Let's Not Break Up When April Ends

Earlier this month, EXO’s Chen released his first solo mini album “April, and a Flower.” Chen has released solo songs before through OSTs, but this album was different from what he has previously released and has done with EXO. When I first heard that he was going to release a solo album, I didn’t know what to expect, even with teaser images of the album and music video. As soon as he sang the first verse of “Beautiful Goodbye”, I knew it was something different. I wasn’t shocked, that wasn’t my initial reaction; my initial reaction was comforted. This album went in a direction that I wasn’t expecting - an album full of ballads, but I felt that it not only suited Chen very well, but felt that his unique color as an artist was shown. Chen has a very clean and powerful voice, and it was clearly shown in what he has released.

Each song isn’t about love or finding love, but going through a break up (Beautiful Goodbye) and still being there for your partner after the break up (I’ll Be There). To be fair, when I first heard Beautiful Goodbye, my first thought was “Chen, who hurt you?” But soon after I read that he mentioned that when writing the lyrics to the songs of this album he based it off of what would’ve happened in his imaginations and what he has seen in movies and tv shows. Also, it is worth nothing that Chen has mentioned that he does want this album, his music, to be a source of comfort. Comfort not so much in “Cheer up! Everything will be okay. You can do it!” But more of “Its okay, we’ve all been through something similar to what you are feeling.” It is a different way to feel comforted, because he is right in a way. We all might not experience the same exact thing, but we do experience something similar.

The rest of album is full of powerful songs that show Chen’s true range as a vocalist. I’m very excited for what he has planned next as a solo artist, and with EXO of course. If you haven’t listened to “April, and a Flower” I suggest you do so.

오빠, 4 월이 끝나면 헤어 지자 구.