We are back with a new R&B Gem, and this time we are sharing the career of a singer with an incredible talent that more people should know. Today we are talking about G.Soul (a.k.a. Golden).
Beginnings
Born in 1988, Kim Ji-hyun is a singer-songwriter who had his beginning as a trainee under JYP Entertainment. G.Soul is known to be the longest trainee in JYP’s history, having trained for a total of fifteen years.
Before his official debut, he had already released OST’s for the dramas ‘Full House’ in 2005, and ‘Syndrome’ in 2006.
He officially debuted in 2015 with the mini-album ‘Coming Home’ and wrote the lyrics and co-composed all the songs included in this release. Below you can watch the music video for the title track ‘You’.
His debut EP was followed by the single album ‘Love Me Again’ and the EP ‘Dirty’ in the same year. In his second mini-album, G.Soul experiments with the house music genre, the songs are a bit of an unexpected fusion that works well with his soulful voice.
Below you can check the live performance for ‘Love Me Again’ and the music video for the single ‘Crazy For You’.
The end of an era
In 2016, he released a remake cover of the well-known single ‘Smooth Operator’ by Sade.
This single was followed by the single album ‘Far, Far away’, which included the tracks ‘Far, far way’ and ‘Where Do We Go From Here’.
After this release, G.Soul parted ways with JYP Entertainment and signed under H1GHR MUSIC. In 2017, he released the singles ‘Tequila’ featuring Hoody and ‘Bad Habit’.
During the same year he released his first mini-album under his new label. ‘Circles’ is the name of this EP, and included the two previously released singles.
Before enlisting to do his military service, G.Soul released the single album ‘I’ll Be There’, which included the title track with the same name and the song ‘No Answer’.
Starting anew
After finishing his military service in 2019, Ji-hyun changed his stage name to Golden. Under this new alias, he released the mini-album ‘Hate Everything’, this album was almost entirely in English, and included the well-known song ‘Hate Everything’.
From this EP, the song ‘Get Up’ stood out the most to me, the gospel and the lyrics are incredible, this song is full of hope with a beautiful message. Part of the lyrics go as:
“(…) When you’re sick and tired
Of being sick and tired
When you done cried
Your last tear yesterday
No more sittin’ around at home
In your own misery
You just gotta go and pick
Yourself up off the ground(…)”
Lyrics by: Genius
Golden participated and won ‘The Voice of Korea’ in 2020, he had as a coach the well-known singer BoA.
‘Another Sad Love Song’ was his next release, in this single album he included the English and Korean version of this song and the bonus track ‘Let Me Know’.
In 2021, Golden decided not to renew his contract with H1GHR MUSIC, and changed his stage name back to G.Soul.
His latest releases are the single ‘Can Love Be Fair’ and the OST ‘Stay: tempus’ for the drama ‘SiSYPHUS: THE MYTH’.
Features
G.Soul is well-known for his incredible voice, his features are insanely good. Below is a list of our favourite ones.
Oscar – pH-1, Golden, BIG Naughty, Jay Park
This song was part of H1GHR MUSIC’s ‘Blue Tape’, and it is wholesome and super good. Make sure to also check out his solo single in this compilation album ‘Selfish’.
Nora – Namolla Family, G.Soul
This sound is all about reggae vibes, and his vocals are just perfect for this style.
15 – pH-1
This song is one of my favourites by pH-1 and G.Soul’s voice made it even more emotional.
Better – WOOGIE
This song is a masterpiece. Nothing else needs to be said.
ANTI – ZICO
This track is a full vibe on its own. Top quality.
FIRE WATER – CODE KUNST, Tablo
His falsettos are amazing in this song, and the full vibe and grooviness of this track is spectacular.
End of The World – EPIK HIGH
EPIK HIGH’s music and G.Soul’s voice together equals incredible music. That’s it.
LUFU – OZI
Lo-fi vibes and G.Soul together is a mix that can’t go wrong.
Soulful music
G.Soul is an incredible singer and artist that deserves so much more attention that he gets. His music is a journey full of stories and melodies that can move people’s feelings.
There is a lengthy list of music he has released, head over to his Spotify profile for a musical journey you won’t regret.
To discover gems and amazing covers go to his Soundcloud, he hasn’t uploaded in 4 years, but the songs in that account deserve to be listened to.
Check his Instagram for updates and cute pics, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more incredible music.
