Has this ever happened to you? You discover a song at random and it's your first time listening to it; you're completely mesmerized so you look into it, see who the artist is, then only to find out that the person who you heard singing it is actually someone just doing a cover?
I don't listen to the radio much, so I usually don't know what's trending and what the American top hits are, but there's been a number of times where I've stumbled upon covers that Korean, usually male, singers have done. Whether it's a 30 second clip or the full version, I become instantly hooked. It's insane how much I'd rather listen to these covers versions than the originals. Song covers have become a way for people to express themselves, to revamp the original by embodying the song and making it their own. Some may do it just to pass the time but then you have these guys who do it because they simply enjoy doing so.
There seems to be an endless list of covers, but here's our part three of this list.
5. V (BTS) "Someone Like You"
If you listen to BTS's (Bangtan Boys) then you're probably already well aware of their powerful choreographies and slick raps. Due to the fact that a majority of the songs that they promote on music shows involve a lot of energetic dance moves, it's a rare to see the vocalists of BTS showcase their unique voices. With past promotions, in member V's case, unless you've listened to songs that are on their albums that they don't actively promote, you've probably realized how small his parts are and, when he did get parts, they're usually about ten words worth of lyrics, each.
For listeners, whether it was those who already knew and listened to BTS on a regular or those who've only heard of them through passing, when V came out with his cover of "Someone Like You" it took a lot of those listeners by surprise. I personally didn't know that his voice could go as low as it did, neither was I expecting him to hit the higher notes as he notably did or even for his English to be as detectable as it was. V's unique and deep bass is quite uncommon in the K-pop industry and he utilizes it well for this cover. Whether or not he fully understood the lyrics he was singing, his voice displayed this raw emotion and showed sensitivity, which will have one swooning in no time.
Since doing this cover (it was filmed and uploaded in December of 2014), V's earned the recognition he's well deserved. With BTS's latest album, "The Most Beautiful Moment In Life Part 1", he's received a lot more lines on all the tracks and like some of the other members, he's also taken part in some of the lyric and melody writing for the album. It'll only be a matter of time before V becomes a household name.
4. Yonghwa & Jonghyun (CNBLUE) "Geek In The Pink"
There's a number of songs members Yonghwa and Jonghyun of CNBLUE could've covered as a small ode to one of their favorite musicians, Jason Mraz. They could've done some of his hits like "I'm Yours" or "You & I Both," but they opted for the less romantic and more fun and gun-ho track "Geek In The Pink" and, without a doubt, the guys sure as hell put on an entertaining performance for their audience.
In certain cases, sometimes in order to convey a message from a song, especially when it's a live performance and you're performing alongside someone else, there has to be some sort of mental connection. Some performers have an instant bond, a natural sense of chemistry when working with one another, Yonghwa and Jonghyun being the perfect example. Granted these two are in a band together but it's not always the case where you'd see members work together as genuinely as they do. Of course you'd hope that the members in these idol groups have some sort of connection with one another, but you could usually tell when it's a forced act and when it's them truly working together.
However, you can tell that Yonghwa and Jonghyun enjoyed covering this song. They were feeding off of one another's energy; Jonghyun's smooth and luscious voice balanced well with Yonghwa's diverse and distinctive voice techniques. It's obvious that English isn't their native tongue, but the way Yonghwa flawlessly delivered that rap, WOW, he should rap more often!
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Content courtesy of KultScene.
Any opinions expressed are not those of KpopStarz, but are the ideas of the writer.
