HyunA – Melting

Text: Lee Wei Lin

HyunA debuted as a member of Korean girl group 4Minute but has been aggressively promoted on her own, with mini-albums and promoted as part of a sub-unit with label-mate Beast’s Hyunseung. In her latest mini-album, Melting, she proves herself aware of – and even appreciative of – all the criticism she has received for her eyebrow-raising image.

Having drawn considerable flak for her super-short skirts and suggestive dance moves, HyunA sticks to her guns and continues churning out ultra-catchy tunes in her unique brand of sexy-cute.

Opening Melting with ‘Don’t Fall Apart’, HyunA presents an anthem, challenging who “covet this position” to “try to push me out”, complete with the sounds of a marching band in the background. While not the most powerful song around, it brings across the message that she is a force to be reckoned with. Closing track ‘Very Hot’ brings across a similar message, even though it gets diluted along the way with a common pronunciation problem in Koreans – the word ‘very’ sounds more like ‘berry’.

Lead single ‘Ice Cream’ is a leap forward from previous title track ‘Bubble Pop’. She still retains her bouts of cutesy lines, but adds a razor-sharp edge to the song with a newfound confidence.

‘Unripe Apple’ is as easy on the ears as it is forgettable. ‘To My Boyfriend’ is an emotive ballad, a refreshing change from her usual upbeat songs. Though not remarkable, it proves that the 20-year-old can pull off a tune.

Recommended tracks: ‘Ice Cream’, ‘Don’t Fall Apart’