Jang Yoon-Jeong Vol. 5 (장윤정 5집) (2010)

Jang Yoon-Jeong’s fifth album kept with the general trend from her fourth album; it’s a combination of trot, pop and club dance all in one. The lead single “Come On” is a breezy, summery pop song, while second single “Invocation” is a trot ballad. The dance tracks “Fire Butterfly,” Stockings,” and “Casanova” are all standard fare, while “Uh-oh” is a particularly fun trot number. The hookiest track might be the pure pop song “Common Sense.” This album also includes a duet with legendary trot singer Nam Jin on “I Like You.” The sequencing has the four “serious” songs sandwiched in the middle, with a solid layer of upbeat songs at both the beginning and end, leaving the listener with a generally happy feeling.

Image Source: Bugs! Music

Jang Yoon-Jeong Vol. 4 (Jang Yoon-Jeong Twist) (장윤정 4집) (2008)

The modern-day Queen of Trot’s fourth album actually strays a bit from the genre in her appellation. There’s very little trot on this album, in favor of a wide variety of styles. The title song, “Jang Yoon-Jeong Twist” shows Jang paying homage to the 1960’s dance craze, and the club tracks “Sudden Grinding” and “Tiptoe Tiptoe” have very little in common with Korea’s traditional foxtrot music. There are upbeat pop songs in “Try to Catch Me” and “I Need a Man,” slow ballads in “I Am Anxious,” “Once Again,” and “The Life of a Woman,” (that last title not a rendition of the Lee Mi-Ja classic), and even a Korean-language cover of “One Night Only” from Dreamgirls. Like most of Jang’s albums, it’s all over the map stylistically, but the material is strong and her vocals tie it together cohesively.

Cover art via ManiaDB

Jang Yoon-Jeong Vol. 2 (장윤정 2집) (2005)

The 21^st Century’s Queen of Trot, Jang Yoon-Jeong followed up on the success of her first album with this fine effort. On the trot side, there are hits such as “Flower,” “Jjan-jja-ra,” and the later-to-be-remade “Bean Pods.” On the non-trot side there’s the pop ballad “Letter,” a duet with the late Chae Dong-Ha (채동하) of SG Wannabe, the dance tracks “Hey Lover” and “Frost,” and the rap-rock chant “Take Heart.” Jang’s vocal talent is considerable enough to carry these songs, whatever the genre, and it makes for a good all-around album. Trot may not be most youngsters’ cup of tea, but this album proves it can successfully be fused with modern pop sensibilities.

Image via ManiaDB