Yugyeom releases first solo EP Point Of View: U

“GOT7’s Yugyeom releases his first solo EP.”

“Yugyeom’s new EP marks his solo debut.”

I wrote, deleted, and re-wrote many opening sentences like these. but none of them seem to fit and do justice to Yugyeom’s first solo release, Point Of View: U.

Let’s take a step back.

If you’re not familiar with GOT7 and the youngest member Yugyeom, with a quick (and superficial) Google search, you will find that he is the group’s main dancer and sub vocalist. He is also known as the “dance machine” and the winner of Mnet’s “Hit The Stage” in 2016 when he was only 18 years old. A lot gravitates around his experience as a dancer, and many of Yugyeom’s dance compilation videos on YouTube will show you how he can take the audience on a journey through his dance. What you can find if you take a deeper look is that the singer-songwriter Yugyeom has been crafting his image not only through GOT7’s works — and the subunit JUS2 — but through his solo release on his now-deleted SoundCloud during the past years.

Yugyeom’s solo debut was a long time coming, just like this post. The South Korean and GOT7’s singer-songwriter kept it quiet after announcing him joining Jay Park’s record label AOMG back in February. On June 11th, Yugyeom shared the pre-release single and music video for “I Want U Around” from his EP Point Of View: U — released on June 17. For “I Want U Around”, Yugyeom has teamed up with two label mates, the hip-hop soloist DeVita and top producer GRAY. The R&B track was a great preview to his upcoming debut EP and built up the expectations.

Point Of View: U is a bouquet made of seven tracks; each song is a flower that represents a form of love and a specific moment in a love story. The EP features artists like Loco on “All About U”, Jay Park and Punchnello on “Love The Way”; for the production, Yugyeom picked two of the most respectable producers in the Korean R&B and Hip-Hop scene, GRAY and Cha Cha Malone. The EP, while being heavily influenced by R&B, hip-hop, and trap, shows us how Yugyeom has been working on influencing those sounds with his colour to show everyone Yugyeom’s new sound.

The EP opens with “I Want U Around” (read more about the track here). “Running Through The Rain” keeps exploring being in love and wanting to do everything for who you love, even running through the rain; the track blends synths beats with a chilled pop-R&B vibe, making it addictive The love story reaches its breaking point on “All Your Fault”. This is the second single released from the EP. The track is produced and featured by GRAY; his distinctive rap flows harmoniously with Yugyeom’s vocal on this refreshing and trendy take on R&B that perfectly fits Yugyeom’s style. Among the seven tracks, “All Your Fault” definitely stands out since the first listen.

The track is paired with a music video featuring GRAY, and it’s a take on mafia and noir movies. In the mini-film, Yugyeom plays the part of a vengeful betrayed man after seeing his lover leaping with another man, portrayed by GRAY. Things take an unexpected turn when Yugyeom decides to hunt down GRAY and… No spoilers! You can check the video below.

“All About U” has summer vibes written all over it, and we’re vibing with it. It’s slightly EDM and has a deep bass; Loco’s feature is perfect; how his rapping enters in the middle of the song gives the song a great flow and feel.

“Love The Way” is a blend of Yugyeom and Jay Park’s colours, with their voices almost overlapping and creating a different nuance; it’s a very easy listening song with really good and cool beats.

If anyone still doubts Yugyeom as a singer, we suggest listening to “Falling In Love” and “When U Fall”. On both tracks, we can appreciate Yugyeom’s soft and smooth vocals. Both tracks have a trendy sound, and the “When U Fall” outro is the perfect closure to the love story.

Point Of View: U and “All Your Fault” have been received extremely well. In its first 24 hours, “All Your Fault” charted No.1 on iTunes in 29 countries and peaked at No.3 on the iTunes R&B Song Chart in the US. “All Your Fault” charted on the Worldwide iTunes Song Chart at No.6 and No.18 on the European iTunes Song Chart.

In South Korea, it debuted at No.4 on the Genie Top 200 Chart and achieved a 6x roof hit on Genie, making Yugyeom the second male solo artist to achieve this in 2021, only two days after fellow GOT7 member BamBam. The song also made its debut at No.2 on the Genie Daily Chart.

As for the EP Point Of View: U, it charted No. 1 on iTunes in 35 countries. The EP also took the No. 1 spot on the iTunes Worldwide Album Chart, European Album Chart, Canadian Album Chart, US R&B Album Chart, and the US K-pop Album Chart. Peaked No. 3 on the iTunes US Pop Albums Chart and No.6 on the US All Genres Chart.

Botanically speaking once again, Point Of View: U is a perfectly executed Ikebana, the art of “arranging flowers” or “making flowers alive”; the arrangement Yugyeom has created perfectly fits with his style and persona.

In other terms, more musical terms, Yugyeom’s release is a solid Korean R&B debut that never feels forced, overproduced, or fragmented.