‘The Cloud Dream Of The Nine’, by Uhm Jung-hwa. Photo: Mystic Entertainment
Uhm Jung-hwa
The Cloud Dream Of The Nine
Mystic Entertainment
In a scene saturated by increasingly younger K-pop idol singers, what are the prospects like for a seasoned popstar? Not that bright, to be honest.
It’s an observation propelled by an entertainment industry where decade-old girl group members in their late twenties are called “ahjummas” (a Korean term for old woman) and a teenager succeeds a thirty-something actress as the face of a cosmetics brand.
Thus, Uhm Jung-hwa’s decision to make a comeback with her tenth studio album must have taken courage.
The Cloud Dream Of The Nine comes almost a quarter of a century since the 48-year-old’s debut in 1993.
Divided into two parts, the first half of the record was released in 2016 with an opening track featuring the late Jonghyun of SHINee.
Now, the triple-threat singer-actress-designer is taking another stab at the music charts with the full release of her record.
Uhm admitted on a variety show recently that it is hard for her to compete in the digital age of music.
“The problem is, because of the age of my fans, they don’t know how to download singles on streaming sites,” she joked.
Sonically, The Cloud Dream Of The Nine isn’t trying to catch up with today’s music trends. On the contrary, the sexy K-pop queen from the 1990s dials up the retro factor, delivering numbers with a pleasantly dated soundscape.
The hypnotic synths of Ending Credit glides comfortably with Uhm’s breathy vocals. Meanwhile, So What and Dreamer are quintessentially classic dance offerings – all spacey and shimmery disco.
Elsewhere, the Jecheon native enlists the help of 1990s contemporaries such Lee Hyori (of Fin.K.L) and Jung Ryeo-won (of Chakra) for a taste of legendary girl group members.
Instead of a walk down memory lane, think of The Cloud Dream Of The Nine as an education in the roots of K-pop.
