Rookie group HITT debuts with their album, "Here Is The Top"...

The boys of HITT (L to R): Woo Ram, Ha Rong, Jun Taek, Hyun Jun, Ho Won and Jae Hun

Sony Entertainment Korea just recently debuted a new male idol group named HITT (which stands for "Here Is The Top"). I guess it's the first time I've heard of a major international music label taking an active interest in entering the highly competitive world of idol groups in Korea (or maybe I haven't yet encountered any other group who's been sponsored by similar companies). With Sony being based in Japan, where Korean artists are slowly taking over the charts, I'm sure they've taken notice of how potentially lucrative it can be to venture into the Korean idol making machine.

Nontheless, being a well-established music company, Sony wouldn't be fielding in just anyone into the fray. Listening to the album for the past week, I could honestly say that these guys are worth listening to, and have great potential in making it big.

Upper Row (L to R): Woo Ram, Ho Won, Hyun Jun; Lower Row (L to R): Jun Taek, Ha Rong, Jae Hun

The group is composed of 5 members --- Kim Yu Ram / Woo Ram, Jee Ha Yong (the group's leader), Oh Jun Taek, Jo Hyun Jun, Choi Ho Won (group's maknae, at 20 years old --- at least they aren't too young), and Sung Jae Hun. It's impressive to note that everyone in the group is a vocalist with varying range. HITT has a group rapper, Jae Hun, but apparently he's just as skilled as a vocalist (which is rare in most idol groups).

Sony Entertainment of Korea released HITT's self-titled album on July 8, together with the release of the MV of their first launching single, "Good Night". The album itself consists of 5 unique tracks.

"Good Night" is a relatively easy song to understand since it falls under one of the most common topics of Korean pop --- break-ups. The track is a good example of powerful electro-dance pop, backed with solid vocals. Although it's a great song, what bugs me is that it sort of reminds me of some songs by BEAST and MBLAQ... not that they're not original, but it's definitely not something new.

"Good Night" by HITT (MV with Eng Subs)

If there was a song that I would've wanted them to use as a launching track, it would be "Run Away", the 4th track in the album. I loved the harmonization better in this track, plus there was a more drama and power in the way the song was arranged. It's still an electro-pop track, but it had cool rock-jazz feel to it.

"Run Away" by HITT (Audio Only)

The remaining songs in the album are ballads. Now, when you have a group of vocalists as good as these guys, you can't imagine them not making a ballad or two, right? The two ballads that I felt best expressed the unbelievably exquisite quality of their voices would be the 5th and 6th tracks of the album --- "For Quite Some Time" and the unplugged version of "Don't" (I was honestly tearing up when I heard track 5... the song was so well sung!).

"For Quite Some Time" by HITT (feat. Yiruma - Audio Only)

"Don't" by HITT (Audio Only)

These guys are definitely a gold mine for Sony Music! Their versatility and amazing vocal ability are going to be the keys to their success. I just hope Sony Music can invest in helping the boys develop their own signature music that will set them apart from the rest of the pack. When that happens, they will definitely be able to cement a place for themselves in the Korean music industry.