My introduction to BTS was from my niece, who started as a fan around late 2017 or early 2018. I remember watching them and not having much interest until I saw this one guy who drew me in. Since then I would often tell my niece to call me if she was watching any performances so that I could see this guy. That was my introduction to Park Jimin. It was like the guy drew me in, and then the rest of them sealed the deal until I became a fan myself. This year, on March 24, 2023, Jimin released his debut album titled Face. I was so excited to listen to this and to learn what it was all about. Read on as I share my review of the album!
The album is mostly pop, but it does have a mix of other genres. He worked on this with producers Ghstloop, Evan, and Pdogg. These producers are already known for their work with BTS.
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| Image Credit: BigHit Music |
There are six tracks listed in the album, with one being an interlude track. There are also two versions of one song (Like Crazy, in Korean and English). A bonus track called Letter is also hidden after the end of the English version of Like Crazy. This track is only available on the physical album and not on any streaming service (so far). It is not on the digital copy either. I thought I wasn't going to ever hear this song. Good thing they released a video of him singing this on YouTube!
According to Jimin, he co-wrote the songs in the album during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was going through so many feelings and was having a hard time during the Permission to Dance tour. He told the rest of the members of BTS about this, who encouraged him to write and turn his feelings into music. This led to him coming up with the album. His lyrics showed feelings of sadness, self-doubt, and breaking free from those emotions. It felt like a growth for him as a person and as an artist.
My Review
The first track, Face-off, has lyrics that seem to symbolize the end of a relationship. Whether that is with someone else or with the other side of himself, I'm not quite sure. If the intention is to sound like a breakup, I have a question. Why do most of our Bangtan boys seem to be writing about bad breakups in their albums? As I said in my post on RM's Indigo, who hurt you? Point her out to me and I will give her a piece of my mind!
The album then moves to Interlude: Dive. It is an instrumental track. You also hear Jimin speaking to fans recorded from previous performances. Near the end, there are other sounds, like a door opening and closing. I suppose in a way it is a symbol of him opening the door to his emotions in the album. You also hear him pouring and drinking something like he is getting ready for something. I assume it's him preparing to share his songs with everyone.
Like Crazy is the second single from the album and has both English and Korean versions in the album. The Korean version comes first and the English version is at the end of the album. I love the musical style of this one. It sounds like the perfect dance track and like the video, it sounds like something you would hear in a cool club. It reminded me of songs I would hear from UK artists, so I was not surprised to find out that it became a hit there. It had a sound that felt like it could put you in a trance. It felt like something you could get lost in.
According to articles on the album, this song found inspiration from the movie of the same name. They say it's one of Jimin's favorite movies (apart from The Notebook?). That's supposed to be the reason for the speaking parts at the start of the song.
To me, the song was about losing himself and wondering who he was. I don't know if that was what he intended, but that was how it sounded to me.
I have to remind everyone that the English version of this song has a hidden track called Letter (it's at the 6:13 mark). I love that he placed it at that time because everyone who is a fan knows that was the date that BTS debuted.
This is his letter to ARMY, the BTS fandom. I thought the lyrics were very sweet, it felt that he was speaking about his feelings to someone he loved. There was so much love, appreciation, and gratitude in the lyrics. Even with the way he sang this, there was so much sincerity to the tone. As a fan myself, I was so happy to hear that. It was also nice to hear backing vocals from fellow BTS member Jungkook in this song.
Track 4 has the title Alone. The lyrics talk about feeling uncertain and afraid, losing himself in the process. It's about feeling sad and how the feeling never ends. To me, that alarm clock at the beginning felt like a symbol of him wanting to wake up from the low that he was feeling.
Set Me Free Pt. 2, the first single from the album, was so exciting for me. The music video that came with it showed a very different Jimin and I loved it! This is the first time that I heard him rap in a track and I was so proud of him for being able to do it! I know some people are criticizing him for using autotune on this song but I don't get the hate. It was obvious that the use of autotune was more of an artistic choice to give the song that different sound. It was not done because he lacked anything as a singer. All his songs in the album were good but this is my favorite song in the album. I know Like Crazy was the one that hit #1 on Billboard, but if I were to choose, I would choose this song as my favorite track.
It's not only the sound of the song that I like but also the message. I like that he talks about breaking free from the things holding him back. The message and the music did feel very freeing and I loved that the music video showed that as well.
My first thought when I heard the title of the song was whether it had a connection to SUGA's song Set Me Free. According to Jimin, there was no connection other than having a similar title. Out of respect to the first song and feeling like his track fit as a continuation, he called the track Part 2. In his documentary, they showed that they also considered having SUGA in the track. In the end, they decided that it would be best for it to be only Jimin since it was his first solo single. I love SUGA, but I agree with the decision that they made. But I would still love a future collaboration between them if they get the chance to do it.
As a whole, I thought the album was a good introduction to the artist that Jimin is apart from BTS. He has shown a new and good side to himself as an artist and shows much more potential for what is to come in the future. I did not expect this kind of music from him and I am happy that he experimented on something different. It goes to show that with his album (and that of the rest of the members who have gone solo), K-pop is not one sound. There is so much there to box them into one category.
If there is any complaint I have about this album it's that it's too short. I wanted more! It was like he gave us a morsel of his potential. I can tell there is more he can come up with, and I will be patient and look forward to it in the future.
I hope that he comes up with more songs where he gets to dance more. He is an amazing dancer and I am always in awe when I see him on stage. I hope that his future music will feature songs where he can show off his contemporary dance style. I am so in love with how he dances and I hope he can show that off someday with his music. I miss seeing him dance like that. It was on the Black Swan music video when I last saw him do that.
Have you listened to Jimin's album? If yes, what did you think of it? Please leave a message in the comments section! I hope that if you have not heard of it yet you can give it a try. It's available on all the popular music streaming sites! Give Face a try!
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