Release Date : 27 January 2016
Tracklist
- Like A Star
- The Little Prince (어린왕자)
- Hello (그대)
- People you may know (알 수도 있는 사람)
- Foxy Girl (Feat. 딘딘)
- POOM (품)
Total Runtime : 23 min 3 seconds
Recommended for : Die-hard fans of Ryeowook, fans of ballads or Elfs!
NOT recommended for : Those who dislike hearing slow & monotonous songs
Objective Review Portion
After 11 years of debut in Super Junior, our cutie & less well known Ryeowook is now out as solo with the release of The Little Prince! Also, it is the first album under Super Junior’s own label, Label SJ, established by SM Entertainment in 2015, during the group’s 10th anniversary.
1. Like A Star
This song opens with a tender tone, basically setting the tone for the whole album. It was really nice & soothing to hear his sweet voice after a long day of work/school. I love it when he softens at these words ‘Like A Star, Like An Angel’. To be honest, it makes my heart palpitate because it really calms my heart and lures me slowly to sleep when I listen to this song before bedtime. The lyrics were rather touching, which explains to a girl that she was the light of his (Ryeowook’s) world.
2. The Little Prince (어린왕자)
This song title is a reference to Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s book of the same name. I remembered Ryeowook mentioning that he read the actual book & cried a few times ;;. He sings and narrates about talking to the Little Prince which is interesting because this differs from the rest and it gives one a great perspective of this song. In this song, Ryeowook unleashes his voice, often hitting the high notes effortlessly which led me to have several goosebumps (: and I feel that he was close to tears as he sang this song, showing off powerful emotions with his voice.
3. Hello (그대)
There is a spark contrast between this song & the first two, giving off the slightly jazzy R&B style and its great a change after hearing two emotional ballads. This could also be considered as a great bop to listen to whenever you’re feeling ‘high’ and I definitely recommend this to people who wish to have more boost of high energy! It also has a distant retro sound and it definitely works well with the background instruments (guitar, mid-tempo beat).
4. People you may know (알 수도 있는 사람)
Ryeowook switches back to his usual style, which is ballad, as he sings sweetly to the sound of the piano playing. To be very honest, this is my preferred type of song as it is not too slow neither it is too fast, just alright. As I read up the lyrics, I found out that it has some relation to seeing the pictures of someone you broke up on social media. Interesting, I must say as most songs do not usually head to this direction but rather tagging on popular story line, for example, falling in love at first sight etc.
5. Foxy Girl (Feat. 딘딘)
Back to the R&B style, I’m totally loving this! This song is also with the assist of rapper, DinDin as he does a fairly great job rapping in the song. I’ve also come learnt that Ryeowook had participated in the song writing and composing component, which is a great surprise and present for fellow Elfs as his last composition was a few years back. I am awed by Ryeowook’s composing skills and I hope he continues to compose before he enlists into the army. They lyrics were sweet as Ryeowook sings about longing for his dream girl.
6. POOM (품)
I heard that this song was dedicated to his mother, who had shown him continuous support throughout the years of him being a singer. It’s a really pretty ballad to listen to and you can hear him pouring his sincerity into the song, making the song more special & unique in its own ways.
I am really in love with his album! It is considered a great gift for me because I’ve waited for so long before he finally came out with a solo debut (: It would be great if he could try different genres in his future albums, not sticking too much on his ballad side because I believe he has the potential to do well in fast-tempo songs. (Search Moves Like Jagger/Insomnia on Youtube for more evidence :D)
P.S Ryeowook is so squishy.
Replayability – GREEN!
It doesn’t hurt to replay again because I can’t get enough of his amazing vocals!
Cohesiveness – GREEN!
Album flowed well, each song seemed to go well together & it is totally possible to replay again with the same feel ~
Originality – YELLOW!
Even though there were some similar sounding tracks thrown around, this doesn’t stop one from re-listening to his gorgeous voice again (:
