Today, May 26th marks when former ZB1 members Zhang Hao, Ricky, Kim Gyuvin and Han Yujin debut as the latest experiment in KPOP groups by Yuehua Entertainment. AND2BLE is the name they went with and even have a former member of EVNNE in Yoo Seungeon to round things out. Their efforts culminated in this debut release, Sequence 01: Curiosity.
Did Yuehua shit the bed "Curiosity" kill this cat or give it life?
As it would turn out in terms of group involvement, three(!) members have writing credits, so there's nothing bad there. Notably, Gyuvin(!), Ricky and Hao have writing credits across three tracks. Hao and Ricky share the title track writing credits which in three years of their career is insane given that:
Hao and Ricky are both Chinese, but learned Korean enough in three years time to have written lyrics for a title track(!) that the label said "sure, this is the single".
On paper, AND2BLE is comprised of five singers. Two of them were always considered strong vocalists from their time in Boys Planet and in their original groups (Seungeon in EVNNE and Hao across the OT9 run of ZB1.) One of them was considered a good singer in their own right, even though by all "Michelle 'The Bridge' Williams" logic, they're the most distinct singer (Ricky.) Then, two of them were considered "stronger visuals" [read as: the pretty or cute ones], which did a disservice to them and their disciplined mid to lower registers as they often ended up 8th or 9th in terms of distribution (Yujin and especially Gyuvin.)
Sequence 01: Curiosity on paper is supposed to reintroduce 2/5 of the group as singers, give more weight to one member and prove that the other 2/5 weren't merely flukes. Especially considering, at 5 tracks, this group cannot afford a shaky debut, given two groups were fractured to make this one.
And fun fact: 3/5 of this EP was produced or had a hand in its creation by the production team The Stereotypes. This is the collective that made "Damaged" and "Lemonade" by Danity Kane, "24K Magic" and "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars. Perhaps most importantly, as some of the members (or Ricky in all honesty) fucks with R&B and Hip-Hop...The Stereotypes had a hand in making "Before I Do" by Sevyn Streeter. In terms of KPOP, this collective had a hand in the making of "Kiss My Lips" by BoA, "GUM" by Jessi and "Bad Boy" by Red Velvet, just to name a few.
If anything was gonna be R&B flavored KPOP for the EP, at least AND2BLE got a hold of tried and true distinctive producers.
In practice, at least on the title track "Curious", something got lost in translation. "Curious" is not awful, but it feels like a waste of talent. Never mind that in a similar instance of "wait, that's listed as lyrics?" like in ZB1's "Top 5", the following occurs:
"Da da da da da da dum / Dada dum da da dum dum"
This occurs twice in the song, which feels less heinous here given that "Curious" has a runtime of 2:58. It's not actually 3:00 long like 3 other songs on the EP are but it's the one where I won't take quite as much umbrage with. HOWEVER, given the da da dum thing closes out the song, potential went unused. Five people in a group and yeah, two of the main vocals get vocals. Yet, how the fuck did Ricky get shafted on a single he helped write lyrics for and how did Gyuvin and Yujin largely get nothing like their time in ZB1?
Production can be partially to blame here. The song is a racket, cut and dry. Even with Hao and Seungeon's rounded, muscular vocals, production manages to drown them. Seungeon even has a high note that gets drowned out by production. When his section comes up, remember...the title track production drowned HIS vocals out. Ricky is also not given a bridge to sing which is just so fucking dumb. Of the few vocals Yujin gets, one of them is with Hao...which has his subtle lower register get upstaged by production and Zhang Hao Knowles-Carter-Germanotta.
Gyuvin has some vocal moments too but is reduced to a vocal style that isn't anywhere near rapping but it more so the pop version of "nightclub hypeman telling the crowd make some noise/let me hear you". His time was wasted and that's disheartening.
Something that hung over the post-ZB1 career of the Yuehua trainees was the overall possibility of "new" additions to the group. When the dust settled, Seungeon emerged in the post EVNNE acquisition. Something he's had work in his favor and work against him was his particular singing style. He's technically good if slightly theatrical, in that he does the "showtunes this is me singing face" thing. Basically, think back to his initial breakthrough on Boys Planet singing "Aju Nice" by Seventeen and you'll know exactly what I mean.
Seungeon in the context of AND2BLE does deliver vocals, even if the title track somehow hid a high note of his at the end (which again, how the fuck did The Stereotypes do that and not listen back and think "oh shit, we can't hear him".) For the rest of the EP, Seungeon's vocals are clearly strong even with the scant but notable vibrato. Granted, anyone of a "really strong" voice does tend to sound like they're trying to hit the note "too hard" (it's only really notable on "Sugar Rush".) However, his theatrical nature does not come back to bite him on the EP.
As for the remaining tracks of "Aura", "Sugar Rush", "Bed" and "Happy &", the runtimes of 3:12, 3:07 and 3:21 for "Aura", "Sugar Rush" and "Happy &" is considered a plus for Sequence 01: Curiosity. "Bed" and its 2:12 runtime can just fuck right off, just based on principle.
Sound wise, "Aura" is about the most R&B flavored sexy any KPOP group is allowed to evoke. Ricky clearly knows what he's doing as a songwriter with R&B tinged flair. Although it's very much "a 21 year old using 'swag' and 'aura' as slang" style of writing, Ricky is an artist at heart. That and his vocals sound great, even if he needed to be on the bridge. Sure, Hao and Seungeon do great on the bridge. Gyuvin and Yujin sound distinct on the song too, so there's that much in its favor. Again, those two needed like...actual vocals instead of crumbs on the chorus.
"Sugar Rush" is the kind of dance pop that A) isn't ever going away and B) is the exact kind of song AND2BLE needed to debut with. And wouldn't you know, Ricky sings part of the bridge on here. It's almost when things make sense, they work! "Happy &" is surprisingly jaunty and refreshing. Gyuvin might not have ended up with vocals on a debut EP again, but he at least has a songwriting credit. Not to mention, "Happy &" seems a better use of Hao's other songwriting credit. Strictly vocals wise, the jaunty nature brings out the best in the group. Granted, this brings up the lack of cohesion on the EP which is a huge problem.
"Curious" is "hypeman to the crowd in nightclub" levels of rock flavored pop, "Aura" is R&B tinged pop, "Sugar Rush" is basically the Boys Planet final stage song "Jelly Pop" but actually good with a commercial release and here comes "Happy &" sounding exactly like the innermost thoughts of an awkward love interest in a K-drama. Vocals are there across these songs buy MY GOD do these songs clash.
The less said about "Bed", the better. OK not the first 28 seconds of the song, that actually was promising. If the song wasn't going to be a proper length, it could've at the very least been so deliberate and intentional with the vocals or production, it would've excused a short runtime. Instead from 30 seconds onward, it becomes a racket. Are you trying to get the listener to bed for sexy time or are you jumping on the bed and not trying to hit your head? It can't be both.
For those wondering if AND2BLE will see major retail release in the U.S. despite 4/5 of the group having experienced U.S. releases...babe, let that go right now. To date, I can't name you a *single* Yuehua act that has touched any Billboard chart in the U.S., let alone release a debut effort on CD at a major retailer.
Overall, Sequence 01: Curiosity is a debut effort that needed to make better use of the group's talent. 3/5 of the members getting songwriting credits is fine, 3/5 getting actual vocals is fine albeit concerning, 3/5 of the songs being actually over 3:00 is fine. But 3/5 of something is also incomplete. Not to mention that the experience feels like a sampler showcase of a group, instead of 5 from across two other groups making a name for themselves.
However, if you're curious enough for the highlights, you'll be briefly rewarded with the bright spots that actually shined through.
Highlights:
- "Aura" 🥇
- "Sugar Rush" 🏆
- "Happy &" 💎
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