Debuting in 2010, JUNO is fresh talent from South Korea, who has recently made his debut in Japan. Twin brother to Xiah Junsu from DBSK/TVXQ and JYJ, JUNO follows a similar path of popularity after debuting in Japan with his first single, Fate. The track, Fate, has ranked 5th on the Oricon Charts (but as low as 9th) and has been used as the theme song for an AneCan.TV CM.
The title track, Fate, opens with a bang, and grows to a very catchy beat. Rocky, edgy guitar riffs added on top of this make for an unusual composition. The repeated lines “never gonna, never get out, get down!” throughout the song add some predictability, but since the guitar is paired with an RnB beat, the experience still feels exciting.
B-side Cry takes a slightly gentler tone than Fate, with soft piano chords in the beginning and a low-key beat before the chorus. The vocals seem a bit louder than the back track, but otherwise Cry is not bad. The height of the song comes at the chorus, but dies down at each verse.
The third track, Nothing to Lose, is sung in Chinese and seems to be gapless from Cry: the two tracks seems like they are one, whole track. But JUNO's singing is toned down, and the rapping sections stand out a little more.
Overall, Fate is a great start to JUNO’s Japanese debut and with soaring results so far, he should be able to deliver more hits in the near future.
The official MVs for Fate and Nothing to Lose can be seen below:
