Released: January 2011, South Korea
Rating: 2.65
And the third (and from what I remember, the last) SS501 solo track to come up on the list is from none other than Park Jung Min, one of the guys who can actually sing in the band. And while Kim Hyun Joong and Kim Hyung Joon (WHY are their names so confusing. WHY.) both had ballads enter the list, Jung Min comes in with his solo single "Not Alone". Surprised? I'm not.
I stand by my statement that a singer is not only measured by how well he/she sings ballads, but also by how he/she carries uptempos. More often than not, for a good singer it's actually harder to sing an uptempo and do it well, what with all the dancing and running around that has to happen while the singing takes place. Therefore, I'm not really surprised that Jung Min, who's actually not that bad a singer, was able to carry a song like this.
Anyone who regularly reads my reviews will know that I absolutely adore string sections. I adore them. Mix them with light drum rolls here and there, and the faint sound of real drums, and I die. To be honest with you, the instrumental of "Not Alone" overpowers the melody once the entire thing explodes, which is about 80% of the song. Partly because the people who mixed the track were a bit stupid, and because Jung Min's vocals are low and soft. For a song like this, the vocals should've been a bit higher, and they should've soared. But, had they made Jung Min sing higher it would probably sound bad, so this will do.
But anyway, basically the reason why this is one of my favorite songs this year is because of the gorgeous instrumental that everyone has to take time to actually listen to and appreciate.
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