From Yeeun to HA:TFELT - Then and Now
Park Yeeun is probably most well known as the keyboardist and leader of monster girl group Wonder Girls after Sunye’s departure. But what others may not know is that the soloist is also a composer and songwriter who penned releases for her group before their disbandment.
Yeeun began her musical career in 2007 when she debuted with Wonder Girls, although her solo journey didn’t take place until 2014. Even so, she had composed songs as early as the sophomore album for Wonder Girls, showing off her abilities early on. Debuting solo under the pseudonym HA:TFELT, Yeeun’s first album Me? peaked at No. 6 on the Korean charts and earned a spot on Billboard’s list of the 10 best K-Pop albums of 2014.
After the disbandment of Wonder Girls, partially due to Yeeun’s own inability to reach a consensus on contract renewal, the soloist instead chose to sign with well-known independent label Amoeba Culture, home to big-name artists and producers such as Dynamic Duo and Primary. With this choice, a shift in her releases also came as well. At the beginning of her career she was writing music for Wonder Girls, a traditional pop group. With her first release under Amoeba Culture, MEiNE, HA:TFELT showcased her prowess in the R&B realm, even with just the two-track single album. “I Wander” featuring Gaeko and “Read Me” featuring punchnello both released with music videos vastly different from her original debut, with video composition that has a much heavier indie feel as well. The music videos tell an interwoven story that is only complete upon viewing both, with no appearance of Yeeun herself. We often see former K-Pop stars take this route upon leaving major labels, the artists choosing to tell meaningful visual stories to complement their vocals (the most recent example of this being ZICO in his Thinking Pt. 2 releases). “I Wander” has a warm, upbeat, summertime feel, while “Read Me” shifts into a more soothing, autumn aesthetic. The two songs complement each other beautifully and kick off what could only be a spectacular solo career in a new musical space for Yeeun.
Continuing down the R&B influence in her music, Yeeun released her second single album Deine in 2018. Lead single “Pluhmm” has heavy bossa nova melodic influences, something that we almost never see in the Korean music realm. It’s a fresh and chill track that perfectly showcases Yeeun’s vocal prowess while adding a unique flavor to her overall sound. In contrast, “Cigar,” the second track on the album, has a more traditional K-R&B feel with a few interesting rhythmic pieces thrown in. All in all though, these two tracks showcase Yeeun’s incredibly smooth transition from idol to alternative artist.
The soloist has been fairly silent since the 2018 release, up until August of this year. “Happy Now,” her latest release, presents yet another musical dimension to the artist, with a brighter and more staccato vocal tone overlaying the summery melodic line.
Although we’ve only received five tracks so far from HA:TFELT since she left JYP, she’s already demonstrated a massive well of talent both for performance and production. The shift from a mass media market to a more indie sound has made it difficult for the soloist to get the attention she deserves, but hopefully as time goes on, more and more people will begin to recognize the abundance of talent from the former leader of Wonder Girls.