Let 4MEN into your hearts with the release of "The Artist"...

The boys of 4MEN --- (L to R): Kim Young Jae, Shin Yong Jae, and Kim Won Joo

It's not surprising to find some group that have long been in hiatus coming back after years of hibernating in the cooler of K-drama OST album and collaboration work. A very good example of this is 4MEN, a relatively well-known ballad group in Korea, making a comeback after a 3 year hiatus with their new album, "The Artist", that was released June 7th.

I think I've mentioned in a previous post that ballads hold a special place in my heart. I'm a softie, and I like a good cry every now and then. If there's one thing that this group is well-known for is insanely great vocal harmony, and an inexplicable ability to make people feel a great amount of emotion through their songs.

For those of you who aren't familiar with 4MEN, I bet you're mighty surprised to see that "4MEN" is actually only composed of 3 men --- Kim Young Jae, Shin Yong Jae, and Kim Won Joo. Weird, right?

The group actually started way back in 1998, and has been through a steady stream of roster changes. The current members of the group aren't even the original guys who started 4MEN, but all three were replacements when three of the original members left in 2008. One of their members, J1, left in 2009, leaving behind the current members to carry on the name 4MEN.

Not that this was an entirely bad thing though, since these guys are some of the best vocalists in the Korean music industry. Mixing elements of standard, jazz, and R&B to form their own unique sound. I first encountered them when I was watching the K-drama "Secret Garden", and they sang two of the most powerful ballads in the sound track --- "The Reason" and "Here I Am". Here are vids of those two songs... just be ready with a box of tissues though (the songs might hit too hard; be prepared... hahaha!).

"The Reason" by 4MEN (Audio with Eng Subs)

"Here I Am" by 4MEN feat. Mi (Audio with Eng Subs)

When I saw that they were coming up with a new album, of course I was ecstatic! The first track and MV of the album, "Once While Living", was released a day prior to the album. As expected from 4MEN, the harmonization was deep and soulful. Listening to the track, you could feel all that power and emotion coming through even though the lyrics were in Hanggul (I'm personally looking forward to English subs for this!).

The MV itself was a little confusing since it seemed like there were three stories intertwined into one video, all linked together with shots of the boys singing together. It made sense though since the first MV was followed through with three MV teasers for other songs in the album --- "Unrequited Love", "I Love You" and "It's Not Working". From the look of things, it's supposed to be a trilogy of love songs with their MVs creating a background story (I won't tell the story... piece it together on your own). I guess we can still expect three more videos in the coming weeks!

"Once While Living" by 4MEN (MV Only)

"I Love You" by 4MEN (Teaser Video)

"It's Not Working" by 4MEN (Teaser Video)

"Unrequited Love" by 4MEN (Teaser Video)

This album is huge! It's composed of 13 songs in total (although there are 26 tracks, half of the album is composed of instrumentals for each of the songs included in the album). The entire album is so well-produced, and the songs are sung to perfection... it's very difficult to choose a favorite! But there were a few songs that stood out for me...

"I Love You", the 3rd track, in the album, is sung in the classic stance of 4MEN. This track has a classic R&B vibe to it that everyone can appreciate. What's best is that Young Jae, Yong Jae, and Won Joo are given a good amount of time to showcase their vocal talent.

"I Love You" by 4MEN (Audio Only)

Just to change up the tempo of the album, the boys included an mid-tempo R&B song into the middle of the album titled "Oasis". I like the play between the beats and the synthesized sounds that serve as a background to 4MEN's amazing vocals.

"Oasis" by 4MEN (Audio Only)

Nothing is more effective in getting anyone into a romantic or emotional mood than using a full string orchestra --- which is exactly what was used in the 7th track, "It's Not Working". What you get in the end is a tear-jerker of a song (and I don't have subs at this point to even fully appreciate it! hahaha!).

"It's Not Working" by 4MEN (Audio Only)

"Love Sick", track 9 in the album, is a slick R&B track that's reminiscent of the boy bands of the last decade. It starts out a bit slow, making anyone think that the song's going to be a ballad, but the groove speeds up a bit to mid-tempo. It's absolutely infectious, and is easily one of my favorites!

"Love Sick" by 4MEN (Audio Only)

"Love Sick" is immediately followed by another mid-tempo R&B track, "My Girl". The lyrics are sung very sharply in quick and immediate sequence in harmony, giving it a very strong rhythm. The strong beats and the use of strings and percussion were definitely a plus.

"Love Sick" by 4MEN (Audio Only)

I fell in love with this album as soon as I heard the first song that came out of it... and I have even found more reasons to be a fan of 4MEN after having listened to the entire album! There's so much potential for this group of vocalists, and they're a very much welcome respite after all the idol music that I've been listening to (not that it was bad or anything, right? hehehe!). Like Sunny Hill, I guess with the attention they're getting now, I hope it doesn't take them another 3 years to make another album.