease you… all I want is you… Let me make you really happy tonight. I love you just the way you are… just the way you want it, baby.” Ooooh scandalous. LOL. There has to be one song like this in every RnB album. It’s just like Usher’s “24/7” or Bruno Mar’s “Our First Time.” Hot stuff.

Level 1,000 (with Dok2) This is a strong rap track that shows his swagga. Not my fave though, but no doubt it’s gonna be fly when he performs this at a club. Bestie Jay released this prior to his comeback, and it’s pretty addicting. It’s funny because somehow Jay’s American accent comes out when he says “Otoke…” I don’t know if it’s just me but even my Korean friend pointed it out. Cute though. Back to the song, its has a hook that’s really likeable and Jay sounds so smex when he says “every time I hit you up!” LOL.

OVERALL: It’s a strong comeback for Jay, and I’m glad he took time out to rest, practice, learn and put down his experiences in his music so everyone can hear and get to know him better. Even way back then Jay has shown that he belongs to the stage, and looks like he’s here to stay:D

More Jay dorkiness