While he might be best known as PENTAGON‘s shortest member (and one of the shortest male idols in K-Pop), one thing the eldest member Jinho is not short in is vocal talent. The former SM Entertainment trainee first debuted in 2010 as a part of the company’s project group SM The Ballad alongside Super Junior‘s Kyuhyun, SHINee‘s Jonghyun, and TraxX‘s Jay. Jinho parted ways with the company in 2015 and roughly a year later debuted with PENTAGON’s current group as one of their main vocalists.
In 2017, Jinho started a personal project titled “MAGAZINE HO.” In this project, he releases vocal covers of a variety of genres in various languages at the end of each month. He has sometimes collaborated with other artists in his covers, including labelmates Sorn from CLC and Soyeon from (G)I-DLE as well as groupmates Hui, Hongseok, Shinwon, Yeo One, and Kino.
Jinho enlisted for his mandatory two-year military service on May 11, 2020. We’ll certainly miss his monthly releases, but until then, here are ten of his best covers to comfort you until his return.
1. “The Way I Am” by Charlie Puth
Released in 2018, Jinho’s rendition of this Charlie Puth single is more than just a vocal cover. Charlie Puth wrote the song to tell a story about his rise to fame and all the anxieties and insecurities that came with it. They’re feelings that Jinho might have experienced, which could have lead to this cover. The appearance of up to twelve Jinhos harmonizing and jamming to the beat at the same time, though, is unique only to him.
2. “Falling” by Harry Styles
One of Jinho’s more recent releases is his cover of former One Direction member Harry Styles‘ 2019 pop ballad “Falling.” It’s a song about feeling like you’re falling back to a dark place, that you’re someone even you don’t want to be around. Jinho’s voice powerfully conveys these heartwrenching emotions in a scaled-down performance that really hits home.
3. “Natural” by Imagine Dragons
This cover of the alternative rock band Imagine Dragon‘s “Natural” shows just how versatile Jinho’s voice his. In interviews, he has always mentioned that he hopes PENTEGON’s next concept would be rock-themed, but that hasn’t happened (yet). However, “MAGAZINE HO” provides us plenty of opportunities to see and hear Jinho explore that genre, one that just so happens to fit his voice perfectly. The song’s intense sound is matched only by Jinho’s powerful and expressive voice, creating a vocal masterpiece that will leave you begging for that rock concept he so longs for.
4. “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi
As with “Natural,” Jinho lends his voice’s edgier sound to this Lewis Capaldi hit ballad and creates a cover all his own. Compared to covers of this song, Jinho’s version doesn’t contain the same kind or amount of fancy vocal runs or high notes that are often associated with ballads. Even though it may seem like his cover would sound “simple” by comparison and “simple” to perform, it is anything but that. Jinho still shows precise voice control and phrasing that is absolutely on point, just going to show that he doesn’t need anything exceptionally flashy to show how talented he is.
5. “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
Jinho takes on this Academy and Grammy Award-winning song from the 2018 film A Star is Born and turns the duet into his own spectacular solo performance. Initially performed by musician Lady Gaga and actor Bradley Cooper, Jinho takes on this song about moving past the “shallow” parts of love into a stage that makes one feel as if they’re falling “off the deep end” further into that love. After watching Jinho’s moving cover, we can say we’re off the deep end for him too.
6. “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen
“Bohemian Rhapsody” by the infamous British rock band Queen is regularly voted by fans and music critics alike as the best song ever written. The song was voted the “Song of the Millenium” in 2000 and was even recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the #1 song of all-time. Jinho takes on this epic six-minute song, along with several other clones of himself, in an excellent performance, especially considering how iconic, critically-acclaimed, and well-loved the song is. Fans have asked Jinho to cover this song for so long, and when he finally did, he did not disappoint.
7. “Finesse (Remix) Feat. Cardi B” by Bruno Mars
This cover stands out from the rest because not only do we get to hear Jinho’s beautifully singing, but we also get to see his great moves. In his cover of Bruno Mars‘s single “Finesse (Remix) Feat. Cardi B,” Jinho energetically dances across one of CUBE Entertainment‘s practice rooms while performing this upbeat song, and shows off some serious swag that Bruno Mars would love.
8. “Wildflower” by Park Hyo Shin
Balladeer Park Hyo Shin, known for being one of K-Pop’s “4 Vocal Kings,” released the ballad “Wildflower” in 2014 as a tribute to his deceased close friend. Many vocalists talk about wanting to cover this song, but few ever do, likely because it’s one of K-Pop’s most difficult songs to sing. However, Jinho covers the song with near perfection, retaining the song’s emotion while also adding his style, and absolutely nails the song’s iconic note.
9. “With You” by Chris Brown
Jinho has collaborated with several other artists in his covers, but none are as adorable as this duet with fellow member Kino. The two sing in tandem to Chris Brown‘s 2007 hit song “With You,” even performing small bits of choreography too. Their voices play well off of each other, and Jinho absolutely shines with his ab libs. It’s a song and video that proves that Jinho (and Kino) is most definitely boyfriend material.
10. “A Passionate Goodbye” by TOY
This 2007 hit by one-man project band TOY, which consists solely of Yoo Hee Yeol (the host of Yoo Hee Yeol’s Sketchbook), signifies Jinho’s goodbye before his departure to the army. It’s a surprisingly upbeat song given its title but is full of moving lyrics nonetheless. It’s the song’s last few lines that really tug at our heartstrings and are especially passion-filled as Jinho sings “because I believe we can meet again, let’s say a passionate goodbye [until then].” And his cover is just that—a passionate goodbye said through a song because Jinho will meet us all again.
Thank you, Jinho, for always sharing your talent and smiles with us. We miss you and hope you are well, and can’t wait to hear more of your beautiful voice and see that radiant smile after your safe return!
Source: Koreaboo
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