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ALBUM REVIEW: ZHU ZHENGTING – “CHAPTER Z”
Written by: Polaris_Tae
Zhu Zhengting is a Chinese idol under the management of Yuehua Entertainment (Chinese branch), who rose to prominence during the 2018 season of the IQIYI survival show "Idol Producer". He went on to debut in the resulting group, NINE PERCENT, as well as Yuehua's latest Chinese boy group, NEXT, as the group's leader and main vocalist. Following the release of his digital single, "Empty Space", just over three weeks ago (May 7, 2020), I've decided to revisit his 2019 release, "Chapter Z"― his most successful album to date.
On the 23rd of September, 2019, he released his first solo album "Chapter Z", containing a total of three tracks ―which is short even by Yuehua standards― with "Flip" serving as the lead single. The album went on to sell over 1.9 million copies and became the third best selling digital single/EP of 2019 on the Chinese music platform, Netease. Following Yuehua's allowing of NEXT members to branch out into solo careers, Zhu Zengting sporadically released singles throughout 2019 prior to the release of "Chapter Z", thriving as a soloist. Becoming a successful soloist and variety star, and with his newest film "Vanguard" set to come out sometime in 2020, he may possibly find a career in acting as well.
If you're looking for a C-Pop idol that is ideal for diving into the Chinese idol scene, Zhu Zhengting is your perfect choice. Whether it be through NEXT or his solo work, you can trust him to deliver top quality content that will almost always be enjoyable and leave the listener wanting more!
'Flip'
"Flip" is the lead single from "Chapter Z" and is a soft-sounding R&B track. It plays to all of Zhengting's strengths both as a singer and a dancer and will have you hooked upon the first listen. The song was produced by Cha Cha Malone of AOMG fame and is a slower song that talks about being unable to let go of someone, despite the poor relationship that the two have. "Flip" starts out slow and sensual, but it layers on more instrumentals to the song, so that by the first chorus the song is in full swing and it leaves you hoping that it never ends. One of the aspects that I enjoyed the most about "Flip" is the way that the instrumentals were consistently layered during the chorus, only to be removed during the verses. This allowed the singer to fully display his vocals and not be drowned out by the music, which would have been the case had the heavy instrumentals not been removed. The bridge is simple but does its job, connecting the two parts of the song together in a tight and concise way that does not take away from the song, but improves on it, as it keeps the instrumentals and the tone of the song simple and clear. "Flip" proves Zhu Zhengting's vocal prowess and cements his status as lead vocal material while at the same time, it acts as the perfect song to begin an already perfect solo album with.
9/10
'Be Well'
Read the lyrics here
"Be Well" is a stunning emotional ballad where Zhu Zhengting expresses his thoughts and longing for his lost love― how he misses them from afar and wishes that they are well. The instrumentals of the song are largely made of and dominated by the piano, which is the sole instrument for about two-thirds of the song. We begin with his voice just above a whisper as he expresses "What else is needed to say / I think I can still learn to be / Without you" as the piano plays lightly in the background. As his voice increases in volume, so does the piano, going from a very light sprinkling in the opening of the song to a full and layered piece once the song builds up to a crescendo within the chorus. "Be Well" is obviously a song that was composed with the intention of showcasing Zhu Zhengting's stunning vocals to the fullest capacity with only two instruments of accompaniment throughout the entire song: the piano and the strings, the latter of which only begins at around 2 minutes and 20 seconds (2:20) into the song. This technique works to the absolute greatest degree as we are able to experience his absolutely stunning vocals in a way we just are not able to on the majority of NEXT group discography. While the song did not initially capture me, as I do not especially like ballads, I found that upon repeated listening the song was destined to be one of my all-time favourite emotional ballads. Sure, it isn't at the level of Liang Bo's "Nánhái" or the "Three Lives Three Worlds" OP, but it stands out as a stunning piece of art that will forever be on my list of favourite ballads.
10/10
'旁观者'
Read the lyrics here
"旁观者" is probably one of my favourite songs on the album. It's a fun, retro-sounding track that is the perfect song for a sunny spring day and it is guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face! The opening beats to "旁观者" give you a feeling that the song is going to be completely different than the previous songs that were showcased on the rest of "Chapter Z". "旁观者" is probably the most un-Zhengting sounding song― at least based on his previous solo releases. The only song that "旁观者" could even be compared to on the artist's solo discography is "The Winter Light", due to their shared retro sound and repetitive instrumentals, and even that is a stretch. One of my favourite aspects within "旁观者" is the use of consistently looping instrumentals, which, when layered with Zhengting's calm and soothing voice, presents a laid-back mood that will have anyone replaying it for hours on end. My only critique for this song is the poor choice of English, which is a minor grievance that can be forgiven due to the fact that the artist is not an English speaker (and it's likely that the songwriter isn't either). "旁观者" is probably the most replay-friendly song on "Chapter Z" and will likely stay on my personal heavy rotations for many more months to come.
9.5/10
In conclusion, "Chapter Z" is the perfect album for Zhu Zhengting to further establish himself as a solo artist. With zero skippable tracks, it stands out as one of my favourite Chinese releases from 2019. Both the production and the vocal quality project themselves as some of the greatest aspects of this release, and I hope to hear more great music from him again in 2020.
__________________________________________________
Artistic Creativity: 8/10
Vocal Quality: 10/10
Music: 9.5/10
9.2/10
__________________________________________________
PROOFREAD BY: @lex.
GRAPHICS BY: @Aerith
Written by: Polaris_Tae
Zhu Zhengting is a Chinese idol under the management of Yuehua Entertainment (Chinese branch), who rose to prominence during the 2018 season of the IQIYI survival show "Idol Producer". He went on to debut in the resulting group, NINE PERCENT, as well as Yuehua's latest Chinese boy group, NEXT, as the group's leader and main vocalist. Following the release of his digital single, "Empty Space", just over three weeks ago (May 7, 2020), I've decided to revisit his 2019 release, "Chapter Z"― his most successful album to date.
On the 23rd of September, 2019, he released his first solo album "Chapter Z", containing a total of three tracks ―which is short even by Yuehua standards― with "Flip" serving as the lead single. The album went on to sell over 1.9 million copies and became the third best selling digital single/EP of 2019 on the Chinese music platform, Netease. Following Yuehua's allowing of NEXT members to branch out into solo careers, Zhu Zengting sporadically released singles throughout 2019 prior to the release of "Chapter Z", thriving as a soloist. Becoming a successful soloist and variety star, and with his newest film "Vanguard" set to come out sometime in 2020, he may possibly find a career in acting as well.
If you're looking for a C-Pop idol that is ideal for diving into the Chinese idol scene, Zhu Zhengting is your perfect choice. Whether it be through NEXT or his solo work, you can trust him to deliver top quality content that will almost always be enjoyable and leave the listener wanting more!
'Flip'
"Flip" is the lead single from "Chapter Z" and is a soft-sounding R&B track. It plays to all of Zhengting's strengths both as a singer and a dancer and will have you hooked upon the first listen. The song was produced by Cha Cha Malone of AOMG fame and is a slower song that talks about being unable to let go of someone, despite the poor relationship that the two have. "Flip" starts out slow and sensual, but it layers on more instrumentals to the song, so that by the first chorus the song is in full swing and it leaves you hoping that it never ends. One of the aspects that I enjoyed the most about "Flip" is the way that the instrumentals were consistently layered during the chorus, only to be removed during the verses. This allowed the singer to fully display his vocals and not be drowned out by the music, which would have been the case had the heavy instrumentals not been removed. The bridge is simple but does its job, connecting the two parts of the song together in a tight and concise way that does not take away from the song, but improves on it, as it keeps the instrumentals and the tone of the song simple and clear. "Flip" proves Zhu Zhengting's vocal prowess and cements his status as lead vocal material while at the same time, it acts as the perfect song to begin an already perfect solo album with.
9/10
'Be Well'
Read the lyrics here
"Be Well" is a stunning emotional ballad where Zhu Zhengting expresses his thoughts and longing for his lost love― how he misses them from afar and wishes that they are well. The instrumentals of the song are largely made of and dominated by the piano, which is the sole instrument for about two-thirds of the song. We begin with his voice just above a whisper as he expresses "What else is needed to say / I think I can still learn to be / Without you" as the piano plays lightly in the background. As his voice increases in volume, so does the piano, going from a very light sprinkling in the opening of the song to a full and layered piece once the song builds up to a crescendo within the chorus. "Be Well" is obviously a song that was composed with the intention of showcasing Zhu Zhengting's stunning vocals to the fullest capacity with only two instruments of accompaniment throughout the entire song: the piano and the strings, the latter of which only begins at around 2 minutes and 20 seconds (2:20) into the song. This technique works to the absolute greatest degree as we are able to experience his absolutely stunning vocals in a way we just are not able to on the majority of NEXT group discography. While the song did not initially capture me, as I do not especially like ballads, I found that upon repeated listening the song was destined to be one of my all-time favourite emotional ballads. Sure, it isn't at the level of Liang Bo's "Nánhái" or the "Three Lives Three Worlds" OP, but it stands out as a stunning piece of art that will forever be on my list of favourite ballads.
10/10
'旁观者'
Read the lyrics here
"旁观者" is probably one of my favourite songs on the album. It's a fun, retro-sounding track that is the perfect song for a sunny spring day and it is guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face! The opening beats to "旁观者" give you a feeling that the song is going to be completely different than the previous songs that were showcased on the rest of "Chapter Z". "旁观者" is probably the most un-Zhengting sounding song― at least based on his previous solo releases. The only song that "旁观者" could even be compared to on the artist's solo discography is "The Winter Light", due to their shared retro sound and repetitive instrumentals, and even that is a stretch. One of my favourite aspects within "旁观者" is the use of consistently looping instrumentals, which, when layered with Zhengting's calm and soothing voice, presents a laid-back mood that will have anyone replaying it for hours on end. My only critique for this song is the poor choice of English, which is a minor grievance that can be forgiven due to the fact that the artist is not an English speaker (and it's likely that the songwriter isn't either). "旁观者" is probably the most replay-friendly song on "Chapter Z" and will likely stay on my personal heavy rotations for many more months to come.
9.5/10
In conclusion, "Chapter Z" is the perfect album for Zhu Zhengting to further establish himself as a solo artist. With zero skippable tracks, it stands out as one of my favourite Chinese releases from 2019. Both the production and the vocal quality project themselves as some of the greatest aspects of this release, and I hope to hear more great music from him again in 2020.
__________________________________________________
Artistic Creativity: 8/10
Vocal Quality: 10/10
Music: 9.5/10
9.2/10
__________________________________________________
PROOFREAD BY: @lex.
GRAPHICS BY: @Aerith
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