I'm rather overwhelmed by the amount of K-Pop filling up my senses just within this past week. This one came as a sweet surprise though:
HYO - Sober (Feat. Ummet Ozcan)
Hyo aka Hyoyeon of SNSD, the dancing queen has been consistently releasing tracks this past year, which by itself is a surprise to me because I've never viewed SM as the type of entertainment company to give attention/promote to any of their artists other than their most popular artists. I think they've been working really hard to change this image around, especially with all the SM Station projects.
I haven't jammed to Hyoyeon's last releases, partially because those tracks played more towards her strength as a dancer and not as a singer. Sober changes those tides though as we get more Hyoyeon vocals and still get dance breaks of getting to watch this dancing queen dance the night away.
Side note: Hyoyeon is known to be one of the most powerful female dancers in the K-Pop world. And from her time with Girl's Generation (SNSD) you could see that she wasn't able to display her power-ess to it's full extent. So in these solo releases we get to now see just what she's capable of.
This genre is similar to Clean Bandit's "I Miss you" or Chainsmoker's "Closer" and I think it fit Hyo perfectly. I'm also biased because I love this genre, its chill but still energetic. Hyo herself looks fantastic in this music video, simply beautiful in her fashionable athletic gear. ALSO! Did anyone else notice the Sailor Moon tattoo at the beginning of this video? Hell yaaassss!
SM Town has also released an English version of this song, but I would recommend the Korean version over the English. When reviewing the translated lyrics vs. the English version they seem to hold different messages. The Korean version seems to be more about heartbreak and moving on. The relationship she was in was like a drunken state but now that it's over she can over come this because she's sober, has a clear head now. The English version is about Hyo not looking for love. She's embracing her freedom and telling her lover, she will be theirs when she's done with her play, when the night is done and when she's sober. What can I say? I love a good heartbreak song.