With over 5,000 songs on my iPhone’s “K-Pop Singles” playlist, I thought it would be fun to add a bit of unpredictability to my song review posts. So as a result, we have the “Random Shuffle Review” feature.
The rules are simple. I fire up my playlist, press “shuffle,” and whatever song plays first gets the full Bias List treatment!
Year Released: 2009
It’s fitting that a song from Lee Jung Hyun comes up on shuffle for this feature today! She was recently (finally!) given her own tribute episode of the popular Immortal Songs series and watching it was a real treat. Not only were there some great covers of her material (Jo Kwon’s was the best!), but she also gave her first performance in a decade.
Known as the “queen of concepts” and the “techno queen” of K-pop’s first generation, Lee Jung Hyun is one of my favorite artists of her era. I’ve written about my favorite Jung Hyun song a couple times already on the blog, but Crazy emerges from a more recent era in her career. Of course, it’s all relative because 2009 isn’t very recent anymore, but her music career has been on a lengthy hiatus.
On Immortal Songs, rookie boy group Close Your Eyes covered Crazy. They were fine but definitely not the strongest of the night. Nor is Crazy Jung Hyun’s strongest single, actually. It sees her updating her banging techno sound for a new era, fusing orchestra accents with spooky synths and a sharp, almost Michael Jackson beat. Jung Hyun’s vocal is full of its usual presence — a blend of chirpy cuteness and punky aggression. Crazy could do with better mixing (this is 2009, after all) but its bones are strong and it has more than enough personality to stand against its contemporaries. We’re long overdue for a new Jung Hyun album and if her recent performance is any indication she’s more than up for the task.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
