[#32] XIA (Junsu) - "Flower" (Feat. Tablo)

From: "Flower"
Previous Best of Entries: 2010: [#39] "Intoxication" / 2011: [#10] "You Are So Beautiful" / 2012: [#7] "Lullaby" / 2013: [#10] "11am" / 2014: [#29] "Brushing Past" (with LYn)
Other notable song(s) from 2015: "사랑숨", "License To Love"

I don't usually respond positively to excessive songs—I find elaborate orchestration unnecessary, most of the time the mentality becomes more of "I have more instruments than you," and the vocals end up being overthrown by everything happening in the song.

So in theory, "Flower" is a mess—you have everything from weird sounds in the background (last few seconds of the song), to Tablo rapping, to a female vocalist in the background singing in falsetto during the chorus to add even more drama than there already is. But, in practice, "Flower" works. Because if there's anyone in K-Pop who can stand his/her ground against a torrent of an arrangement, it's Junsu with his striking and technically proficient vocals.

Because really, he's the glue that holds the mess that is "Flower" together. Junsu's vocals deliver a very straightforward melody that is the most striking because of its simplicity. The melody of "Flower" is simple enough to hum, and delivered well enough to us listeners that even against all the (literal) bells and whistles, there is still recall. Half because the melody is strong and simple, but also half because Junsu's vocals really pop against the rest of the track.

For making me listen to a kind of song I don't usually gravitate towards, "Flower" makes it to my Top 50 this year.