D.O. (full name Do Kyungsoo), the main vocalist of iconic boy group EXO has made his solo debut with the album Empathy, catching the attention of loyal K-Pop listeners and casual listeners.
D.O., who is renowned for being one of the few multitalented K-Pop idols – unrivaled in singing, dancing and acting – has enchanted listeners with a melodious sound; the eight tracks on Empathy belong to different genres, moving from acoustic to R&B. To put it simply, the album is acoustic pop and each song is an easy listening, which it doesn’t mean it’s not executed to perfection.
Among the tracks, the single “Rose” is an acoustic folk song with an impressive light guitar rhythm, featuring lyrics written by D.O. himself. In the song, D.O. shares the essence of love in the purest and most beautiful way.
The title track has also an English rendition that stirs away from the cringy Korean to English translations. But the cherry on top is the track “Si Fueras Mía”, in Spanish. D.O. is not strange to singing in Spanish – D.O. and EXO members Suho, Baekhyun and Chanyeol, have performed the Spanish classic “Sabor a Mí”, written by Álvaro Carrillo. On the album, the track comes as a bonus track “Si Fueras Mía” is a rendition of the album cut “It’s Love”. When taking over other genres, like R&B on “I’m Gonna Love You”, D.O. teams up with “Show Me The Money 9” contestant and “MSG Wannabe” rapper Wonstein, and the result is sublime.
Empathy is an excellent album and we’re not surprised that it’s a no-skip.
The album has been well received from fans in South Korea and worldwide. D.O. dominated the daily and real-time charts in South Korea with “Empathy”. It topped Hanteo Chart, Synnara Record, and Hottracks. “Empathy” also topped the Digital Album Sales Charts of China’s largest music platform QQ Music.
Worldwide, the album soared to No. 1 on iTunes Top Album Charts in over 60 countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Japan and many others.
At the moment of writing, the music video for “Rose” has already amassed 10 million views on YouTube.
I really like this rose song of d.o