Song Review:: Kim Jaejoong (TVXQ!/JYJ/JK): Beauty in Chaos- ROCK STAR

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  • Release date: 2025 May 19

  • Album tracklist: In Chaos, ROCK STAR, Miracle, Last VoW, Goal In, 

  • Album runtime: 17 minutes

 There's another song of his that I need to do, but for now, I'll be satisfied with this one. I've decided that I really like his voice, having gone back through his discography a little, and given what he said on his show with Changsub, this album in particular will likely be right up my wheelhouse: namely, rock. Also evidenced by the name, but it is what it is. Okay. So. On to the second gen legend.

What's funny about this is I know it's going to be classified as rock. Jaejoong, again, said as much during their discussion of their mutual love of rock music. I wouldn't necessarily disagree with that. I would like to add that this is tapping into some country instincts that are very well-developed in me, so much so that I'm having to actively remember that this song is going to be labeled rock. If there isn't an acoustic guitar in the instrumentals, I'm going to be really surprised.

So in a fascinating turn of events, T'Challa (my cat) also seems to really like this song. He curled up next to my phone while I was playing this and went to sleep. I have to admit, he seems to have good taste, because Jaejoong is, simply put, a legend. The man wouldn't have survived the SM battle if he wasn't. The maturity in his voice, the settled range, the comfortable control. At no point in this song does he drop the tension and control in his voice, regardless of whether he's in the middle of a belt or if it's the soft start of a verse. Delightfully, he also owns the sound of this genre like he's never sung anything else. And I'm delighted by the occasional grate to his voice, which is something that's just delightful to hear.

If this isn't commentary on the price of fame, I don't know what is, and if anyone can talk about the sasaengs, it's this guy (seriously, his have been brutal, but I don't know if he was the one who was poisoned or not). Anyway, we've got transforming into something he's not in a dichotomy with the peaceful plants scenes. The costuming is well done. I love the aesthetic if the whole thing with the slightly staticky look to it. This is basically all emotions all the time here in this MV, and we get a rain scene, because those are never symbolic. Read: sarcastic. It's not super heavy on the storyline, but it is heavy on the symbolism. It's a poor substitute, though I'll admit that there's enough going on with everything else, which means it's going to be easier for me to be chill about it.



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