ZEROBASEONE RELEASES FOURTH EP “CINEMA PARADISE” | COMEBACK CORNER
BY BRENESSA ROACH | AUGUST 26, 2024
On August 26th, 2024, South Korean pop boy group and fifth-generation rising stars, ZEROBASEONE (ZB1), have released their fourth EP titled CINEMA PARADISE. The group broke the K-pop record for most pre-orders with their debut and sold over a million albums for each version of their last three EPs. Three months ago they released their third EP You had Me at HELLO and now are back with CINEMA PARADISE.
ZEROBASEONE (often abbreviated as ZB1), is a South Korean boy group managed by WAKEONE under CJ ENM, South Korea’s leading entertainment company . The group was created by Mnet’s survival program BOYS PLANET which began airing in February 2023. The final winning nine members of ZEROBASEONE are; Sung Han Bin, Kim Ji Woong, Zhang Hao, Seok Matthew, Kim Tae Rae, Ricky, Kim Gyu Vin, Park Gun Wook and Han Yu Jin. The group made their official debut on July 10th, 2023, with their debut EP YOUTH IN THE SHADE. ZEROBASEONE symbolizes the “glorious beginning” of the members born from zero to one and their commitment to share every step of their journey with their fans, ZEROSE.
CINEMA PARADISE is sonically beautiful as it ranges from electronic synth-pop, Afropop, Hip-Hop and PluggnB. Inspired by different movie genres, the EP explores the themes of destiny and the different sides of love, both recurring themes found in their debut album YOUTH IN THE SHADE.
“We are thrilled to come back with our fourth mini-album after marking our first debut anniversary. It makes us feel new and motivates us to keep working hard to show the better version of ZEROBASEONE and our growth as well,” – SUNG HAN BIN, member of ZEROBASEONE. (Source: Helix Publicity).
The EP consists of seven tracks; “GOOD SO BAD” – the title track, “KILL THE ROMEO”, “바다 (The Sea)” (a remake of the popular song released in 1997 by Korean group UP), “Insomnia”, “Road Movie”, “Eternity” and “YURA YURA (Korean Ver.),” a Korean version of their successful Japanese debut song.
After the CINEMA PARADISE promotions, the group is set to embark on their first world tour, “2024 ZEROBASEONE THE FIRST TOUR [TIMELESS WORLD,” which will start on September 20th in Seoul, South Korea, followed by shows in Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Macau, and Japan.
“GOOD SO BAD” is a catchy, up-beat electronic synth-pop title track song with an accompanying music video. The song was managed by K-pop producer KENZIE, who is known for writing hits for other groups such as; Girl’s Generation, EXO and NCT. The song depicts the bittersweet feeling of being so in love it hurts. This is such a perfect Summer song and we love the bass synth effect in the production.
“KILL THE ROMEO” is another up-beat song, but has more of a hip-hop with Afrobeats infused type of beat. It has a very dark feel to it, especially at the chorus.
“바다 (The Sea)” is a youthful, fun, dance summer song. As previously mentioned, it’s a remake of the 1997 song by the Korean group UP. We love ZEROBASEONE’s remake of this song.
“Insomnia” is another song that has an electronic-synth pop feel to it. The production tempo is a bit more up-beat. The chorus is so catchy and has a early 2000s feel to it with the retro game sounds and instruments.
“Road Movie” is a hip-hop song, but the intro and chorus is very ballad like with the orchestral strings. This song is definitely one where you bop your head to. It is appealing to the ears because of the mix of the genres and the mix of the rapping and singing.
“Eternity” is a slower song on the EP and has a more heartfelt feel to it. It’s a sweet song that we could imagine in a coming-of-age movie. The song has a youthful feel to it, while still having a mature feel to it to. The chorus is so beautiful and Sung Han Bin and Kim Tae Rae have such beautiful vocals that mesh well together. This song also has a nostalgic feel to it, making it ur favourite song on the EP.
“YURA YURA” is the Korean version of ZEROBASEONE’s Japanese debut song. It’s an upbeat, dance pop song and it’s the perfect Summer song. We love the fast pace build between the pre-chorus and chorus.
Overall, we love the CINEMA PARADISE EP. It’s definitely a no-skip EP and we love the cinematic and beautiful feel to it. We are so excited to continue following ZEROBASEONE’s journey and hopefully we can see them at a Toronto show in the future.
Special thanks to Helix Publicity for providing us with a press release and WAKEONE for the photographs.
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