I had no idea that Kim Raehwan, formerly of BIGSTAR, made his solo debut earlier this year! And not only that, but his releases so far have been amazing. As is usually the case, YouTube recommendations came through. I saw the thumbnail for his latest comeback MV and I thought he looked familiar. I ended up really liking the song, I looked him up and lo and behold, I did know who he was.
Debuting as from20, Raehwan is one of the three founders of The Faker Club along with IMFACT’s Ungjae and designer Sulju who together aim to present their art in the form of music, fashion and video among others.
from20’s debut single “1st Single [ 20; Still Greedy For Juicy, I’m Kissing This 20 ]” was released on March 28th with the eponymous title track “From20” and B-side “Cigarettes&You.” They’re both great R&B-infused pop/electronic tracks that fit with his singer-songwriter vibe.
He released his second single “Radio Will Sing Our Song” in June with the title track of the same name. “Radio” is a bit more soulful. The bittersweet, yet romantic aura is irresistible. It might be one of my favorite songs of the year.
Accompanying “Radio” on the single is “TMI” which is of a similar, though more laidback style. From20’s voice glides across the equally bittersweet lyrics. An excellent partner for “Radio.”
Finally, the song that clued me in to from20’s solo career is his latest “Because It’ll Be Faster For You to Forget Me Than Me Loving You,” released a few days ago. Continuing with more emotional and bittersweet lyrics, from20 goes a little more uptempo. With a matching dramatic MV, the song’s fusion of pop, rock, R&B and electronic music results in a sort of dreamlike urgency as from20 sings of reminiscing about a past love.
Needless to say, I am so happy to have “discovered” from20 and am definitely looking forward to hearing more from him.