Well it seems like the Strictly Korean playlist has its algorithmic mind set on solo artists for the time being shuffling out a B-side from singer Wheesung’s fifth studio album, eternal essence of music. 안녕히 계시죠 is a rhythmic, soulful groove that reminds me of those R&B ballads of the 60’s, and is a nice and gentle way to ease into a new week.
Being forced to shelter-in-place during what is perhaps turning into one of the most incredible and frightening situations I may see in my lifetime (yes, I am talking about the COVID-19 pandemic) has given me time to reflect on the tumultuous fangirl journey I have been on these past seven years. By the close of 2019, I realized that I had burst through a rather stringent guardrail when it came to Korean entertainment and in particular, Korean music. After my honey baby bias G.O of MBLAQ completed his military service, went from AfreecaTV BJ to YouTuber and yes, even became a husband, I kind of went on a bender. I wanted to write about my explorative fangirl year of 2019 before 2019 ended but failed to actually sit down and do so. Then, I pretty much abandoned the blog altogether. Now that I am in forced lockdown, I really feel the urge to return, show the blog some love, and write again. I have truly missed writing. So, humor me if you will, and let me tell you about my 2019 fangirl adventures (albeit a little late and wordy) and my hopes for 2020.
I have to admit that over the past year I have been listening to more and more Korean R&B. So it stands to reason then that when a K-pop group, member(s) and/or sub-unit(s) within those groups take a trip on the R&B highway, I have been finding myself boarding that bus. Got7 is one of those groups. And even though they have been pumping out music since 2014, my sheltered, single-focused fangirl ears never wandered to have a listen. All I can say is this: I missed out . . . like in, missed the bus completely! Specifically where leader JB is concerned.
So for months now I have been asking myself: What’s a fangirl to do when her bias changes lanes? Does she simply merge with that traffic and go with the flow? Or, does she take an exit to something new essentially following suit and . . . change lanes herself?
We have arrived at the letter S of The ABC’s of G.O. And yes, I am going there. Initially, I told myself, ‘no, you are not going to make it simple and state the obvious: S is for Sexy,’ as I have spent many blog posts stating such and quite frankly, it would be redundant. But I have issued all kinds of redundancy during this countdown series as well as throughout the blog overall when it comes to my ability to excessively (and with good reason) compliment G.O. Furthermore, I have shown no desire to curb or control it. I call that fangirl license. So in the spirit of fangirl license, I take the easy route today with Sexy as my choice of adjective to describe the ever-alluring Jung Byung Hee.
There are literally dozens of words beginning with the letter R that could describe, suit and complement G.O for this installment of The ABC’s of G.O. The first that comes to mind is romantic. I have no reference to confirm he is, but G.O has intimated things in past interviews that would suggest he is a bit of a romantic. Likewise, the way in which he interprets love ballads would also support my belief. I know ‘romantic’ is an easy go to and G.O may even appreciate being described so. But I think there is a word that rings even more true about him. That word is resilient.
If there is one thing I have discovered about G.O in the short time that I have been his fan it is that we can always count on his quiet and covert way of combating innuendo with fact. Indeed.
The premise was simple – complete an athletic task and the crowd (which was predominately, if not all, comprised of your fan base) would be rewarded for your success. Seems easy, right? Well, it proved to be somewhat challenging ~ albeit entertaining ~ for our fit and fab main vocal man when he had to become a rhythmic gymnast for the day as part of KBS2’s athletic variety program Let’s Go! Dream Team.
Tonight 우리 사이 어떻게 하죠
[Tonight, what do we do about our relationship?]
자꾸 화만 내는 그대가
[You keep getting mad]
이제는 더 지쳐 가네요
[And I’m getting tired of it now]
나는 정말 어떡해요 난
[What should I do?]
These are words I would think no one would ever want to hear from their beloved. It is a pierce to the heart alone hearing them from G.O; yet, he is dutifully in charge of those lyrics in the lithe and rhythmic break up song, 우리 사이 [Our Relationship], from MBLAQ’s masterpiece 6th mini album, Broken. Even though it is heartbreaking for me to hear G.O sing these words, my ears incessantly argue with my heart. G.O’s vocals are mellifluous and flawless, with his improvisational runs particularly beautiful. With that, even though this is a gorgeous group effort, I still place it squarely in the G.O Vocal Virtuosity category here on the countdown.
