Track Analysis: Chung Ha – X

I am in extreme anticipation for the release of Chung Ha’s first studio album ‘Querencia’ next month after a delay due to COVID-19, and so when I heard that she was pre-releasing another album track, I was very hyped. I really do believe that Chung Ha has the potential to be absolutely huge worldwide – I would say that out of every current K-pop act she is the best in terms of all round performance, vocal ability and global marketability. In fact, if she goes on one day to win a Grammy or another huge music award it wouldn’t surprise me. ‘X’ is a track that focuses a lot on vocals and a major melody (as well as being a very easy title to remember) while delivering power through the use of percussion. I’d have to say that it starts off kind of slow, but builds up to being a powerful and dynamic track particularly in its second half.

Starting off, I love how the intro uses extreme vocal distortion as the main sound while introducing the tracks main melody in the background instrumental. The vocal distortion is really weird and doesn’t have much meaning on the flow of the rest of the track, but it’s engaging and most definitely different compared to 99% of intro’s. Going into the first verse, the main melody consisting of a simple piano and guitar pattern moves to the front supporting the smoothness of Chung Ha’s vocals. Overall there isn’t much to breakdown here, the instrumental itself is quite simple and the idea is to show off Chung Ha’s vocal prowess as much as possible – allowing her vocals to set the atmosphere of the track. 8-bars in we see percussion added to the instrumental, a common move to increase the energy of the track and keep it lively. The topline however continues to be quite smooth and soft which doesn’t really fit the percussion an incredible amount and can make the first verse seem a bit disjointed and stagnant. This is the section I referred to earlier that seems quite slow, since there isn’t much impact in the vocals or instrumental rather than being a smooth and pleasant listen.

It’s at this point that if you’re expecting the common track arrangement of verse -> pre-chorus -> chorus -> verse and so on, the track may once again feel disjointed. This is because as the guitar starts to play a more major role on the first note of each bar and Chung Ha’s vocals get more powerful and impactful, it seems as if ‘X’ is building towards a chorus. However, instead the section ends with a line full of reverb and then progresses straight into the second verse. Firstly, the line of ‘you should’ve loved me at my worst, now you just watch me on my TV screen’ is a bit of an outdated saying in my opinion and also slightly cheesy, but I’m more critical of the fact that the line doesn’t seem to fit in with either the instrumental or the rest of the topline. I think this is simply because the line is too long in a track which so far has implemented a very slow and swaying tempo, the delivery sounds faster relatively and thus out of place. Another reason could be that the line is spoken rather than sung, while being surrounded by a topline that focuses purely on strong singing. Secondly, I’m not against the arrangement style here. It’s uncommon that you’d have a first verse into a buildup and then into a second verse but it usually keeps the listener engaged for the reason that it’s interesting. The only issue is that when you have the same 2-4 bar instrumental loop playing repeatedly through both the smooth and dynamic sections of a track, the risk is run for the overall track to become boring and stagnant. For that reason, it’s extremely important the track continues to build momentum into the second verse rather than stay stagnant for even longer, since there’s a chance that some may stop listening at this point.

Chung Ha’s vocals take a small step up in the second verse compared to the first, particularly through the increase in utilised vocal range, while the instrumental stays the same. Once again, the production utilises the topline as much as possible to create dynamic shift and buildup – in this case there are background vocal harmonies which layer behind the main topline. I’m not a fan of production where the main instrumental loop just repeats over and over, but I can understand that in a track of this certain arrangement it’s also the best way to ensure the song doesn’t get overly complicated and jaggered. It’s definitely better than if the track were to have a repetitive instrumental loop while implementing a more standard verse -> pre-chorus -> chorus -> verse structure. However, at the end of the second verse, the percussion drops out and leaves Chung Ha to absolutely nail a buildup with vocals and vocals alone. It’s here at 2:15 into the track that the song and listening experience pick up greatly, the problem is that you have to be patient for the first two minutes to reach it – this significantly hurts the replay value.

Once again though, the power just fizzles away as I finally realise this ‘buildup’ is meant to be the tracks main hook??? This is because we go straight back into a bridge. The bridge however is quite weak in that the vocals are mixed through a layer of distortion??? The track is built upon and reliant on Chung Ha’s vocal performance and so it just makes no sense to me that the decision to manipulate the vocals even just slightly was made, especially since there is not a major instrumental buildup outside of a 1-bar percussion progression. However, after this progression, there is a major culmination and the track absolutely blooms. If I could listen to the last minute of the track without needing the first three, I would.

There isn’t much to really analyse though if I’m being honest. The instrumental culminates as it should and is dominated by the kick drum which sets the tempo and rhythm of the final section. However, it’s absolutely clear that once again, Chung Ha’s vocals are absolutely carrying the track. Up until now, there really hasn’t been any impact, so the charisma that she delivers these vocals while being backed up by some high note harmonies and ad-libs is much needed. Personally I love the english section at the end – it flows really well while also being energetic and emotional at the same time – It’s disappointing that the production was so stagnant when the vocal performance was so strong, especially when the track started off so interesting.

Verses	7
Chorus	7
Production	6
Longevity	6
Bias	7
Overall Rating	6.5

I don’t think I’ll necessarily return to this song outside of listening to the album when it’s released, but my word are Chung Ha’s vocals so damn good. Vocals – 9.

Overall, I think I’ve been quite harsh but I just can’t agree with the production choices in relation to the strength of the vocal performance. Making the first 60% of the song forgettable while having a really strong finish is unsustainable when trying to create something with lasting impact and replay value. As I said, there’s a good chance I may just listen to the last 70 seconds if I want to come back to it, because there isn’t much that I’d be missing out on in the first 2.5 minutes that I couldn’t get from another Chung Ha track except better. If I were to rate the vocals and last section alone, I’d put it at 9 which I think exemplifies my disappoint in the rest of the track. With all that being said, I’m still highly anticipating ‘Querencia’ and although ‘X’ may not be my cup of tea, I’m still in love with ‘Stay Tonight’ and ‘Dream of You’ (‘Play’ is pretty good as well!). As always I’d love to hear your thoughts, and hope you all have a wonderful day!

P.S. The year has officially begun, Berry Good coming up next.