Park adds dance to musical repertoire
Singer Park Bo-ram sings her new song “Why, You” during a press conference at YES24 MUV Hall in western Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of MMO Entertainment
By Kim Jae-heun
Singer Park Bo-ram returned with her second mini-album “Orange Moon,” Thursday, adding dance skills to her solid image as a ballad singer.
Park earned a reputation as a successful balladeer after three consecutive hit songs from her debut album in 2014. The singer’s debut single, “Beautiful” featuring popular rapper Zico, won the Artist of the Year award at the Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards and was nominated for the Best New Artist award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards.
It took a year and three months for Park to finish “Orange Moon.” Her previous album, “Dynamic Love,” was released in April 2016.
“I lived in the recording room until I came out with this album,” Park said during a press conference for her new album at YES24 MUV Hall near Hongik University in western Seoul last week. “It was physically demanding, but I was under even more pressure while finding my identity as a musician.
“I thought being a good singer meant being able to sing difficult songs with high notes. But while preparing for this album, I thought about what people really like about me. I realized people like me when I sing comfortable songs.”
The singer has tried many different genres over the past 15 months, making herself into an all-around singer. Park said finding her identity as a musician is her life’s homework assignment.
“My biggest worry these days is where I should go as a musician,” Park said. “I want to continue pursuing music for a long time, but I am not sure in which direction to take my career. I was lost for a while during the hiatus.”
Her new release is special in that the singer included a dance song for the first time, titled “Why, You.” In the song, Park shows a whole new side as a sexy dancer.
“I am not a good dancer but I tried to become one,” Park said. “I tried to give my choreography for the track a feeling of modern dance.”
“Why, You” belongs in the genre of urban hip-hop, adopting a future bass sound after the chorus.
“Orange Moon” includes four more tracks, including “Moonwalk,” “Irony,” “Imaginary Dating” and “You Know.”
“My favorite song in this album is You Know,” Park said. “It’s a ballad, and I think it suits me best. I think my career is unsettled at present, and the farewell story this song tells comforts me.”
Park first appeared in the K-pop scene in 2010 on season 2 of the cable TV show “Superstar K.” She finished in the top eight in the audition series and made herself known as the next young female ballad singer.
Park joined Jellyfish Entertainment but moved to MMO Entertainment to make her debut. She surprised her fans by losing 32 kilograms in the time between her “Superstar K2” appearance and her debut, earning the title “Diet Queen.”