For the past few days, I've been thinking about which artist to review this week. I've been trying to find a new artist that I really like, but haven't found any that has come to my liking. So, in light of their recent comeback, I decided to do a review on F.T. Island. The thing is, I've known about F.T. Island for a pretty long time, but I never got to really know them as a band. They released some songs that I really liked, but that was all. Therefore, I will do my best to introduce you guys to F.T. Island, while familiarizing myself with them as well.
Unlike most K-Pop groups of their time, F.T. Island is essentially a rock band, complete with a drummer, bassist, two guitarists, and main vocalist. The name stands for "Five Treasure Island," referring to the five members, each of whom is a "treasure." Despite the fact that they're not your usual K-Pop boy band with catchy songs and dances, they're very popular in Korea, and even considered mainstream K-Pop by most fans. As a band, they're more similar to their K-Pop counterparts in terms of management and structure, but when you look at their music, F.T. Island's sound is very similar to that of a pop rock band.
F.T. Island made their debut in the summer of 2007 with the release of their first album, "Cheerful Sensibility." They soon rose to fame with their title song "Lovesick," which topped the charts for eight consecutive weeks. The album became the sixth best-selling album of 2007, and since then, the band has released a total of 7 full albums and 6 mini albums. F.T. Island is now a name-brand artist in the K-Pop industry.
A week ago, F.T. Island made their most recent comeback with their album, "Five Treasure Box." With all the hype surrounding the comeback, I couldn't not check it out. I was able to listen to the whole album during these past few days, and I have to say, I was thoroughly pleased. Although the songs didn't come to me right away, I fell in love with the refreshing sound of pop rock. I love their title song "I Wish," which has been stuck in my head for the past two days. I especially like how there's a sort of latin feel to it, and the saxophone in the background. It's really worth checking out:
"I Wish"
This led me to check out the rest of F.T. Island's albums, and I instantly fell in love with their music. I'm still in the middle of listening to some of their older albums, but so far, I'm totally impressed. This was what I needed. Although I love some of them, every other K-Pop song out there is always the same. F.T. Island's music is a refresher and eye-opener to another genre of K-Pop. I feel like my heart has been given a whole new breath of life; it's that refreshing. So far, my most favorite F.T. Island album (probably bound to change) is the one they released before "Five Treasure Box," called "Grown Up." It has only five songs, but every one of them has sealed themselves into my heart. So, all music lovers, you should really check out F.T. Island. They're a (somewhat) real rock band that plays real pop rock music. What better thing could you expect from K-Pop?
Here's the full tracklist of "Grown Up":
1. Severely
2. I Even Lost A Friend
3. I'm A Stupid Person
4. A Grown Up Man...
5. Please Be My Girlfriend
Unlike most K-Pop groups of their time, F.T. Island is essentially a rock band, complete with a drummer, bassist, two guitarists, and main vocalist. The name stands for "Five Treasure Island," referring to the five members, each of whom is a "treasure." Despite the fact that they're not your usual K-Pop boy band with catchy songs and dances, they're very popular in Korea, and even considered mainstream K-Pop by most fans. As a band, they're more similar to their K-Pop counterparts in terms of management and structure, but when you look at their music, F.T. Island's sound is very similar to that of a pop rock band.
F.T. Island made their debut in the summer of 2007 with the release of their first album, "Cheerful Sensibility." They soon rose to fame with their title song "Lovesick," which topped the charts for eight consecutive weeks. The album became the sixth best-selling album of 2007, and since then, the band has released a total of 7 full albums and 6 mini albums. F.T. Island is now a name-brand artist in the K-Pop industry.
A week ago, F.T. Island made their most recent comeback with their album, "Five Treasure Box." With all the hype surrounding the comeback, I couldn't not check it out. I was able to listen to the whole album during these past few days, and I have to say, I was thoroughly pleased. Although the songs didn't come to me right away, I fell in love with the refreshing sound of pop rock. I love their title song "I Wish," which has been stuck in my head for the past two days. I especially like how there's a sort of latin feel to it, and the saxophone in the background. It's really worth checking out:
"I Wish"
This led me to check out the rest of F.T. Island's albums, and I instantly fell in love with their music. I'm still in the middle of listening to some of their older albums, but so far, I'm totally impressed. This was what I needed. Although I love some of them, every other K-Pop song out there is always the same. F.T. Island's music is a refresher and eye-opener to another genre of K-Pop. I feel like my heart has been given a whole new breath of life; it's that refreshing. So far, my most favorite F.T. Island album (probably bound to change) is the one they released before "Five Treasure Box," called "Grown Up." It has only five songs, but every one of them has sealed themselves into my heart. So, all music lovers, you should really check out F.T. Island. They're a (somewhat) real rock band that plays real pop rock music. What better thing could you expect from K-Pop?
Here's the full tracklist of "Grown Up":
2. I Even Lost A Friend
3. I'm A Stupid Person
4. A Grown Up Man...
5. Please Be My Girlfriend
Love this! Hongki was the best part of You're Beautiful, on both the adorable and singing scales. Husky voice haha...
ReplyDeleteI've never been all that attached to FT Island otherwise. I also never knew that FT stood for Five Treasure. I always assumed it was just another Kpop jumble of initials. But the song you embedded is quite nice! :) I'll be sure to check them out more in the future.
Blog request: Gangnam Style!
ReplyDeleteI only actually learned about K-Pop through Gangnam Style, and now I'm totally fascinated by K-Pop, ESPECIALLY the crazy music videos! I never knew that K-Pop and Rock could mix, so today, I learned something new about music, which I always love to do.