Poet|Artist Review


Review of Jonghyun’s Poet|Artist album:

Poet|Artist was the last solo album that late artist Kim Jonghyun (April 8, 1990 - December 18, 2017) had worked on leading up to his death. He had completed his promotional shoots, as well as finishing his music video for his title song “빛이 나 (Shinin’)”. The other music video from his album is “우린 봄이 오기 전에 (Before Our Spring)," which consists of clips from Jonghyun’s trainee days to his last moments on screen. Note: When it comes to the Korean Entertainment industry, a ‘trainee’ basically refers to the people who are training to become an idol. In other words, it’s the pre-debut days of idols. The album was released after his death on January 23, 2018. The physical album came with an orange themed poster, CD, and a photobook. Within the photobook were his songs, promotional photos, a collage of his photos as his time as an idol, along with a passage for the fans in the very beginning:

“We can be together in this space, while being on the other side of the Earth. We can be together at any time, not just at 12 o’clock. Physical matters certainly remained indifferent in our space. I only hope for this to never cease. I hope this space that belongs to you & me, be the site for anyone to rest in tranquility. I hope for our memories to rise as reminiscences and embrace you like no other. This is dedicated to those who have created our time and space together. Thank You.”

The album consists of a total of 11 tracks:

1. 빛이 나 (Shinin’)

2. 환상통 (Only One You Need)

3.와플 (#Hashtag)

4. 기름때 (Grease)

5. Take The Dive

6. 사람 구경 중 (Sightseeing)

7. Rewind

8. 하루만이라도 (Just for a Day)

9. 어떤 기분이 들까 (I’m So Curious)

10. Sentimental

11. 우린 봄이 오기 전 (Before Our Spring)

Fans of Jonghyun felt as though this last album was one last gift for the world to enjoy. Like many of his other works, his album consists of many different styles of music. Some were lively and many were ballads that when you listen, would make you freeze in time and tuning into the music, especially focusing on the strong emotions emitting from his beautiful voice. Overall his songs in this particular album, the audience can probably interpret his songs as the stories of his mind running around in circles, spitting out his unorganized feelings into extravagant work. Some songs reminding me of his most listened song, Lonely ft. Taeyeon. Just the idea of being alone and left to his own thoughts, no way to escape. And sadly this is the last of his music, but all we can do is cherish the time that he was here, and immortalize his story by listening to his music together.

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