Go YounHa was born in South Korea and at the age of four she started playing the piano. Because of her love for music, she auditioned at several companies in Korea. Eventually she landed herself a deal with Sony Music Japan who caught interest in her after she signed with a Korean company. She debuted in Japan at the age of 16 with her single “Yubikiri” which was featured as the theme song to the Jdrama “Tokyo Wankei ~ Destiny of Love~.” YounHa finally made her first big impression in Japan when she released her second single “Houki Boshi” (Comet) which was featured as one of the ending theme songs to the popular Japanese anime “Bleach.” She was even dubbed as the “Oricon Comet” by the Japanese media.

In Japan, she released five more singles before coming out with her first Japanese album “Go! Younha.” After releasing a couple more singles in Japan, she left to debut in Korea with her first digital Korean single “Audition (Time to Rock).” She decided to release her first Korean album “고백하기 좋은 날” (A Good Day to Say I Love You) which peaked at #1 on the charts with her second single”비밀번호” (Secret Number 486). Because of her great success with her first Korean album, she released a Korean version of her Japanese album and started to perform the Korean version of her Japanese hit song “혜성” (Comet).

YounHa is most definately one of my top favorite artists of all time. I’ve known about her since her Yubikiri days and even though I miss her cutesy, upbeat, Japanese pop songs, her Korean songs really show off the quality of her voice. She never ceases to amaze me with her talents and abilties (come on, the girl can sing pretty well in Korean, Japanese, English AND Chinese) her super-cute image and genuine personality really makes her the something to be admired.

Track 1 – Gossip Boy
The upbeat piano intro is a attention grabber and YounHa’s voice sounds different to me in this song. Honestly it sounds more whiny than how she usually sings but I guess the melody of the backtrack calls for her to sing in a higher pitch. It’s somewhat similar to the piano-pop/rock feel that most of her tracks had in her first album and it even reminds me of some of her newer Jpop songs. It’s a very likable song, but it’s nothing new from what YounHa usually does. The sweet piano solos really add a classical quality to the track but the song just seems to be too short.

Track 2 – 기억 (feat. Tablo)
YounHa collaborated with Epik High for their latest single “Umbrella” so I guess this is Tablo returning the favor! Epik High + YounHa makes me happy. I’m wondering if Epik High had some influence in the production of this song (I really don’t know, someone tell me please) because it reminds me of Umbrella, the feel of the track at least. I was really hoping for a more upbeat song, but this is nice to listen to too.

Track 3 – Hero (Recommended)
The opening instrumentals immediately reminded me of like a Final Fantasy battle theme song or something of the like. This is the first intense track in the album where YounHa really shows off her vocals and I do think that she can pull of this style of music well. In her last album, “Delete” was probably the most intense track but “Hero” proves to be a much stronger song. There’s some heavy guitar instrumentals and it’s more heavy on the rock-feel than some of YounHa’s older songs.

Track 4 – Someday (Recommended)
With her first album, the song that the album was named after was my favorite track (The Perfect Day to Say I Love You) and this song is no different. I’m definately in love with this track mostly because it’s so different from the more upbeat-pop tracks that everyone knows her for. The heavy-rock sounds from the previous track are included in this song but this time she goes about it in a slower pace. Her vocals are still amazing…yes I’m biased. I really would prefer for this song to be the first single but…oh well.

Comeback Performance


Track 5 – 텔레파시
Right after these two intense-rock songs we come back to the typical YounHa music style. I read that this song somehow corresponds to “Secret Number 486” and I can get where they are coming from. It’s a very safe commercial song to go with as the first single which is a bit disappointing, but I still like the song nevertheless but it just might loose it’s charm after a while.

Comeback Performance

Oh my god she chopped off her pretty hair!!! *tear* She’s still cute to me though, even after the fact that her makeup artist went a little crazy with the eyeliner.

Track 6 - Rain & The Bar
Cheap filler song, but it at least introduces you to the jazzy feel of the next song.

Track 7 – 빗소리
The song is honestly boring at the first listen since it’s overshadowed by the more upbeat songs on the album but I suggest that you give the WHOLE SONG a try. The chorus is what really makes the song. I wouldn’t say that this is a typical theme song for a bar, more like a small coffee shop or cafe. It does have that calming rainy day music feel.

Track 8 – Rainbow (Recommended)
It’s nice how the producers to have this song following up after “The Sound of the Rain” (translation of track 7). I would have to say that this is one of the tracks that instantly captured my attention as I was skimming through the entire album. It’s just reminds me of the older jpop songs that got me into Asian music. Hoshimura Mai and the Indigo come to mind for me at least. I do enjoy the strings that accompany the song and YounHa’s voice really suits this style of music. Love love love this song.

Track 9 – Best Friend
The guitar intro reminds me of the beat behind the chorus of “Secret Number 486” and the chorus of this song establishes the fact that this is another typical Youn Ha soft-rock track. It’s not a bad thing either, I like her sense of consistency and the fact that she’s coined out her own style of music. “Best Friend” in my opinion is the best song in this style on the album. It rides off the mellowness of the previous track while standing out on it’s own in the second half of the album.

Track 10 – Strawberry Days
“Strawberry Days” suits my own taste in music so it’s most definately a sounds good to my ears. Others might find it to be rather dull compared to her catchier tracks but I rather like it. The song title is something that I would expect from a cutesy jpop artist, I would imagine it to be wildly catch and annoying at the same time (Otsuka Ai’s “Sakuranbo” anyone?) but this song is nothing like those. I’m starting to notice that I’m relating my review to Japanese songs/artists. Maybe it’s that I see YounHa’s jpop influence mixed in with her Korean songs. Anyway, this song should have been the track to follow up “Rainbow” since it borrows some of the mellow beats but is sung in a lesser uptempo way.

Track 11 - For Catharina
Wouldn’t it be amazing if the name was spelled “Cathalina” rather than “Catharina?” AC members might be able to recognize the reason behind that last statement…anyway “For Catharina” is a lovely, piano solo. Although YounHa doesn’t sing in this one, it doesn’t appear to me as a filler track like “Rain & the Bar.” Once again, it serves as the transitional track and introduction to the next song.

Track 12 - 미워하다
We seem to have drifted away from the strong rock songs into something more mellow. Someone has written that at this point the album starts to become dull, I disagree. But this song doesn’t exactly stick out to me either since it resembles any other kpop ballad.

Track 13 – My Song and… (Recommended)
I know that a lot of kpop fans are excited over this track since YounHa sings the ENTIRE SONG IN ENGLISH! This is pretty much like a blessing to English-speaking YounHa fans since we pretty much fawn over her English skills. I’m proud of her, her pronounication is excellent, and the quality of her singing hasn’t been affected because of her focus on pronouncing the words correctly. The lyrical content isn’t anything special but the way she sings makes the song top-notch.

Track 14 – 울지마요
Translation: “Don’t Cry” Ironic how in her last album she had the track, “I Cry.” There’s probably no connection between the two songs since the musical styles are different. This track didn’t stand out to me either, but it’s a nice way to finish off the album before throwing in random instrumentals at the end.

Track 15 – 기억(Original Mix)
Some people might like the rap remix better just because Tablo is featured in it but I’m glad that they included a non-rap version because I don’t really how Tablo’s lines really contribute to the song.

Overall, my first impression of the album was that it wasn’t as great as her first, but after really listening to the entire album, I ended up liking this album over “The Perfect Day to Say I Love You.” I thoroughly enjoy the variety of new styles integrated with her classic styles and I’m glad that she hasn’t done a total 360 by changing her image too much (except for the boy hair cut…but she pulls it off well). I hope that this album does well on the charts! GO YounHa!!!

I suggest that you try out all of the tracks regardless of some of my lesser positive comments as my particular musical interests may differ from yours.

Previous Album Reviews:
Lee Hyori Vol. 2 – “It’s Hyorish”