HyunA & DAWN are a South Korean duo under the label P Nation, owned by famous South Korean singer- PSY (Gangnam Style). The two debuted as a duo on September 9, 2021, with their EP 1+1=1 with the title track being “PING PONG”, described as being inspired by Latin pop. 1+1=1 was both written and produced by HyunA and Dawn and was distributed by Kakao Entertainment.
The first song on the tracklist is a hip-hop and R&B song: “Deep Dive”, which was written by DAWN. In a press conference, HyunA once explained that, “I think that this album has the concept of fairy tales. This song gives the feeling of diving into fairy tales. We decided to put this song as the first track to the album because we thought it’s the song that best expresses the color of this album.” which, in my opinion, explains the song perfectly. “Deep Dive” is a pretty cool and chill song that took a little while for my enjoyment, but it became tolerable for me. Although DAWN wrote the song about being apart from HyunA, it isn’t exactly my favorite.
As the second song on the EP, “PING PONG” is the bold, crazy title track of the album. “PING PONG ” was accompanied by an equally crazy music video, showing off bold and unique outfits worn by both HyunA and Dawn with their backup dancers. The song peaked at 10 on the charts of,” US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard)”, along with reaching 105th place on the Gaon digital chart. “PING PONG ” is a very loud song, there is a lot of noise and things going on, but I think that is what a song of that style needs. In the instrumental, it was said that they were supposed to be recreating the sound of a “ping-pong ball hitting a table. When I first listened to it, it took me a while to like “PING PONG” but after a couple of plays, it became pretty addicting. For me, “PING PONG ” is only a 2nd place song for this album.
The third track is called “XOXO” which is a groovy and funky song, totally has a retro vibe compared to the title track. The lyrics are very repetitive, talking about being apart once again- just like “Deep Dive”. Even with pretty repetitive lyrics, the melody and “XOXO” itself is extremely catchy and just makes me want to dance. “XOXO” also reminds me of their Trouble Maker days, a prior group they were in under a different entertainment label, with the fun instrumentals. This song really takes the cake for me, and it is in first place in the 1+1=1 EP.
The fourth and final song is “I Know”, which has a rhythmic tonal woodwind sound. “I Know” is a very addicting and hypnotic song, and the instrumentals make it even more. The chorus is the best part of the song, it brings out their vocals more than any song on 1+1=1. It is probably one of the most experimental songs for HyunA and DAWN, which could have been hit or miss, but it is definitely a hit. Instead of a song about being in love, “I Know”, is a song about falling out of love which is a nice twist for the album. “I Know” is most definitely my favorite and the best song on their album.
HyunA & DAWN made one of the best albums of September, 2021. It was a great debut album for the two. It’s truly a masterpiece.