[TF Focus] How Parc Jae Jung Lives as a 'Ballad Singer'/ Regardless of Time

Choose the best way to showcase your music according to the situation.Strive to maintain your unique 'color' rather than simple repetition.Singer Parc Jae Jung released their new mini-album 'Record (上)' on September 29th on various music sites./THE FACTDB[THE FACT|Reporter Choi Hyun-jung] In a music market accustomed to short running times and fast pacing, singer Parc Jae Jung is drawing attention with a completely opposite approach.Parc Jae Jung released their new mini-album 'Record (上)' on various music sites on September 29th. This album, released about three and a half years after Parc Jae Jung's first full-length album 'Alone', features a total of 7 tracks, including the title track 'The End of the Season' and four other songs: 'Lingering Feeling', 'Preparation', 'Withered Love (枯戀)', and 'Why', along with two instrumental tracks.The most striking aspect of this album is its running time. The title track 'The End of the Season' boasts a running time of 5 minutes and 26 seconds, 'Lingering Feeling' is 5 minutes and 15 seconds, 'Preparation' is 4 minutes and 47 seconds, 'Withered Love (枯戀)' is 4 minutes and 41 seconds, and 'Why' is 3 minutes and 26 seconds.Excluding the two instrumental tracks, the total running time of these five songs is approximately 23 minutes and 35 seconds, which is comparable to or even longer than the running times of full-length albums by K-pop groups released recently.The reason Parc Jae Jung recorded songs with such long running times is clear. It was a choice to fully capture the song's progression from beginning to end.For example, the title track 'The End of the Season' unfolds the process of emotions gradually building and intensifying over a sufficient period, rather than quickly reaching the core.This is further supported by Parc Jae Jung's own album introduction, where they wrote, "I prepared this album because I wanted to fully capture the dramatic progression from beginning to end, even if it doesn't fit the trend."This 'long running time' is more than just Parc Jae Jung's stubbornness; it's an interesting aspect. Parc Jae Jung already has experience creating their representative songs with 'different choices'.The title track 'Let's Break Up', from their first full-length album 'ALONE' released in April 2023, is 4 minutes and 3 seconds long. While it's over a minute shorter than 'The End of the Season', Parc Jae Jung was conscious of market trends in a different way when creating this song.At the time of 'Let's Break Up's release, Parc Jae Jung described it as "a song added at the last minute after creating the other 9 songs for the first full-length album, with the judgment that 'we need a song that people can sing along to'." They also revealed that they "strategically completed the song by removing the intro and raising the key by two steps, in line with the trend of shortening song lengths."Parc Jae Jung's new album 'Record (上)' includes a total of 7 tracks, including the title track 'The End of the Season' and 2 instrumental tracks./Romantic FactoryNevertheless, the background that allows 'Let's Break Up' to be called a 'different choice' is the existence of 'a solid core of ballads'. While Parc Jae Jung partially accepted the market's conventions, they maintained their strength in ballads, which they do best.Looking at Parc Jae Jung's approach to music, they neither blindly chase trends nor completely ignore them. When necessary, they adopt market conventions, and when it's essential for the music they want to express, they boldly deviate from those conventions. The results are 'Let's Break Up' and 'The End of the Season'.In summary, Parc Jae Jung's 'long running time deviating from trends' and 'strategic approach considering public appeal' can both be seen as choices to best showcase 'their core of ballads'.Parc Jae Jung's effort to maintain their 'core' becomes even clearer when examining other songs on 'Record (上)'. 'Lingering Feeling' is a re-recording of a song made 11 years ago with 2026's voice and new arrangements, and 'Preparation' was started in 2021 with Japanese producer Tomita Keiichi and completed over about five years.Unique experiments are also evident. 'Withered Love (枯戀)' is structured with four verses without a chorus, unlike typical popular songs, and the final song, 'Why', presents a fast-tempo acid jazz, which is rarely heard from Parc Jae Jung.Thus, 'Record (上)' consistently shows Parc Jae Jung's efforts to broaden their choices within the 'broad framework and core of ballads' while maintaining it.This effort is even more impressive because 'Record (上)' is the first album released after 'Let's Break Up' achieved unprecedented success.'Let's Break Up' not only dominated the top ranks of various music charts but also became the most sung song in the 2023 TJ Media karaoke year-end summary, indicating its familiarity to the public.Parc Jae Jung's new album's title track 'The End of the Season' has a running time of approximately 5 minutes and 26 seconds./Romantic FactoryTherefore, the easiest choice for Parc Jae Jung before their comeback would have been to release another song similar to 'Let's Break Up'. However, Parc Jae Jung did not follow the same formula as 'Let's Break Up' and instead filled the album with songs that have new formats and musical colors.They have demonstrated firsthand that repeating the same music is distinctly different from maintaining one's own color.In this way, Parc Jae Jung is gradually expanding 'Parc Jae Jung's own territory' by attempting new formats within familiar genres and increasing their capabilities. At the same time, they do not neglect to observe how people listen to and consume music.This is the 'way of life for a ballad singer' shown by Parc Jae Jung, who has been active for 13 years.laugardagr@tf.co.kr[Entertainment Department | ssent@tf.co.kr]