[ENTERTAINMENT]Well, g.o.d Bless Us All: A Boy Band Returns

The boy band g.o.d almost broke up this year when the lead singer Park Joon-hyung became engulfed in a love scandal. But the hottest group on the peninsula is back － with its fourth release.

The last few months have been harsh ones for g.o.d. When Park started missing events because of his relationship, the group's management company announced it was dropping him from the band. But the other members stuck up for him in a news conference, and along with the overwhelming support for Park from their fans, management realized that reinstating Park was the best course.

G.o.d's new album shows signs that the band is growing up, with the members striking decidedly more serious poses in the album art. The first single off the album is titled "The Road." Written by the group's main producer, songwriter and founder, Park Jin-young, the song discusses the trials of the past and the group's aims for the future.

Park Joon-hyung describes their special relationship with their founder: "Our relationship with Park is different from the usual one between singers and producers. We talk a lot; in fact, half the time that we spend recording, we are talking. Our title track is the result of a lot of time and anguish between him and us."

Kim Tae-woo agrees, adding, "What are we? Where should we go? How should we live? The title song is about our journey toward these questions. But I believe these questions are not just for us. We wanted to describe the questions faced by anyone who listens to our music － young fans, old fans, just about anybody."

On their new album, all the members of the group helped to write the lyrics, and Danny An helped compose the music for one song, "Again." The track is sung by Yun Gae-sang, and its sweet vocal sound could be a future hit single.

Their new album takes after the style of music of a young singer named Craig David. David is known for his R&B music that features clear, strong melodies. The producer Park is known to be a big fan of David, so it is no surprise that various tracks echo the David sound, including "Feel in Me," "Walking Away" and "Seven Days."

With R&B, hip-hop and ballads all blended together, the new release ought to satisfy the band's many fans.

This album does not showcase many guests, but the television actress Kim Jeong-eun does turn up to add narration on one track, "I Have a Guy."

The five members of g.o.d share many qualities in common, probably the factor that holds them together, even in trying times. Despite the difficulties they have been through, g.o.d has developed into a solid favorite in the peninsula's pop community.

Asked if they are worried about what they will do for their next album, Kim Tae-woo talks about the band's approach to their music: "Since the day we started g.o.d, up until now, we have always believed that we must do our very best at every moment. That hard work is the reason for our success."

by Choe Jae-hee