HyunA mixes retro with modern for Triple H
From left, Hui, HyunA and E’dawn in the jacket image of newly released album “199X” / Courtesy of Cube Entertainment
By Kim Jae-heun
HyunA, a former member of K-pop band 4Minute, established the group Triple H with label-mates Hui and E’dawn of Pentagon, which released its first mini album “199X,” May 1.
This is the second project group introduced by Cube Entertainment, which has successfully launched its previous Trouble Maker in 2011. HyunA and Hyun Seung of former K-pop band BEAST won four awards in 2012 for their trendy and attention-grabbing stage performances on stage.
In Triple H, HyunA seeks more explosive chemistry with the boy band’s lead singer and rapper who debuted only seven month ago. The diva picked youthfulness as the group’s strengths.
“I debuted 10 years ago and these boys just came out seven months ago,” said HyunA during an interview with The Korea Times at the Cube Entertainment building in Sangsu-dong, Seoul, Wednesday. “Hui and E’dawn have many talents and I can learn a lot from them. But they just lack experience.”
“When I am with them, I feel like I become very innocent and it motivates me. I guess it’s because I am too used to performing as a soloist and things have become too comfortable hitting the stage alone,” she said.
From left, E’dawn, HyunA and Hui in the jacket image of newly released album “199X” Courtesy of Cube Entertainment
HyunA has looked to the retro genre for the new album and added current melody trends and beats to pursue originality.
The band took inspiration from 90s films and ideas for the album jacket photos.
“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try the retro style in the first place, because many musicians have left masterpieces in the genre and I felt burdened by this. Also, we could go in the wrong direction if we seek difficult genres like disco, so we mixed R&B feelings into the songs _ which we know comparatively better,” said HyunA.
The new album consists of five tracks including the second song “365 Fresh,” for which HyunA and E’dawn wrote the lyrics. HyunA said the meaning of the track is to “stay cool and stylish 365 days a year.” It has a retro funky style melody, reminiscent of ‘90s music.
The first track “Sunflower” takes its influence from the plant that always looks to the sky, where three members express their will to chase after their dreams.
The third track “What’s Going On?” is a jazz/hip-hop song that contains an electric guitar riff and electric piano played to a groovy beat. The harmony of each unique sound adds up to create a dreamlike feeling among the lyrics questioning whether the memory of last night was real or a dream.
The fourth track “Girl Girl Girl” is a retro R&B ballad with a synthesizer sound. The song is about a man falling in love with a woman for the first time.
“I’ve done all the things I wanted to. I achieved my one and only dream, which was to debut as a singer. Now, I can let things go and pursue different music that I’ve never tried before. I am thankful that I can perform with Hui and E’dawn, who revived my listless feelings as a musician and helped me feel refreshed,” HyunA said.