Prior to his solo beginnings, singer-songwriter Bang Yedam saw his rise to fame in 2012 by competing in season two of the reality TV show SBS’ K-Pop Star. His talent landed him second place, leading him to sign with agency YG Entertainment. It was this that led him to triumph in the survival show YG Treasure Box, determining out of the 29 male trainees who would debut. He made it all the way to the final episode where he was confirmed as the second member of the new boy group Treasure. 

Just before Treasure’s official debut, Bang Yedam achieved success with his first digital R&B single, Wayo, released on June 5th, 2020.  Having been in the public eye since 2012, his loyal fan base landed him at number 10 on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart. Known for his ballads, he’s out to re-acquaint new and old audiences with his powerful vocals. November 23rd will see six new tracks composed and written by Bang Yedam, appearing on his upcoming album Ep1 with the pre-release single Miss You out now. 

During his recent appearance on the late-night music talk show The Seasons: Long Day, Long Night, currently hosted by siblings AKMU (Lee Chan and Lee Su-Hyun), Yedam explained his new album will consist of two versions Precious and Begin, the meaning behind those two specific names are based on new valuable beginnings, he added “I’ll show various sides as a solo artist and as a person’, so I hope you will look forward to my activities.”

Miss You, as the title suggests, taps into those new sides and valuable beginnings. The song navigates the most complex emotion we, as humans, face: love and hate, both of which are closely related and intertwined. With the ballad written,  composed, and produced by Bang Yedam, he uses these emotions in his lyrics creating personal stories. Whilst starting slow, it allows his strong vocals to act as an acoustic, slowly joined by the piano. Building up to an emotional chorus, it’s at this point Yedam lets out the pain of his heartbreak: “I miss you / I love you / Your heart too/It’s the same as me / I need you/I hate you/My everything / A dream that gave me everything.” 

The first half of the song acts as a soft gentle lullaby thanks to the delicacy of the piano, yet, it’s the second part that springs the song into life. Moving from sadness into anger towards himself, the arrangement matches his emotions. His vocals grow into frustration, almost crying out in a passionate rage: “Yeah I’ll take the blame / Whatever you want / I can do everything for you, yes / They say time is medicine / But right now/My time has stopped / Yeah, everything’s off now / You will be the only good thing in my life.” It feels as if he’s shouting that message into the void, however, his soothing vocals make the song comforting to listen to. It’s the sort of song that would slot in perfectly in a K-Drama, as the credits fade away. 

For just 3 minutes and 14 seconds, listeners are taken on his personal journey; this genuineness has led Bang Yedam to remind everyone how to do ballads. I imagine the track won’t sound out of place in a venue full of fans excitedly swaying with lights sticks in the final post-chorus singing in unity: “na, na, na / Na, na, na, na-na /Na / na, na, na” 

Miss You is the perfect pre-release for his upcoming EP,  an undeniably well-made track showing his talent as a songwriter and producer. With the success of his first track, curiosity grows for what the remaining five tracks will sound like, hopefully, he will continue to create songs that listeners can empathise with. 

Rating:

Written by Kirsty Bright

Featured image © GF Entertainment

_{View of the Arts is an online publication that chiefly deals with films, music, and art, with an emphasis on the Asian entertainment industry. We are hoping our audience will grow with us as we begin to explore new platforms such as K-pop / K-music, and Asian music in general, and continue to dive into the talented and ever-growing scene of film, music, and arts, worldwide.}