Soompi was invited to visit YG Entertainment to bring BIGBANG fans all over the world the written studio preview of “Blue.” After going through some of the toughest moments in the group’s five-year history last year, BIGBANG is back again with their comeback single, “Blue.” This song in itself defines “alive” in every sense of the word (“Alive” is the title of their new album). From the first line that says, “Winter is gone, spring is coming,” to the oxygen mask-themed teaser photos, “Blue” reminds you that BIGBANG is back and alive, stronger than ever.
YG Entertainment has been noted for creating musical trends with uniquely blended sound. Their two main groups, BIGBANG and 2NE1, in particular, are known to change up their styles in order to distinguish themselves from an increasingly homogenous and repetitive K-Pop idol world.
thunderstix’s impression:
Blue” brings yet another unexpected change of style to BIGBANG’s music. There is a confident, mature, and effortless sound here that goes well beyond their previous singles. In what would be best defined as an “electronic ballad,” “Blue” starts off with soft piano and acoustic guitar sounds that blend surprisingly well with each other. Seungri begins his first verse that leads into the repeating chorus part, “I’m singing my blues, becoming used to the blue tears, blue sorrow. I’m singing my blues, love that I let fly to the cloud.” What stands out is the way BIGBANG stretches the “Blue” in a smooth three step “Bluuuu. . . .uuuuu. . . . uuueeees.” The stretch is the core of the chorus and builds the rhythm of the whole song.
The beat starts to speed up as G-Dragon comes in with a rapping set. Right after G-Dragon’s rap comes Daesung’s verse, which is perhaps the highlight of the song. Daesung’s amazing, melting vocals leave you awestruck, especially considering his resilience to overcome all the hardships from last year. The song follows a similar pattern with TOP and Taeyang rotating, and “singing my blues” repeating throughout.
This is another attempt by BIGBANG to incorporate acoustic guitar sounds to their music since last year’s “Love Song.” 2NE1’s “Lonely” had a similar acoustic feel to it, but “Blue” is more soothing and mellow. It’s a step away from BIGBANG’s previous pop dance tracks that we’ve grown accustomed to, but an equally brilliant track. “Blue” has the elements to appeal to a wider group of audience, which is precisely what BIGBANG needs to establish itself as, heading into their sixth year as a group. G-Dragon mentioned he feels extreme stress to succeed every time he comes out with a new album. But with a combination of maturity and determination on full display, “Blue” should already be considered to have a spot on a “Best of BIGBANG” album.
jvik’s impression:
What I expected going in was a fast upbeat track, but after listening to the song I could only be surprised and smile. Why? 2011 was a tough year for BIGBANG, full of personal reflection and hardships but what I heard in this song was a revitalized, confident, and strengthened BIGBANG. The first two vocal sets after the introduction had a back-to-back GD and Daesung combination. Having GD open the first rap verse really brings him back to what he does so well. His verse was full of rhythm and bite. The highlight for me was hearing Daesung’s voice. It was full of strength, and he hit his high notes flawlessly, giving everything is going well feeling. I liked that the song formats have stayed the same, with each member trading off vocal verses to emphasiz their strengths. Seungri’s intro to the song gave you a slow, smooth feel, setting the tone throughout the song. Taeyang showed his similar strength to Daesung on the second set, finishing the vocal verse on a high powerful note. The deep vocal style of TOP showed in his vocal set, with more of a spoken rap style.
The song’s theme is that spring has arrived, and the styling and artwork show this. It all came together; the frost-like features in the album art, the oxygen masks, and the blue colors took the artistic level up a notch.
Source: soompi
