There’s a new group in town, LAPOEM is a ballad group with some killer pipes. They released their first album ‘SCENE#1’. The four member group became famous through their participation on ‘Phantom Singer’. I think this group falls squarely into the ‘pop opera’ category, so let’s dive in because I’m curious!
SCENE#1
We start off with ‘Amigos Para Siempre’ which means friends for life. I’m getting major flashbacks to my teenage years where everyone was my BFF. This is a remake of the 1989 song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Gloria Estefan. This feels like Christmas with their majestic vocals.
Next up is ‘Crescent’, from what I can tell, this is an original written by Gaho, MAVI and String. This is next level with their vocals. The harmonies man. I feel like I should pay just to listen to this.
After that we get the title track ‘Dazzling Night’. God, the difference between the high notes and the low notes gave me actual chills. The big crescendo at the end is just *chef’s kiss*.
‘Early Rain’ is the remake of the 1966 classic by Patti Kim, I’ll link it here if you want to listen to it. It’s absolutely insane to hear an opera version of the track in a new modern coat in regards to instrumentation. It still feels iconic but also very refreshing and so smooth at the same time.
‘Fantasy’ is another remake originally by the band Earth, Wind & Fire. The violin is played by Danny Koo who is a Korean-American violinist. It’s an excellent adaptation.
Next up is ‘La Tempesta’. It’s a beautiful, dramatic song that had me listen to it a couple of times in a row. The scope of this feels enormous. It feels like something you would sing on top of a mountain or at the edge of a cliff. The drama.
The last track is ‘Dear My Dear’. This is a very soft lullaby and is the perfect closure for an album like this.
There is a special track on the physical album. The ‘O Holy Night’ rendition by LAPOEM is only available when you buy the CD. I’m sure it’s brilliant.
I couldn’t find ‘SCENE#1’ by LAPOEM on Spotify, however, you can listen to it here on Youtube Music.
