[Single] Joo; Young Girl

I remember when Joo first debuted and people were giving her a hard time because they thought she wasn’t that good. I was like WHAT?!, this girl has a great voice. I’m glad she has made a comeback though, it’s been too long since she returned. Young Girl is the debut single by Joo. Because of a Man was used as the first single and Like Yesterday was performed live a few times.

Released: January 17, 2008
1. Because of a Man (남자 때문에)
2. Like Yesterday (어제처럼)
3. Face (얼굴)
4. Premier (초연(怊緣))
5. Because of a Man (Inst.)
6. Like Yesterday (Inst.)

The single opens with Because of a Man, a pretty standard sounding K-Pop ballad if you’ve listened to enough of them. This was around the declining period of the ballad phase, but it still stood out. It easily shows off Joo’s stellar vocals, which are strong but have a sweetness about them. Granted there were artists who could pull this song off much better technically, but Joo has something in her voice, which helps echo emotion into the song. It’s sad, striking and really hits the heart. Stellar. Like Yesterday is a cover of a J song. J was is an oldschool Korean R&B singer and her voice is insanely fluid, so it was interesting to hear Joo’s take on this song. It’s a great song anyway with it’s lounge feel. Vocally, Joo pulled it off decently as her tone is similar to that of J’s, but she’s still able to make it unique. Face is another ballad that follows the style of the previous song. It’s a good follow-up, although not particularly different or catchy as the previous one just pulls everything off on a higher level. Joo’s vocals match this song much better though. Premiere follows the style of the first track with it’s more traditional ballad approach with a touch of sadness. It’s a gorgeous song and one of the strongest on the single (granted there are only four tracks). It shows off Joo’s vocal power, especially at the end when the song takes a step up. A great ending that leaves a strong impression.

Overall: A striking single from a debutant. It still surprises me that Joo went back to train, although I think a lot of it had to do with the rumours of her past arising. Still, this single easily showed the potential that Joo had. Her voice is sweet, piercing and powerful and she flows through all these slower tracks well. While I found the darker ballads more to my liking, the light-hearted R&B tracks were a nice break even if they weren’t that exciting.

A-

어제처럼