BY JOHN CARTER JR
Lee Tae-yong known as Taeyong, the leader of the popular K-Pop group NCT 127, just recently released a new single and boy there is a lot to unravel when it comes to the new facets of skill he brings to the table as well as some familiar ones. From the development of his already impressive rapping talent to the newfound smoothness of his singing voice, this track represents a major milestone for the progress Taeyong’s career. The usage of English lyrics in this song is also comfortably complimentary to the Korean ones. The lyrical performance continues to represent his ability in both singing and rap. “Long Flight” provides a glimpse at what a potential album could look like for Taeyong as a single artist and is a stronger track than many popular artist’s album releases this year (Daniel Caesars Case Study 01 album comes to mind).
NCT 127 or Neo Culture Technology 127 is a K-Pop Group growing in major popularity right now in the United States, as a result, the individual members (like their leader Taeyong) have become vastly popular. This release of this track only amplifies that. It is understandable why this group is growing given the exquisite shots of their music videos, and “Long Flight” is no different. The video is travel themed as Taeyong is traveling in an airplane to far off and distant places. Being surrounded by mountains, plants, and leaning on a hotel luggage cart at different points conveys that he is going to travel to a lot of places and it will take a long time. He invites you on this long journey with him (even presenting the viewer with Ice Cream, only to spill it).
Another interesting development showing how far Taeyong has come as a performer is his furthered ability to sing, but more so his ability to transition smoothly from singing to rap. We can see this in the opening of the track:
[Singing]“ Took a flight go to the cloud 9 (Cloud 9)
이 하늘 위를 잠시 빌려보아 (보아)
어디든 이 비행을 너와 난
Let’s show how we fly, oh no, oh no”
“Get out of town, get out of town
보랏빛 하늘과 나는 춤을 추죠
새벽빛의 이 향연 안에, oh no
글을 날려 (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)”
“Parking 구름들 사이로
멍하니 서서 그 밖을
바라봐 멈춰도 되니깐
창문 틀 빈틈 사이로
그 틈 사이로 쏟아 내려진 빛은
내 두 눈 프리즘 속 안에서 번져요 ”
Not only do the lyrics match the rap and singing transitions but they also align well with the dance. Taeyong is a talented dancer as he is a vocalist and rapper. While the music video only shows a simple flexing of his dancing muscles this artist is impressive as he is stylish (and he is very stylish). This gives me major hopes for more singles and maybe even his own album or mixtape, as the kids say, of his own.
With Releases like this and NCT 127’s We Are Superhuman album being recently released Taeyong and his fellow group members have bright careers ahead of them. Unlike what many believe BTS isn’t the only K-Pop Group popular in the US and is not the only talented group of Korean men around. With Lyrical performance, a newly acquired singing skill, and his foundational talents NCT 127’s Taeyong will continue to have success in new endeavors, maybe more American Artists can take some notes from him and other Korean artists.