Jung Kook is pop's newest king. But should his success be defined by the North American market?

While a solid body of work, ‘Golden’ plays it pretty safe

(Photo courtesy of BIG HIT MUSIC)

Many of you who follow me here know I am unabashedly BTS ARMY. I’ve travelled across the continent to see BTS perform, made two radio documentaries about the group and have shamelessly(!) found ways to insert them into conversations whenever an opportunity arises.

Being a fan means supporting each BTS member’s endeavours no matter what…even if the solo music won’t always be my cup of tea.

So that’s why I’m coming clean today. Jung Kook’s solo direction has at times made me feel skeptical and conflicted.

And while I do mostly enjoy his new music, I think it’s worth unpacking the direction he wants to go in — and that’s becoming the next king of pop.

(Photo courtesy of BIG HIT MUSIC and Universal Music)

Unlike the self-produced hip-hop and K-pop bangers BTS have often been known for, Jung Kook’s musical style is more commercial to the North American market. All his singles are sung in English. And following high profile collaborations with the likes of Latto, Jack Harlow, The Kid LAROI and Central Cee, it also seems like the strategy from Jung Kook and his team is to chase Top 40 hits and major radio play.

Don’t get me wrong. Jung Kook has every right to sing fun and saucy bops about having sex seven days a week. He’s 26 and a grown man, after all! But my conflicted feelings actually stem from HYBE wanting to pander to the west with little input from the Korean side behind-the-scenes.

From ‘Seven’ to ‘3D’, each of Jung Kook’s pre-release singles check all the boxes of what makes a solid pop track these days — catchy hooks, short run-time, early 2000s-inspired beats and an A-list artist collaboration.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with liking harmless fluff that’s perfectly enjoyable to vibe with. However, Jung Kook’s initial singles didn’t strike me as particularly unique to all the pop tracks I hear on the radio and TikTok today. And it’s made me wonder whether Jung Kook’s success needs to be defined by chasing the North American market.

The good thing about Jung Kook is that his artistry and velvety smooth vocals can be molded to any genre he sets out to do. He’s also very attractive and not afraid to show off his body in flashy outfits. All of that combined makes him the perfect candidate to take on the mantle as pop music’s next king. It’s also what makes Golden stick as a solid solo debut studio album.

Golden comes from Jung Kook’s nickname as the “golden maknae”, which refers to him being the youngest member of BTS who is often praised for being good at a lot of things. Jung Kook showcases his versatility with each new sound on this album, and curated the project with genres that reflect his wide musical spectrum. There are also big names attached to the project with songwriting and production credits. Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, Major Lazer and DJ Snake are just a few of them.

Golden tells a story of changing relationships and is told in two parts. The first half features light-hearted and upbeat songs that is said to portray someone falling in love. Whereas the latter half slows things down, and deals with emotions following a breakup.

Throughout the album, Jung Kook continues to prove he is indeed the “golden maknae”, sprinkling his magic touch to any genre he sets out to do.

He explores early 2000s UK garage in ‘Seven (feat Latto)’ — reminiscent of Craig David’s ‘7 Days.’ While ‘3D (feat Jack Harlow)’, is a fun reminder of my middle school dance days where we’d bump Justin Timberlake’s Justified album on repeat. That said, I still cannot get behind Jack Harlow’s verse in ‘3D’. On top of coming off as a bit vulgar, his line about ABGs (short for Asian Baby Girls) remains problematic for its fetishizer vibes. And with that, I will continue to listen to the alternate version of ‘3D’ instead.

Meanwhile, lead single ‘Standing Next To You’ has Jung Kook channelling his best Michael Jackson, playing with a retro funk theme and doing his best disco moves. It’s a fun ode to ‘Thriller’, and the choreography for the track is so entertaining!

Jung Kook also delves into more electronic-leaning tracks like ‘Closer To You (feat Major Lazer)’, a moody reggaeton-inspired club banger. While ‘Please Don’t Change (feat DJ Snake)’ is much less memorable, but kind of reminds me of something you’d hear at a beach party.

Golden does a great job at allowing Jung Kook add his own flair to any genre he sets his mind to. However, the two stand-out tracks for me are actually those written by two singers who currently dominate the Top 40 market and actually feel like true classic pop gems. ‘Yes or No’ is a callback to something One Direction would release when they were at their peak in the 2010s (‘Better than Words’, anyone?) After all, Ed Sheeran — who wrote many 1D songs — also co-wrote ‘Yes or No.’

The other highlight is ‘Hate You’, a piano ballad co-written by Shawn Mendes. This track is one that really allows Jung Kook show off his smooth and emotional vocals in the best way possible. And you can really hear the pain and heartbreak in his voice!

It should be noted here that Jung Kook has no songwriting or production credits on Golden, which I don’t think is a necessarily bad thing if the end product is good. But given that the entire album is sung in English, there were some songs where Jung Kook would sing lines I absolutely would not think he’d say otherwise. ‘Too Sad to Dance’ is one such example, featuring cliché lyrics and lines like “So I called my pops last night”. I’m sorry…I can’t picture a situation in which Jung Kook would call his dad “pops”. Who still says that? Nevertheless, Jung Kook’s heartbreak can be felt in his vocals, and it’s enough for me to feel convinced.

(Photo courtesy of BIG HIT MUSIC)

In interviews, Jung Kook has mentioned that Golden was made with the overseas music market in mind, and the goal is to create a pop record. Golden succeeds in doing that, though plays it pretty safe. While his loyal fans will definitely enjoy and hype this project up, I’m not sure it’ll stand out to those who don’t know Jung Kook already.

Having seen what Jung Kook is capable of as part of his body of work and Korean solo tracks like ‘Euphoria’ and ‘My Time’, Golden doesn’t quite rise to the occasion when we know what a strong performer he is. The album feels current to the trends we see in Top 40 songs today, but doesn’t necessarily play to Jung Kook’s strengths.

If you’ve watched any of Jung Kook’s solo stages and performances with BTS (including their GRAMMYs' ‘Butter’ stage), you can see that he has more than enough talent and star power to be on top of the world. But does Jung Kook’s solo career have to come at the expense of giving most of his creative control over to western producers and songwriters?

Unfortunately, the western music industry remains fickle and doesn’t have the best track record in giving Asian singers a platform to thrive in the North American market.

I have no doubt being a global pop star is what Jung Kook wants to be. And given the success of his album, he seems well on his way to becoming the next king of pop.

I often have to remind myself that Jung Kook spent his most formative years in an idol group, and is on a new chapter in showing us his more adult, grown up self.

Golden is perhaps a period in his life where he’s trying new things and figuring himself out. With time, I hope his growth and development lends itself to music that will allow him to take more artistic risks.

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FIFTY FIFTY will continue as a group with three new members: ATTRAKT

FIFTY FIFTY will continue as a group with three additional members, said the agency ATTRAKT.

The news comes after a months-long legal battle with three of FIFTY FIFTY’s former members Saena, Sio and Aran. The girls cite the violation of contractual obligations, lack of transparency in financial settlements and medical negligence during the group’s promotions as a reason why they wanted to leave ATTRAKT.

The agency has since terminated their contracts.

Member Keena, who initially joined her former bandmates in the legal battle to terminate her contract with ATTRAKT, has since returned to the label and dropped her lawsuit.

Later this month, Keena will also attend the Billboard Music Awards because FIFTY FIFTY has been nominated for two awards: Top Duo/Group and Top Global K-Pop Song for their viral hit ‘Cupid.’

Seventeen land on the Billboard 200 with Seventeenth Heaven, marking its fourth Top 10 entry

Congratulations are in order for Seventeen! The group has landed the #2 spot on the the Billboard 200 with their album Seventeenth Heaven.

This achievement also marks Seventeen’s fourth consecutive top 10 album to make it on the Billboard 200.

Their other albums to have made the list include Face the Sun, which peaked at #7 in 2022, their repackaged album Sector 17 (which landed at #4) and this year’s FML which also landed at #2.

What I’m listening to: WayV’s album On My Youth

While I haven’t always warmed up to NCT releases due to the sheer size of the group, WayV is quite possibly the sub-unit that has impressed me most.

After all, the song ‘Love Talk’ continues to have a chokehold on me years after its release. It’s timeless. It’s sexy! It gives me ‘90s boy band. What’s not to love?

WayV is the China-based sub-group from NCT, featuring members Ten, Kun, Winwin, Hendery, Yangyang and Xiaojun. Earlier this month, they released their second LP On My Youth.

One of the songs from the project that I’ve gravitated toward is the catchy dance track ‘Poppin Love’. The concept is giving me Y2K *NSYNC and B2K down to the set design, costumes and music production. The WayV boys look hot!

The only issue is this track is criminally short, which seems to be a trend for all new songs these days.

What I’m watching: Dream Academy

After finishing the K-pop survival show A2K, I have finally started watching the HYBE x Geffen Records-produced Dream Academy. Similar to A2K, Dream Academy features contestants vying for a chance to debut in a global girl group.

Unlike most reality competition shows that are filmed documentary style, Dream Academy is released in short YouTube clips featuring the contestants performing in units (known as missions), followed by separate commentary from judges and elimination results. Fans choose their favourite contestants via voting on Weverse and TikTok.

Something that sticks out about each and every one of the contestants on Dream Academy is how skilled and talented they are. They could all debut tomorrow if they wanted to. They are all so polished!

My one gripe about this show however, is that you can’t really see the journey each of these contestants are going on in trying to make their dreams come true.

Considering that the show is released in short clips, I find myself losing a lot of context as to what went on behind the scenes and how elimination results are decided. The format doesn’t lend itself to allowing you to personally connect with each contestant. So as a viewer, I’m left trying to fill in the blanks on my own.

GIVEAWAY ALERT! Win a pair of tickets to see Balming Tiger in Toronto!

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The South Korean hip hop musical collective Balming Tiger will be coming to Toronto on Nov. 14th to play a show at Axis Club. MODO LIVE is giving away a pair of tickets to Bunni Pop readers.

**CONTEST CLOSES SATURDAY NOV 11th at 6 pm ET**

The winner will be randomly chosen on 11/12/23, and will be contacted by @bunnipopletter on Instagram only.

In order to enter the giveaway:
1. Follow @bunnipopletter & @modoliveofficial on Instagram.
2. Tag up to two friends!

You can also buy tickets to the show here.

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