[AJ] Mino takes a big musical risk and sees it pay off on "Fiancé"

[HugeBoi Minos Wife]

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A solo album from WINNER‘s Mino seemed to be speculated about forever, but he finally got his solo debut with ‘XX‘ and recently released the music video for “Fiance“. Surprisingly he went with a rare/new genre (uh … trot hip-pop?) and that definitely kept things fresh and interesting if nothing else.

 

 

Whether you like this or not, it’s a hell of a debut, in my opinion. Instead of going with something safe, collecting perfunctory praise, and cashing his checks, Mino stepped out on a limb with something different that pushes boundaries a bit. It’s the kind of risk we (The Bias List and I, at least) always ask artists who know they will sell regardless to take.

 

Of course, whether that works is something else entirely. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a huge fan of putting vocal effects on rapping, which ends up as my biggest complaint about “Fianceâ€. At times it does make sense just to go with the vibe, but at least in spurts I think he’d be better off with him just going after it normally. That said, he does a nice job of expressing the tone shifts in the lyrics through his performance.

 

Fortunately, Mino got a lot of help from the instrumental, which melds a booming bassline, samples from trot songs, and traditional instruments shockingly well, and scores big on the latter two inclusions. Using traditional instruments is like cheating with me, but an especially nice touch was that the sample of Kim Tae Hee‘s “Virgin Of The Soyang River“ (ballad version by Melody Day’s Yeoeun) was topically like a female version of “Fianceâ€. So in addition to complementing the song and adding a unique twist, it even fits perfectly with the the lyrical content. Of course, the trot song sounds completely different, which is part of the point and it’s definitely ends up as an instrumental to remember.

 

“Fiance†still had work to do even with all that said, so it’s a good thing that chorus is explosive and is where the sing-song delivery with vocal effects works best. The trunk-vibrating bass gets an assist from the brass section, which helps bring it together well. Thankfully, it’s not just an instrumental drop and actually has a catchy refrain of its own to stand on, which makes a huge difference when the margin between great and mediocre is so thin.

 

In the end, I’m quite frankly surprised that the reception of “Fiance†been so positive thus far, not only on the charts but random people as well. It’s definitely a bit experimental and disjointed, something that can easily teeter on the edge of love and hate, but overall it fell on the right side of things for me. The biggest question is how this song will age. Will the uniqueness of it eventually wear off? It’s possible, but after catching up a whole lot of Korean hip-hop over the past week, I’m guessing it won’t.

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I liked AJ review, it was pretty honest and I liked that he gave Mino credits for not going the safe route and choosing something fresh and unique for his solo debut regardless of how people were going to receive it. Mino used the traditional Korean elements quite well and it blended perfectly into the song, it's a successful attempt and he gave us something unexpected that had his distinct color and screamed "Mino". I think he won in that aspect. If you want an explanation of the lyrics & concept to understand it more, a Korean already did it and it was very informative

 

 

 

[swiftswitchsurf]

Not really surprised by AJ liking it.

 

He's a sucker for modern takes on traditional Korean music and Mino's like one of the 3 idol rappers that he enjoys.

[lighterxx]

honestly what i love is amount of symbolism it has

[Aryu]

Honestly I really like the song. Yea it's disjointed but it fits the really chaotic, intense and colorful vibe of the song & MV. I don't really have a part where I think it's weak or misplaced, and I feel Koreans will actually appreciate the use of a traditional trot song.

[TaeGiElitist]

Issa good song I like the sample of the Korean lady.

[sinnfb]

I'm honestly surprised (in a good way) about how well the song is doing. Although it seems like it has some very specific korean references, it's not public friendly at all which is something I didn't expect especially from YG who loves to go into a safe route.

[BlinkleBee]

Everything on that Song is perfect , so full of symbolism even the trot Song he choosed fits the topic of the Song. But the rest of the album is pure Gold as well. Mino really proved that he ain't just an Idol , he is an Artist.

[I-stan-all]

No disrespect to Jennie and I think she’s talented and beautiful as well, but why is yg trying so hard to promote her as female gd when there’s Mino? He’s charismatic, talented, good-looking, tall and funny.

[remembering]

No disrespect to Jennie and I think she’s talented and beautiful as well, but why is yg trying so hard to promote her as female gd when there’s Mino? He’s charismatic, talented, good-looking, tall and funny.

YG isn't promoting her as the female GD. Seungri guested at BP's concert on the first day and said that Jennie was like GD because they fly to Paris for fashion shows. He said said the other members were like Taeyang, TOP, and Daesung.

 

Come Monday at the press conference, a reporter asked her about what it.

 

That's not YG promoting her as the female GD. Context of the question matters.

 

Additionally, it's a sore subject saying Mino is the next GD when people keep thinking Mino is cosplaying GD. It's better that they are their own distinct persons.

[thewildrose]

I really like the instrumental. i don't know about mv.