en en en hbs_lat en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en pl en en pl pt en en en en en en en en
From YG Entertainment’s girl group 2NE1, Park Bom released fifteen albums beginning in 2009. In November 2016, she left the group because she was implicated in an affair involving drugs. In 2010, Adderall, an amphetamine drug prescribed to treat her ADHD, caused a problem when she entered South Korea from the US. However, her final court ruling ended in acquittal because Adderall had been prescribed for her mental care. Since entering D-nation Entertainment in 2019, she has become the top-selling female musician in South Korea. Most people can distinguish her individual voice style.
Although her music is grounded in R&B, her most significant strengths are her free-spirited style and her deep, soulful voice. Unlike her previous songs, Flower sounds thick and heavy. Her emphasis on articulation may feel out of place in an intimate setting, and the unique voice stimulates the listener to concentrate on the tune. She hadn’t released her albums as often as when she was a member of 2NE1. However, people were waiting for her song because she hasn’t changed and still maintains her voice and singing style.
[0:17] Flower begins with a 17-second calm and placid piano introduction. When she enters, her stark delivery makes the lyrics feel even more depressed and melancholy when she enters. With this background sound, she starts to sing in a powerful voice. “Breathing is so much even the obvious things are hard”— even though the meaning of the lyric gives off the mood of pessimism, she delivers an optimistic voice with confidence.
At [1:04] a bass line is added with the cello sounding a little more empowered during the first chorus. Her rich sound shows great collaboration with the simple bass lines. This calm but dark mood captured my attention. This chorus part emphasizes those who feel insecure and not as pretty as withered flowers.
At [1:51] Kim Min Seok, who has a contrasting voice with Park Bom, featured. Using a different voice in another starting point gives the feeling that they handed over the baton. It shows an entirely different style. The rich orchestra sound makes his soft voice much more attractive. The pure high pitch shows why people like the sound of his voice. Starting with the same melody but different lyrics makes the feeling that he confesses to her about his trouble.
Finally, at [3:40] this fascinating section features two singers’ overlapping voices and finally exploding with emotion. The lyric “Like a withered flower” conveys different feelings than the hopeless mood of the introduction.
Overall, if their lives were beautiful, would they be able to make this kind of sentimental song? When people think of the word flower, they often say it is beautiful. However, by describing her life as “I don’t have tomorrow,” and “In an infinitely weak land,” she shows how her life was.
She only released the R&B and ballad style of the song after she came out alone.  But her fans expect her to sing hip-hop and other genres of music as well. Hope that she will overcome her circumstances and broadly attract audiences in the future.
Published by Suji Park
Suji Park (she/her) is a second-year at Oberlin Conservatory student from South Korea. She works as a Resident Assistance in the Office of Residential Education on campus. She is majoring in piano performance with the concentration course in Arts Administration and Leadership Integrative. In addition to classical music, she also listens to many styles of music: k-pop, mainstream pop, hip-hop, and musical theater. She loves to dance hip hop and urban dance with other people. She has concertized in Russia, Bulgaria, Germany, England, and Japan. She has been playing the piano for over ten years, and since she was young, she has been interested in diversity in music. Even though she likes to perform, she is also interested in the music industry. So, she hopes that she can take the role in the arts management place such as a symphony or theater in the future. View all posts by Suji Park