[Single Review] Seungri 'Gotta Talk to U'

Seungri's newest single, "Gotta Talk to U", was written and composed by Seungri with help from producers Kang Wook Jin and Ham Seung Jeon, who have also produced songs such as G-Dragon's "In the End" along with Big Bang's "Ego" and "Somebody to Love". "Gotta Talk to U" does a good job of shedding the try-hard awkwardness of Seungri's past, giving him an image that feels legitimately grown-up. The acoustic guitar and soft vocals in the first thirty seconds of the song are reminiscent of GD's "That XX", but after that point, the song slides into chill dance beat with a bit of almost flute-like synths and a sharp drum track under Seungri's appropriately thin, sleepy vocals. While the song is simple and laid-back, there's an underlying tension throughout which, much like the lyrical questions brought up, is never quite resolved. It's the kind of song you can listen to on repeat for an hour and not realize that you've listened to the same song seventeen times in a row.

"Gotta Talk to U" and the other promoted track, "GG BE" have both been charting pretty well so far, and it's a shame that Seungri's promotions will probably get drowned out now with G-Dragon's comeback. 2NE1's impending comeback and YG's 'WIN' show doesn't help matters. It's a shame because it's one of the better songs to come out of YG this year. The fact that Seungri himself had a hand in putting the song together makes its chart performance an even more impressive accomplishment, as Seungri is often disregarded as Big Bang's variety idol with limited musical talent. For the first time since Big Bang's debut, I'm actually really interested to see what else Seungri has up his sleeve as a soloist.