iKON’s Jay Makes His Solo Debut with BLUE MOON

We’ve heard a lot more from the boys of iKON now that they’re free from YG Entertainment and signed to 143 Entertainment, and it’s been great. They began their TAKE OFF tour in South Korea back in May, and have already touched down in Asia and Europe before they make their way to the United States in September. The boy group released the album TAKE OFF in May of this year, BOBBY released a single in March, and Jay has made his solo debut with BLUE MOON.

Leading up to the release of BLUE MOON, Jay released a performance video for the track “Paradise.” This was Part 1 of the release, with Part 2 being the mini-album. “Paradise” features writing credits for fellow iKON member DK. A groovy R&B pop track, “Paradise” has a catchy whistling throughout the track. The backbeat of the track features a heavy bassline that drops during the bridge, where a guitar takes the forefront of the sound. Jay is a talented dancer, and the performance video for “Paradise” only cements that.

On the day of release for BLUE MOON, Jay also dropped the music video for the title track of the same name. “BLUE MOON” definitely has a moodier sound than “Paradise,” featuring a mellow acoustic guitar. It's another R&B track from Jay, but the whiplash between it and “Paradise” is astounding. The sets for the music video are breathtaking, opening with Jay seated on a chair surrounded by beautiful purple flowers before switching to scenes of him working in a greenhouse and posing with an old, abandoned truck. The choreography is shot in an empty room draped with curtains, in a wooded area, as well as him in a different section of the greenhouse. Once the track has finished, I promise you, you won’t be able to get it out of your head.

The remaining three tracks on the mini-album are “MAGNET,” featuring R&B vocalist Moon Sujin, “GOOD GIRLS,” and “WAIT FOR YOU.” “MAGNET” was written in part by BOBBY, while DK and Jay both appear in the writing credits for “GOOD GIRLS” and “WAIT FOR YOU.” 

“MAGNET” is a soft yet groovy R&B track, a guitar taking the focus for the instrumentation. Jay’s voice sounds wonderful when paired with Moon Sujin’s, and he takes on a slightly breathy quality in the chorus, reminiscent of Woosung. “GOOD GIRLS” is a pretty retro-sounding track featuring synthesizers galore, while ballad “WAIT FOR YOU” brings BLUE MOON to a calm ending.

Whatever the future brings, I can only hope that we’ll get more R&B-heavy releases from the iKON member.

Edited by Aleena Faisal