Album review: SG Wannabe Vol. 5 - My Friend

SG Wannabe Vol. 5 – My Friend

01 Lalala*
02 A Neat Breakup**
03 Because I Love You
04 I Miss You***
05 Her News
06 Melody
07 Kiss
08 Hello
09 How to Love (feat.Mario)
10 Keep in Touch
11 Happy!
12 Crime and Punishment Part II
13 Very Beautiful
14 I Miss You (Japanese Version)

* Album title song
** 2nd single
*** released as digital single prior to album release

 

 

Purchase this album

 

Over the past 3 years, when it comes to Korean album sales, SG Wannabe are second to none. They are also doing very well in their songs, generating hit after hit after hit. This album marks a change in membership, as Chae Dong Ha has left the group and is replaced by Lee Suk Hoon. Chae only participated in the song "I Miss You" and performed with the group one final time during their TV comeback special. All members had teary eyes and the scene was very touching.

 

 

Korea’s top songwriter and producer Cho Young Soo is once again the mastermind behind this album for his top client. Other musicians who participated in this album are all familiar names: Ahn Young Min, Kim Do Hoon, Min Myung Ki, Choi Kap Won, etc. All of them have written at least one hit song for SG Wannabe in the past.

 

 

During the last album, SG Wannabe diverged into more traditional sounds for their song "Arirang". This time they went even further as the title song "LaLaLa" has American country style written all over it. Cho Young Soo is a genius in music arrangement and it shows again in this song. That combines well with the smooth vocal of SG Wannabe, producing an instant hit song that fans will remember for a long time.

 

 

That Track 2 "A Neat Breakup" was chosen as the second single is a bit of a surprise. This is an up-tempo song to SG Wannabe’s standard. While the trio had recorded this type of songs before in past albums, they were not promoted, so you can say this is another first for SG Wannabe. Maybe we are getting into summer and fans need an upbeat song. It is not a bad song, but still there are other better songs in this album.

 

 

Like all other SG Wannabe albums, each song is worth listening. "LaLaLa" is not the only song with an American country theme, "Her News" and "Hello" also have similar arrangements. With the success of "LaLaLa", I would have thought one of these songs to be the 2nd single. If you like more vintage style SG Wannabe R&B ballads, "Because I Love You", "I Miss You", "Keep In Touch" are your choices. SG Wannabe usually release 3 singles per album, and I think "Keep In Touch" (track 10) is an excellent choice. Another song worth mentioning is "Melody". Written by Min Myung Ki, it has a very familiar melody indeed and I am thinking it may be a remake of another song.

 

 

This album was released at the same time as Epik High and MC Mong’s new album. Now it looks like this album has the most staying power as it is still in the top 5 in the album sales chart. Looks like a change in membership has not affected SG Wannabe’s popularity.

 

4.5/5

 

 

5/5 – Even if you’re not a fan of this artist/group this album is a must buy.
4/5 – If you’re a fan of this artist/group, you must buy this album.
3/5 – If you’re a fan of this artist/group, you might want to add this one to your collection.
2/5 – I don’t think a fan would even buy this.
1/5 – You might as well just flush your money down the toilet