John Park doesn’t have much of a repertoire coming off of two singing competition shows both in the US and in Korea, but now that SuperStar K2 has wrapped up, the man is finally debuting his first single, titled “I’m Your Man“.
First thing, I have to admit that I was totally cheering for John Park when first auditioned on American Idol. Either his nerves or his self-esteem got in the way but he didn’t make it past the top 24 of a pretty crappy season in the otherwise highly successful American show.
Since then, I hadn’t heard much of him until one day he resurfaced in Korea where he auditioned once more, this time for the Korean version of AI, Superstar K2.
The thing that peeked my interest from this guy was the color of his voice – C’mon, it’s pretty damn beautiful and I’d go as far as to call it sexy. I’ve watched some of his past performances with his college ensemble Purple Haze and it’s clear the man is a fan of jazz and the classic r&b style. It makes sense because I do agree that his voice is spot on for that kind of music.
And that’s where he went with this song. “I’m Your Man” is a decent jazz song, almost show tunes-y, where I think it could risk falling into gimmicks. However, if he’s serious about this genre, John Park could very well be on the road to becoming the Korean Michael Bublé of the decade (in Korea). Okay, that’s stretching it, but I can’t deny his talent. He has nice control and technique.
The only thing I’m missing is a helluva lot of emotion. That’s where he and Michael differ. Both are hitting the right notes, yet one has a completely moving delivery than the other. Michael’s got swag, too, which isn’t something anyone can just go out and purchase for ten bucks at the local supermarket.
Listen to this Bublé song (up tempo pop-ish, yet remains classic and full of personality) and come back to this one and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.
I love the instrumentation of John’s song, it’s really well done, I would just like it to hold back a little from being way too cheesy jazz. I mean, Michael Bublé managed to take that same style and make it marketable and modern. That’s why he’s such a big deal, and John could totally pull it off, too. Especially in Korea, where the style isn’t pushed (at all) in mainstream music.
John, we get it, you are the jazz man of Korea, just take it down a notch, insert some personality into your music and you might have me on board.
You’ll know it when you’ve started melting hearts…
Wasn’t too impressed with John Park. I thought he was passable and pleasant enough to listen to, but always felt his performances lacked something. But I do think this style agrees with him. When I first heard this song, I kept thinking ‘Michael Buble’!
John is still a long way off from becoming Korea’s Michael Buble BUT if he worked on it more he could very well be!
I’m liking this and it’s kind of a refreshing change from the usual Kpop scene.
Absolutely agree. I know he lacks something, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
i pretty much agree with your opinion on this track. I got caught up with the John Park fan fervor during his stint on American Idol, but the personality was lacking, and I found it didn’t come out all that much on Superstar K either. it’s like he’s afraid of giving himself fully to a performance. it’s different from, say, 2AM where they’re trained to rein in their emotions – it’s more like he’s not quite ready to let all those emotions out. Or, maybe he just doesn’t have life experiences that he can channel into his performances. i think it could develop with time and practice though. basically, he needs acting lessons lol
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