[ALBUM REVIEW]: Baekho Returns, This Time as a Soloist
Pledis Entertainment
In the video for his new single “No Rules”, Baekho stares into the camera and takes the plunge.
Perhaps my most anticipated autumn album release is Baekho’s “Absolute Zero”. I was a big fan of his group NU’EST, who disbanded earlier this year after a decade together, and Baekho remains my bias. Baekho’s potential as a vocalist – and a visual – during his time in the group never felt fully realized by the public. That is a shame because the group became one of the finest products of second generation K-Pop, helped in part by Baekho’s productions and songwriting.
But “Absolute Zero” is an excellent first step towards the acclaim that realizes the singer’s potential. It’s a sleek, sophisticated album that is perfect for the upcoming winter nights. In short, it burns with intensity and sensuality. Baekho’s work continues the R&B soundthat NU’EST began to perfect in the last few years of their time together. The album feels like a natural NU’EST’s album “Romanticize” and it makes sense: Baekho chose to remain with Pledis Entertainment. He can continue the legacy of NU’EST at the same company that created it.
“Absolute Zero” means a lot to Baekho, both as an artistic statement and as an introduction to him as a soloist. As he said in a recent interview, he felt a burden to record something he likes. But the title “means there is no resistance. I thought it was very similar to my current situation. When I first started working [on the album], it didn’t work out well.” So, he honed in on his favorite genre of music, R&B, and tried to create something he’d want to listen to.
“I really like the album now,” he said. I imagine he smiled.
Baekho grew up off the coast of Seoul on Jeju Island. Jeju is known as one of the most beautiful destinations in Korea, and it was a charming place to grow up. If Baekho wasn’t an idol, Minhyun joked once, maybe Baekho would have stayed home to be a citrus farmer. On islands like this, legends can write themselves. Baekho would have likely seen the haenyo women who dive for food to sell in the markets across the island every day. It can feel like a luscious, intoxicating world., much like the one he would enter as a teen.
As Baekho recounted on the Daebak Show, he was scouted in middle school by a representative of Pledis Entertainment. They were putting together a five-person boy group, he was told, and he might be a good fit.
“At first my parents were against it but they weren’t completely against it,” he recalled. “They kept telling me no, but eventually they lost out and told me, ‘Do whatever you want!’” He imitated his parents when he said this and stuck his index finger up in the air.
“So I did what I wanted to do.” He laughed.
Baekho debuted on March 15, 2012 with Aron, Jonghyeon, Minhyun, and Ren as members of NU’EST, Throughout their ten years together, NU’EST cultivated a smooth, soulful sound that began with their first single “Hello”. As they matured, their music elevated against a growing rebelliousness and experimentalism in K-Pop. They never pushed the boundary, so much as eased into a niche of K-Pop that never veered too far left. But they remained one of the most finely tuned groups to debut near the end of second generation. The last single they promoted, “inside Out”, remains one of their sleekest. Baekho took an active role in the creative control of his group’s output last year when he produced every track except one on NU’EST’s last album “Romanticize”.
“I can do both melody and songwriting,” he told Eric Nam as he described how he produces. “But I think I focus the most on what would fit well and sound good with my members' [voices].”
NU’EST never received the recognition they deserved, and ironically, did not begin to attract a large fandom until the last few years of their contracts. Their first music show win, a major factor in a group’s success, did not come until five years into their careers. And even though their home was Pledis Entertainment, a company that would debut SEVENTEEN and eventually be acquired by HYBE Labels, Pledis was not the label we know today. Their success was often hard won; while other labels could debut a group to instant success, NU’EST fought for theirs.
Pledis Entertainment
“From my experience recording with Baekho, his voice is very powerful,” commented Minhyun in the Daebak Show interview. Here, Baekho’s voice conveys the desire and sensuality of a new relationship, which “Absolute Zero” builds throughout six satisfying, mature songs.
The album opens with “Festival in my car”, a track that ascends into euphoria with the chorus. “Let’s ride,” he sings. “Let’s dance alone/ It’s a festival in my car.” The song charts an album that burns best late at night. On “LOVE BURN”, the second track, Baekho’s voice is full of intensity and passion. “Crazy for your love,” he sings to a lover with his most seductive voice. “I can’t stop loving you.”
At it’s best, “Absolute Zero” feels like the perfect continuation of NU’EST’s sound, something that Baekho mined as a producer near the end of the group’s time together. Baekho co-wrote every song but one and had a hand in composing the title track “NO RULES”.
“We don’t care no more”, Baekho’s duet with June One of the indie band Glenn lock, is a striking highlight on the album thanks to a synthy chorus that feels pulled straight from the ‘80s. The two singers’ voices glide together like one of The Weekend’s best title tracks. Their duet s the most rewarding, sonically, and it leans to what Baekho is capable of as he grows as an artist, likely due to One’s production, which exists far outside of the K-Pop binary.
Yet where Baekho provides the biggest punch is with the closing song, “Wanna go back” with Sik-k. It’s a bold and angry track that is entirely unexpected. The sultry voice that has crooned for five songs suddenly turns rough and harsh as he exalts a relationship that has slipped through his fingers. “I’m sorry for everything,” he belts. “What more do you need? I’ll just do what I want.” The angsty, punk sound of the track feels like a moment where Baekhho blunts the sharper edges of regret and guilt. The song derives a force built from romanticism gone wrong, and it’s a bold, cutting way to end the album.
“There are too many dreams to specify and ones that are already finished. We went through a lot of unexpected outcomes in the past 10 years”
While many male idols push farther to the edge of aggressive hyperpop, Baekho’s instincts have always inclined him to stay low-key. Realism is what he does best. The singer’s charm is that he doesn’t have to be excessive; NU’EST always felt like one of the most restrained but satisfying K-Pop groups for this reason. “Absolute Zero” is a confident, self-assured debut from an artist who has yet to come into full recognition. I hope that will change soon.
On the Daebak Show, when Baekho was asked what his dream was when he debuted, he paused for a moment. NU’EST would disband a year later, which would begin Baekhu’s journey to becoming a soloist. “There are too many dreams to specify and ones that are already finished,” Baekho said. “We went through a lot of unexpected outcomes in the past 10 years. The dreams change from wanting to debut to wanting to place first and so on. Our fans make our dreams come true. Working hard is my dream.”
