LEE HI – '24°C'

Track List:

1. NO ONE

2. NO WAY

3. LOVE IS OVER

4. 1, 2

5. 20MIN

Lee Hi is back with her first album in 3 years, '24°C.' But her highly anticipated comeback is here, and not a minute too soon. It's got 5 brand new tracks, including the title track "NO ONE" featuring iKON's B.I. Apparently, fans are paying attention, given that her lead single grabbed the No. 1 spot on the real-time charts of Melon, Bugs, Mnet, Naver, and Soribada, and hit No. 2 on Genie and No. 13 on Flo. This is her first EP.

"NO ONE" has an island beat, very reggae and it doesn't even quit in the chorus. She maintains it through the whole song. Surprisingly, B.I comes on right after the first verse and brings an aggressive feel to his part. I like it, because it's not jarring, really. Ms. Hi, of course, brings her soulful voice to this tune. On "NO WAY" she slows it down, wrapping her voice around an R&B/ jazzy backing track. That's really where she shines, sultry and inviting. This is sort of a return to the style of 'Seoulite,' the album where I was introduced to her. The song itself is a duet with artist G.Soul. He has a smoother voice than Lee Hi, and a different style, but they make it work despite all that.

"LOVE IS OVER" is another jazzy/bluesy composition, and this time Lee Hi gets more emotional here, walking her vocals into more vulnerable spots and letting us know what it's like to end a relationship. The nice thing is that the music gets louder and more prominent as she does. The bridge is marked by a beautiful sustain from Ms. Hi before they pick it up for the outro. A more lively "1, 2" is what we're treated to next. YG picked a controversial choice in pairing Lee Hi up with Choi Hyunsuk of the boy band Treasure Box. Not only is his part jarring and not really suited to the song, but he's also part of a scandal. And I have to say I much prefer Lee Hi's vocals to his. It tries to ruin what is just a fun song in general.

And the final song, "20MIN," maps more to singer-songwriter than any other genre, and is the outlier here. Lee Hi takes a more accusatory tone on this one. She's telling a lover to just go away, that she's sick of him, and her sharp vocals are sung to an acoustic guitar. It's great to hear her tackling a song by herself.

So overall, I think there are too many guest artists. I get that YG might want to push these guys, but I think Lee Hi can carry a tune by herself. But what I like about this EP is that it crosses genres, despite the fact that it's so short. Whether she tackles island beat or R&B, she can handle it. This is a top-notch artist whose voice always takes center stage. And it's been far too long.

MV REVIEW

Like the cover of her album 'Seoulite,' this MV features a moon. Though that moon is one of the central conceits of the MV and is a very different one.

Even from the start, the music video has a narrative of sorts. Lee Hi enters a magical closet -- that much we can tell from the glowing doorknob. She walks in and finds a dress and the door to a forest. So donning the dress, she sits in a tree and pulls out a pair of pink binoculars. And that lets her see B.I, sitting on his own planet out there in space, as he starts rapping. I thought that was a great way to tie all that together (and much better than the disembodied voice that they sometimes use).

There were other things that made less sense, such as a spinning bed in the arctic (decidedly not 24°C), crawling through a hidden door in the wall, or attending a ball with other masked attendees and finally ending up as a cat-man's dance-partner. Does it have to make sense? Not really. I view it as a magical adventure ala Alice in Wonderland, only this time featuring Lee Hi.

Interestingly, there were no dance sequences (other than a nod here and there at the ball). But there didn't have to be. It communicated its theme through visuals and costumes. B.I's part was playful and crazy. I loved the way his planet looked. Lee Hi was particularly well-attired here, with a pretty and respectful wardrobe, and just gorgeous overall. The shots were nicely done, with some interesting transitions.

And I can't deny that this one was a lot of fun to watch.

Score

MV Relevance............8

MV Production...........9

MV Concept...............9

MV SCORE: 8.6

Album Production.....8

Album Concept.........9

Tracklisting...............9

ALBUM SCORE: 8.6

OVERALL................8.6