P1Harmony’s Success, Style, and SAD SONG EP
By Adrianna Dreckmann
I first became familiar with P1Harmony in the Fall of 2022 shortly after their EP, HARMONY : SET IN was released. I remember hearing the first song and lead single on the album, “Back Down,” in passing. The EP generated a lot of rumblings online with the most dedicated listeners of the genre speaking highly of it online.
In the Winter of 2023, shortly after my first encounter with P1Harmony’s music, I was invited to photograph and review the Chicago stop of P1Harmony’s P1oneer Tour, their second-ever US tour for Ease Up. I would say that show is when I became a true P1ece (P1Harmony fan). Not only was it a privilege to shoot a K-Pop group for the first time (the first of later, many after that day), but the show was a blast. I found P1Harmony as a group refreshing, their music was fun, I felt that their personalities on stage and with each other were honest and true to the fans who listened. I remember that night, sitting on the balcony at the Chicago Theater, the entire balcony felt as if it was going to snap off during the crowd-pleaser song, “Du Du Doom.” Ever since that concert on a snowy night in Chicago, I have followed P1Harmony’s every release.
After SET IN, the release of HARMONY : ALL IN became, to this day, my favorite EP they’ve released. Nearly every song on that release ended up on my Spotify Wrapped in 2023. Also included in my 2023 Wrapped, is the one-off English single, “Fall In Love Again,” which I feel is an underrated hit in the P1 discography. At the top of this year, P1 released their first full-length and long overdue album, Killin’ It, a 10-song project touching not only on all the member’s talents but with many songs bringing a fresh sound to take on what we are set to believe “K-Pop” is supposed to sound like.
Now, two days before my birthday mind you, P1Harmony released their next EP titled, SAD SONG. What a birthday gift for me! Prior to writing this article, the only teaser I listened to ahead of release was when I walked into a K-Pop store over the weekend and they had the “WASP” song teaser playing on the screen. I remember questioning what it was, then when I saw JONGSEOB I went, “Oh! Of course it is.” But now, I can sit down with this 7-track mini album and digest it.
Right from the jump, the title track “SAD SONG,” is incredibly fast-paced and absolutely not sad in the slightest. The backbone of the song is built around a Latin mambo beat that progresses the rhythm into its fast pace. The chorus is centered around Keeho’s vocals, slowing down the pace and preparing the listener to pick back up in pace. I can picture this song being a middle-of-the-setlist mood lifter. “SAD SONG” is what I expect from P1Harmony’s natural direction of their music, I’m not disappointed one bit but I’m also not surprised in the slightest. I look forward to what this dance challenge will spawn from this song, I fear it will only be difficult.
The second track on the record, “It’s Alright,” slows down our heart rate entirely to what I immediately thought in my head as a “hot girl walk” track. I hate that was my first thought but I will not lie. What makes this track remarkable lies more in the vocals and rapping of the five members than in the production.
The third track on the album, “Last Call,” which right away I think will be a sequel to “Late Night Calls” off the Killin’ It album but I am quickly mistaken. A guitar-driven kumbaya song that is reminiscent of the sound of western boy bands like One Direction and Big Time Rush. I am typically a sucker for this sort of “Live While We’re Young” style track that evokes a sort of happy melancholic sound to the listener. So far during this playback, I find this song to be the real stand-out and also the future tour encore closing song.
The next track returns back to a sort of dark and intimidating P1Harmony reminiscent of a lighter version of “SIREN.” “Last Call” transitions well into the fourth track, “Welcome To.” It is still a guitar-driven song with the sort of crowd participation types of bridges (long woes, ya know?). If “Last Call” is an encore song, then “Welcome To” is an opener.
Fifth track on the album, “All You,” fits in perfectly with the sort of Korean drama original soundtrack for an opening title. It reminds me a lot of “Love Me for Me” off HARMONY : ALL IN. This feels like a peppy sequel to the self-love anthem from last year. It’s cute, it’s fun, and I hope it gets commercial play.
To speak on “WASP” as a song, I find it to be a P1Harmony take on Travis Scott or a modern western rap approach. I can’t help but think that this song would be stronger with the inclusion of another member at the very least or all of them at best. It’s a song I might return to while I’m working out, I can see the song satisfying fans who want a more confident and show-off persona of JONGSEOB and INTAK. I just don’t find it something different or unique than what’s already put out there, disappointingly. Perhaps it will grow on me after a few listens.
The EP essentially ends there with the seventh and final song consisting of an English version of the title track, “SAD SONG.” I will say that I think I prefer the English version more than the Korean version. I think that this song translates effortlessly with the member’s natural voice. It almost feels as if it was originally an English song in the first place. I do think that P1Harmony have a strength in creating English versions of their Korean originals. I find that a lot of English versions of K-pop songs are translated poorly and oftentimes are delivered weirdly against the original rhythm (that was made for Korean lyrics, mind you). I have yet to find an English version of a P1Harmony song I didn’t like. While I prefer the original versions of “JUMP” and “Fall In Love Again,” their original Korean songs are unique in the world of similar style K-pop.
I think overall, while this may not be my favorite body of work to come out of the indie K-pop group, I don’t find it to be a dent in their vastly growing popularity. Watching a group, who recently went on a wildly successful US arena/theater tour, continue to find success without the backing of a big three Korean label proves that hard work pays off and fans are always looking for the next big thing. It would be silly not to follow P1Harmony’s journey after this and I encourage all of us to take a look as soon as possible.
