Kpop: BTOB

BTOB or Born to Beat is a new seven member boy band that debuted in March 2012. The group was developed by Cube Entertainment and is comprised of Seo Eunkwang, Lee Min Hyuk, Lee Changsub, Lim Hyansik, Shin Dong-guen, Jung Ilhoon, and Yook Sungjae. Eunkwang is the lead vocalist.

Their debut song was a dance number titled Insane. This was followed by the beautiful soulful ballad, Imagine.

But BTOB has changed direction somewhat with their latest album.

BTOB released their second mini album, Press Play on September 12, 2012. The title refers to the action of pressing the play button on a cassette tape deck. Tracks on this album include Press Play, WOW, I Don't Know Anything But Love, U & I, Stand Up, and My Girl. The music video their track titled, Lover Boy (previously titled I Don't Know Anything But Love) was released in October. This song has some elements of new jack swing, which is a fusion of hip hop, rap, and rhythm and blues and which was popular in Korea (and elsewhere) in the 90's. Considering that several members of BTOB are rappers this really isn't a surprising development in their style.  Press Play is somewhat retro, harking back to the boy band sound of the 1990's but incorporating their own unique style. The album cover is great, visually appealing and retro.

The first video is the ballad Imagine.



Enjoy WOW from their mini-album Press Play: