Son Dam Bi, although a very new artist, has been causing a storm in Korea and Japan and is testament to the power of the internet on the music scene. Before she even debuted with the Cry Eye single, she was getting publicity over MSN Japan with a documentary following her rise to fame. So when her single finally hit the market, the pressure was on to prove her worth and not to be forgettable and fall into a black hole like so many other artists.
The single is made up of four main songs and an instrumental of the lead song, Cry Eye. Cry Eye is mid-tempo dance song with plenty going on. The song starts with a gentle guitar part before you are thrown into the main song. There are a mixture of influences on the track: the guitar, the synth and the beat all seem to be pulled out of different genres but somehow fit together.
The second song, Girl Like That, shows off Son Dam Bi's husky vocals well and has a more hip hop influence throughout the track with the help of the two male rappers, ED and Songhwayeong. Although the song is similar in style to Cry Eye, it seems more confident in what it is trying to do and is, in some ways, catchier than the lead song.
Honja contrasts the first two song by slowing the single down completely. While the sound is quite pleasant, it is a pretty standard ballad and doesn't offer the listener anything particularly new or ground breaking. The track seems to offer nothing more than dynamics to the single as a whole and doesn't attempt to take the golden opportunity to show off her vocals in a different way.
The single finishes with another uptempo song in the form of Start. This song is completely different from both Cry Eye and Girl Like That. The song is definitely more pop influenced and is even reminiscent of some of BoA's early work, which would suggest that this is the song most aimed at the Japanese market that made her name.
While the single is quite strong, it's hard to tell whether she's producing anything different enough to keep her afloat in the scene. While her potential definitely shows through in parts, it's not necessarily being used to its full effect and in the competitive Korean market this could work against her.
