BTS’s Jungkook has finally made his solo debut, releasing the highly anticipated album “Golden” on Nov. 3. Preceded by singles “Seven,” “3D” and “Standing Next to You,” “Golden” is a perfectly satisfactory pop album that - while not particularly innovative - provides a strong start to Jungkook’s solo career through a string of radio-friendly hits with the potential for global appeal.
Diverging from the releases of his BTS bandmates, “Golden” is an entirely English-language album that includes features from Western artists Jack Harlow, Major Lazer, Latto, and DJ Snake. It’s a clear attempt to appeal to the Western market, perhaps hoping to follow in the footsteps of BTS’s English-language singles “Dynamite” and “Butter,” both of which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 100 and achieved massive global success.
The singles on “Golden” are accompanied by B-sides that are all solid pop songs on their own, but tend to fade into sameness when strung together back to back. Many of the album tracks seem engineered in a lab to be perfectly suited for radio play, drawing from the signature sounds of pop stars such as Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, and Ed Sheeran to craft songs like “Yes or No” and “Somebody.” Even the piano ballad “Hate You,” despite being an emotional song about a breakup, doesn’t build to the devastating heights that it could, instead maintaining a quiet, vaguely sad melody throughout. The songs aren’t memorable, but they’re inoffensive and pleasant to listen to, and there’s certainly a market for them.
As is common on K-pop albums, Jungkook has no writing credits on “Golden,” with his label HYBE instead employing a team of songwriters to put together the album’s 11 tracks - a whopping nine songwriters are credited on “Closer to You.” The group-project feel may have contributed to why its lyrics fall flat. When Jungkook sings “I just wait by the telephone / You ain't coming back and I should’ve known / And that's why I’m too sad to dance” in “Too Sad to Dance,” it doesn’t feel entirely genuine - especially considering the stigma K-pop idols face around dating, which means that Jungkook’s love songs clash with his carefully protected “eternally single” public image.
While not a bombshell debut, “Golden” is catchy pop pleasantry with a few exceptional tracks. It’s a solid launch to Jungkook’s solo career during BTS’s hiatus, securely establishing him as a successful artist in his own right.
- Samantha H. Chung - thecrimson.com
