Jo Sung Mo Vs. Yoo Seung Jun
Putting artists up in a head-to-head competition seems to be a popular practice these days. SBS Inki Gayo, for instance, follows a competitive format, pitting H.O.T. against Shinhwa, g.o.d. against Turbo, or Fin.K.L. against SES, to see who gets the top spot of the week. So, it wasn't surprising to find MBC doing the same thing too. However, the comparison set up by this broadcasting company between Jo Sung Mo and Yoo Seung Jun is really peculiar. These two singers have nothing in common.
Jo Sung Mo is up to album number 2.5, and it's safe to say 90% of the music he's produced so far has been slow and quiet. His preference for ballads was made clear with the release of his debut song, To Heaven [RealAudio]. Although energetic, this song is definitely not a wild dance piece. The action-packed opening to the video for To Heaven [RealVideo] leads the fan to believe that Jo Sung Mo wants to engage is something more lively than ballad singing, yet the majority of the songs on his debut album follow a slower pace. Boomyoului Sarang [RealAudio], the third track off the CD, is indicative of this.
This is not to say that he doesn't do some uptempo pieces occasionally. Take Hoohweh [RealAudio], for instance. This poppy song is on the debut album as well. Off Jo Sung Mo's second album, For Your Soul, Sangchuh [RealAudio] also takes a different tack than the rest of his songs. This is not a ballad -- with a little more edge is could be a dance piece.
The slightly Spanish-sounding For Your Soul [RealAudio] is the title song of Jo Sung Mo's second album, and it really typifies his ballad singing style. The epic-length (and typically violent) For Your Soul [RealVideo] blends this European sound with a suggestion of traditional Chinese music.
Jo Sung Mo's Classic, a 2.5 album, is replete with re-makes of older songs, most of which are typically ballads. Gipeun Bameul Narasuh [RealAudio] is demonstrative of the music you will find on this CD. Gashinamoo (Thorn Tree) [RealAudio], the first track on the album, is the most original-sounding song from the collection.
Yoo Seung Jun, on the other hand, is a Korean-American artist known for embracing the L.A. style of hip-hop and dance music. All you have to do is listen to a few songs off his 1997 debut album, West Side, to know that this is a strange comparison. Saranghae Noonah [RealAudio] is a cross between a hip-hop and a disco-dance tune. Gahwi [RealAudio], off the same CD, is space-age techno-hop.
On Yoo Seung Jun's second album, For Sale, he went even more hip-hop. His Na Na Na [RealAudio] was a big hit. And the leading track off the CD, Naegah Gidarin Sarang [RealAudio], is more hip-hop than not. I can see Jo Sung Mo doing some parts of this song, but not the rap passages.
Yoo Seung Jun followed his debut album with a live album in 1998. One of the new songs on that CD was Paradise [RealAudio], a song with a good hip-hop sound blended with something Caribbean.
The singles off Yoo Seung Jun's third album, Now or Never, aren't super, but Seulpeun Chimmoog [RealAudio] has a groovy sound despite being a remake of a Bee Gee's song.
Yoo Seung Jun is now up to his fourth CD (not counting special releases). The title song, Vision [RealAudio], went straight to the top of the charts. The rap is hot on this song, but the rest of the song is not particularly inspiring. Other songs from the CD include If [MP3], The Way [MP3] and Sojoonghan Sarang [MP3], all in characteristic Yoo Seung Jun hip-hop/dance style.
So, other than the fact that both singers are young and have dark hair (when it isn't lightened by peroxide), there's not much similarity, but . . .that's entertainment.
By Denise Ahn
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