jihyo zone album review!!!
first off: i literally cried while ranking these. they all served and she is amazing. this is just my opinion, feel free to disagree! stream zone, support our girl zyo, im actually so addicted to this album already and she was barely born.
room - this song oh my gosh i feel like so many of these songs feel so nostalgic, this song reminds me of one of my favourite bands, the aces, and i feel like it just has that calm, indie kind of vibe, which is so stunning, and its so so beautiful with jihyo's deep vocals. it 100% feels like a retro indie kind of song, i can already picture the film camera and vintage clothing, like oh my gosh, it gets better each time i play it.
killin' me good - its so iconic. i can't. i love the instrumental in ways i have never loved an instrumental before; something about the synth kinda style keys just triggers the right part of my brain. again, the more chill style instrumental is HEAVEN when paired with her powerful vocals. she absolutely ate this up with those iconic vocals, i can't even. it's stunning. it's beautiful. it's the title track for a reason. jihyo, you absolutely served, the vocals, the choreo, visuals. everything is an 11/10. stop it, though, because i'm a chaeyoung bias, and you're actually fucking with my brain. go away. leave. please. but like, don't. because imma need 900 mini albums now, as well as all of those unreleased bsides.
wishing on you - i felt this was like the 'basics' of zone; it was THE chill bside and i can def see myself playing this when im getting ready in the mornings, its giving me a bit of iu kind of vibes, like bbibbi, but also feels a little bit red velvet, with the high vocals. i love this song so much because it almost feels like shes singing a duet with herself, because she has the contrast between her higher, sweeter voice, as well as her deeper voice, and it amazes me constantly that her vocal duality is that powerful, when she does the higher harmonies during the 'you, you, you, you' in the chorus, with her deeper adlibs, i ASCEND. stunning. chefs kiss. if songs were edible, i would've eaten the plate too.
talkin' about it - THIS SONG LITERALLY ATE UP JIHYOS VOCALS, the prechorus with her deep vocals??? im now in heaven. and the contrast between her rich vocals and then the 'mmh, mmh, mmh." it's like what i was saying before where its like she sings a duet with herself, because of her vocal duality, she constantly changes it up. it's such a powerful song. and the electronic instrumental reminds me of 'love foolish', which is such an iconic twice bside. this is so incredible, and her english pronunciation is also incredible. and the guitar in the prechorus reminds me of avicii's older songs (rest in peace). 24kgoldn gave me a jumpscare, did not see that coming lmao, but yk what, it's growing on me. he did well, but like, he was in a duet with the park jihyo; she's the moment, so she def outshined without meaning to, but it's okay, like, its her mini album and her song anyway. no hate to him, love him. but jihyo served so he could slay. i would've loved to see this with a strong, deep-voiced female rapper too, i feel like it would've been such a good combo, like imagine this with moonbyul, jessi or youngji, GASP i would pay such good money for that, it would've been absolutely chefs kiss.
closer - omg stop jihyo with the spanish style influence, I CANNOT. i'm actually obsessed with her bsides in this album; they're all really chill and i feel like have quite minimal instrumentals, meaning they really really let her strong vocals shine through. i feel like with itzy, the really bright, energetic bgm works well for them, since their music and vocal style is different, but for jihyo, because her vocals are so powerful, she needs the more simplified instrumentals to let them properly shine through, and i feel like that was really well done with this album, so a+ to their producers for making sure you did our jihyo justice with her iconic deep vocals.
nightmare - WHEN I SAW THIS LIVE DURING THEIR CONCERT I LITERALLY DIED, i feel like the j-line solo stages during their ready to be tour went viral, but jihyo and chaeyoung's vocal stages were ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. i'd seen all the other solos on instagram but i hadn't seen or heard jihyo's and it was gorgeous. it suits her vocals so beautifully, the deep, strong song, and the fact that she wrote it?? an icon. it would've ranked higher, but this is one of those songs where the recorded version doesn't do the live one justice. it's stunning, but since i've been blessed with the live version, i can't listen to this one without feeling like its a bit less powerful and raw.
don't wanna go back - i love it, its like kdrama vibes but also kind of like early 2000s, it sounds like something tlc would have eaten up back then. i do love jihyo with this song but i feel like it wouldve worked really well as a group song too? like i can see xg doing this as a bside. as every song in this album does, it ATE, but its the kind of song that i wouldnt search up and play, but i wouldn't ever skip it either if it came on when im shuffling music.
what's your fav song in zone?
killin' me good
talkin' about it
closer
wishing on you
don't wanna go back
room
nightmare