"Why so serious?" BIGBANG's guiding light G-Dragon asks on his masterpiece "Crayon". It is a good question, and one I raised during my review of BIGBANG at Prudential last week. G-Dragon is the 24 year old boy genius of K-Pop, signed by SONY at the age of 8 (as an apprentice?) and hitting the big time in 2009.
In the midst of a world tour with his band, G-Dragon not only played the best song off his September released EP One Of A Kind, he also improvised the title track mid-set. Kinda there to prove that G-D and BIGBANG were not entirely on a regimental diet. And certainly suggest that when I questioned the bands authenticity I was asking the wrong question. One Direction are manufactured, BB are pureed.
The EP is a masterstroke of sorts. four of the six tracks answer my complaint that K-Pop is just Western pop by Asians. Kim Yuna, lead singer of rock band Jaurim, ads a lightly Asian pop flavored vocal to "Missing You" and with hits whistled chorus, it sounds like the subsequent evolution of Korean music. "Without You" I full own power ballad and "That XX" is a sweet acoustic based love song, with hooks upon hooks to bring it home.
But that isn't why we're here.
G-Dragon is a widely eccentric man, who looks like a tween in a gay bar looking for some rough stuff. He dresses flamboyantly has an eccentric persona that makes mincemeat of my earlier claim of regimental. But is he fun? On "Crayon" he is. The video (check it out below) is a blast of color and sound, it is all bleeps and power. The title means is a mash up of G-D's given name Jiyong and Crazy, and lives it to it. A Titanic blast of pure sex, confusion and sound that explodes in your consciousness. You won't find ANYTHING LIKE THIS by a West Boy Band, though K-Pop bands might circle around it, they won't get there. It is one of the best songs of the year.
This is where K-Pop starts pulling away, G-D throws everything on track after track, singalongs, shout outs, synths and beat upon beats.
One more thing, this is an EP, the currency of choice for this band.
One Of A Kind – Grade: B+