(Featuring BM, T.O.P., Ryeowook, Jungkook, and Baekhyun)

This time, I thought I would try something different on the blog. Instead of doing a deep dive into one group, I’m doing shallow dives into a bunch of soloists and their first mini albums, then comparing and contrasting. This time is male soloists, from Super Junior to BTS. So, let’s get into it!

(See all solo rankings here)

Artist #1: BM of KARD

Matthew Kim, or BM, is most known as part of KARD, one of the few co-ed groups in kpop. Specifically, he’s their main dancer and lead rapper, and has also composed a large amount of their songs. (Also, he’s 6’2″, which is scarily tall from the perspective of someone who’s 4’11”.) He’s also been a solo artist since 2021, and co-hosts the DIVE Studios podcast Get Real with Peniel from BTOB and Ashley from Ladies’ Code, which is where I know him from. But I’m looking forward to getting to know him a little more here. I watched one of the more vulnerable episodes he did, as well as some of his performances with KARD.

Nectar has a Latin-pop infused beat, a good fit for BM’s vocals (and Jay Park’s too, though he only has a short verse) with a gentle piano background that was unexpected. The lyrics less so. I’m almost impressed by how unapologetically about sex they are; that’s unusual. As I’ve mentioned before on the blog, I’m asexual, so I often find “sexy” songs more entertaining than anything else, but rarely do I find them so…uncomfortable? There’s something about this one doesn’t strike me right, and I’m not entirely sure what it is, frankly. But by the time we got to the hook, it made my skin crawl and my legs snap shut. I normally listen to a song twice—sometimes more—for a review, but I really couldn’t do it this time.

BM’s really earning that “Parental Advisory: Explicit Content” sticker, with this EP, Element, which is his perogative as a grown man, and not my place to judge. But I really, really hate the tone of several of the songs; there’s this weird, uncomfortable misogyny just lurking under the surface of them, and again it makes my skin crawl. There’s a way to make songs “sexy” without feeling demeaning and disrespectful. I’m purposefully not typing up the lyrics here because I just refuse to, but if you’re comfortable with it, I’d suggest looking them up yourself to see what I mean. You can judge for yourself if I’m overreacting.

And that’s not even mentioning the scattered blaccent he keeps doing and the AAVE he’s using when it doesn’t make sense. And Matthew is American—he’s from LA—so we can’t use the excuse of “he doesn’t know better”. Like I said in my Mark Lee deep dive, he does know better. I know his voice doesn’t sound like that. And after all of that, I’m giving this a 6, which may be the lowest I’ve ranked a solo EP so far. I took a 15 minute break after the first time I listened, and the sooner I never have to hear it again, the better. Next.

Artist #2: Ryeowook of Super Junior

Ryeowook is the main vocalist of Super Junior, as well as one of its youngest members (born in ’87). He’s also acted in musicals and composed some of SuJu’s songs, before debuting as a solo artist in 2016. Interestingly enough, he’s actually married to a fellow kpop idol, Ari from Tahiti (who I should do a review on one day). I’ve been a Super Junior fan since I did my review with my mother last year, but he’s actually one of the members I know the least well, so I’m looking forward to this! I watched some videos of SuJu reuniting and performing Sorry Sorry at his wedding, as well as him talking about his music career with kids on Hello 82.

Just from the name The Little Prince, I had a feeling we were in for a great ballad, and Ryeowook exceeded my expectations exponentially (your alliteration for the day). The short acapella section that opens the track is stunning, and it only gets better from there, as a gentle piano takes over and your left with something just…magical. It’s a fairly classic ballad at first, but Ryeowook’s vocals take it to another level; it takes so much talent to make your voice convey emotion without letting it get shaky. The backing choir is light, but powerful and the building orchestra as Ryeowook paints his own night sky in the MV is just gorgeous. I feel like I keep saying that but I don’t know what other words to use; sometimes even reviewers are at a loss for words, you know? It’s really great.

From the EP, I enjoyed the incredible build and gorgeous strings of Like A Star and the piano-led Poom, but my hidden gem was the percussive coffeeshop Hello, with its joyful horns and flutes. It just feels like a smile. Ryeowook gets an 8.75 from me; he’s now on my list for a solo discography review!

Artist #3: Jungkook of BTS

Jungkook is definitely the most well-known solo artist on this list, being the youngest member and main vocalist of BTS. I’ve covered his fellow members RM and Jimin in solo rankings before—and I’m planning to cover RM on his own in a solo review—but I don’t know as much about Jungkook as I know about them. For this, I watched his interview on Jimmy Fallon as well as a fan made video or two, but god knows there were a lot to choose from.

I know Golden has three singles, but in the interests of equality, I chose just Standing Next To You to compare with the others. It wastes no time, that’s for sure, starting synthy right off the bat before continuing on with some great brassy interpolations and solid funk. I was also pleasantly surprised by how solid the English lyrics are, given k-pop’s sometimes less-than-stellar track record with it, but they’re really catchy. Jungkook has quite an impressive falsetto that didn’t stick out to me in BTS’ singles, but really shines here. And I also really liked the music video, with its sharp-as-a-tack dance moves and its gold and rich dark green color palette that reminds me of a rich honeycomb in the best way. 

I confess I committed many eyeballs at the English lyrics of 3D and Seven, but again, he’s a grown man, and his words are respectful enough (not counting Jack Harlow’s), so I genuinely could care less. Like, he wants to fuck his partner seven days a week to take the weight off of their mind? (Direct quote btw) Chill. Good for him. 

From the album, Golden, while I enjoyed the laid-back catchiness of Yes Or No, and the soft piano-led Shotglass Of Tears, my hidden gem was Too Sad To Dance, with its off-the-cuff vulnerability, tropical influences, and lovely vocals. Jungkook gets a 9 out of 10 from me. This release is such crying-on-the-dancefloor perfection and I was so surprised by how much I liked it, but I’m excited to see what he does next!

Artist #4: T.O.P. of BigBang

T.O.P., or Choi Seunghyun, is best known as the lead rapper of 2nd gen titan BigBang, though he left the group in 2023 after he was convicted of using marijuana (I could go on a whole rant about how he was treated worse for this by the general public than the other member of his group that actually inflicted harm on hundreds of women, but I digress). He’s a solo artist and an actor now, but I wanted to cover the music he’s made and give him his due. It was difficult for me to find things to get to know him, but I did watch some press he did for Squid Game and a fan made video or two. Let me know if you have any recommendations!

I don’t know how to describe the opening hook of Doom Dada, and neither do I have any idea what in the hell is happening in this music video. There’s gorillas everywhere. There’s seizure inducing cuts. It’s all in black and white. There’s a lot of vague;y culturally appropriative moments and I have no idea whether any of them were intentional or not. The MV director was clearly on some 70s acid trip during this because genuinely…WHAT. But either way, T.O.P.’s rapping is the star of the show here, to literally no one’s surprise, and even I, someone who’s not the biggest fan of it, can admit how talented he is. However, that absolutely does not mean I like this song. I did not. It’s basically everything I dislike in a song: over-auto tuning, chanty hooks, and the mother of all anti-drops in that chorus. So, not for me in the least. Someone please get me a dark room so my eyeballs can recover.

Because T.O.P. doesn’t have an EP of his own, I used his solo songs from his collaboration album with GDragon. From said album, while I enjoyed the club beat of Turn It Up and the melding of hip-hop and power ballad in Of All Days, my hidden gem was without a doubt Oh Mom, with its rock guitar edge and its desperate, emotional lyrics. It’s a really excellent, moving song, and I was so surprised by how much I loved it and the rest of his music in general. I’ll give him an 8 out of 10.

Artist #5: Baekhyun of EXO

Baekhyun is the main vocalist of the group EXO, as well as a part of supergroup SuperM, and he’s been a solo artist since 2019. I know a little bit about him from my SuperM deep dive and from his friendships with SHINee and other groups, but not that much. EXO’s been on my list for a while now, and so has Baekhyun’s solo discography, so I thought this would be a good way of getting to know his music before diving in. For this review, I watched his iHeartRadio interview from around this time (both pairs).

I was actually expecting U.N. Village to be similar to Ryeowook’s The Little Prince, but it surprised me. It starts with a harsh on the ears sound that’s a real contrast to Baekhyun’s ultra smooth voice, and then it tiptoes along with the kind of enviable ease that only comes with years as an idol. It’s not a sound I’m usually very drawn to, honestly, but I can appreciate that he does it really well, a lot like Taeyeon. I’m probably an idiot but I have no idea what the name “UN Village” has to do with flirting with some girl, but it’s a nice song so here we are. 

From the EP, I enjoyed the relaxed city pop sound of Stay Up, the great vocals and solid percussion of Diamond, and the dramatic rush of a chorus in Pyscho (my hidden gem) Baekhyun gets an 8.5 out of from me; he manages to make a complete turnaround from our first EP of this review and make a sensual R & B album while not being…uncomfortable. I definitely want to do a solo deep dive on him too.

Verdict: TL;DR

My top album was Jungkook’s Golden at 9 out of 10, with Ryeowook’s The Little Prince at 8.75 as a runner-up. Though they’re very different styles, they’re both so good at the style they chose, and it was hard to pick who was 1st place and 2nd. (Side note: God, this is the third time a BTS member’s been in my Top 2 of the soloist ranking, they’re going to think I’m a fan, guys…)

Next time, we’re back to our regularly scheduled programming. Tschüss!