What a pity for Chi Pu.

With "EXs," Chi Pu showed her ambition to create an album diverse in terms of material and imagery. However, the project still revealed the limitations that have plagued her for many years and failed to create the appeal that was expected.

Chi Pu is a relatively interesting case in Vpop over the past decade. She doesn't possess an outstanding singing voice, and has even received considerable criticism since venturing into singing; nor has she clearly demonstrated songwriting ability or a special sensitivity to music as a creator. Nevertheless, her perseverance over the years, and her increasing refinement on her chosen path, has helped her become one of the notable names in Vietnamese music.

Four years after deciding to cancel her debut album due to a wave of criticism, Chi Pu officially returns with a proper studio production. This time, unlike the period when she faced harsh reactions, she has had a long enough journey to accumulate experience and somewhat prove herself as a performing artist.

The new album, EXs , continues to showcase Chi Pu's consistent approach to showbiz: always striving to invest as much as possible, from production quality to visual concept. However, the impact of the product has yet to meet expectations. Meanwhile, the artist herself still faces the limitations that have plagued her throughout her career.

Diverse and well-invested mixing techniques.

With themes revolving around ex-lovers, the hurt and pride of a girl after a breakup, EXs demonstrates an effort to build a diverse emotional landscape. Across 9 tracks, the album spans various musical styles, from vibrant dance-pop and pulsating, trendy house beats to emotionally rich ballads. This richness is also reflected in the production team, with each producer contributing their own unique style.

Pixel Neko, a producer whose strength lies in upbeat pop tracks with a touch of hip-hop, performs quite well in energetic pop songs. "Confession" is a prime example: a cleverly arranged dance-pop track that emphasizes house drums. Despite not using too many unusual sounds, the song remains engaging thanks to its varied rhythms and cleverly arranged layers of sound.

EXs was produced by 5 producers: 2pillz, Pixel Neko, Nguyen Phuc Thien, LNK, and DUCNN.

Meanwhile, with "Angel" and "Manipulation ," Pixel Neko incorporates indie pop sounds that are characteristic of his style. "Manipulation" provides more space for the producer to showcase his abilities, with short melodies and plenty of open space. In a single where the songwriting isn't particularly outstanding, Pixel Neko tries to keep listeners engaged by changing the sound structure, constantly shifting and enriching the musical space of the song. However, this is still not enough to compensate for the lack of impact in the melody and lyrics.

Appearing in two different tracks, 2pillz showcases two quite different looks. In "What Do You Want to Listen To Tonight?" , the producer returns to his Afro-R&B style, which has been a recurring theme in his recent works. Building upon this foundation, the arrangement is developed with a soft bassline and strategically placed syncopated rhythms to create a sense of freedom and sensuality, while overall remaining within 2pillz's familiar aesthetic.

In contrast, with the lead single MIRROR , the opening verse still subtly hints at the familiar spatial sounds of 2pillz. However, as the song progresses, it delves deeper into the dance-pop realm. 2pillz doesn't try to cram in too many ideas to show off, but instead chooses to repeat a familiar drum motif, thereby gradually increasing the tension in the arrangement. The song also opens up a much darker space, with a thick, dark, and heavy bass.

Two ballad-style songs in the album, " Forget About Me" and "55," were assigned to LNK – one of the names behind Hoang Dung's album "Turning Around ." Leaving aside the fact that singing ballads remains a tough challenge for Chi Pu, LNK delivered two fairly decent arrangements, not outstanding but showing a polished and clean finish. Furthermore, both songs still managed to stand out with well-placed layers of electronic sounds.

Unfortunately, the least impressive aspect of the arrangement comes from veteran producer Nguyen Phuc Thien. His approach in "Lonely Paradise" is relatively basic, using overly familiar sounds that fail to create any real interest.

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Limited vocal ability and lack of media appeal.

Chi Pu's vocals have always been a topic of discussion whenever she releases a new product. Since the beginning of her singing career, she has often been criticized for having weak breath control, a thin voice, and a tendency to sing off-key. However, over the years, Chi Pu's team has always known how to tailor her voice to her needs, from choosing songs with a manageable vocal range to prioritizing rhythmic dance-pop tracks, thus easing the pressure on her voice.

Chi Pu has made efforts to improve her singing voice, but it's not yet perfect.

Over the years, Chi Pu's efforts and progress are commendable. However, with an album spanning multiple genres, requiring the artist to showcase her abilities across various musical styles, this challenge still seems somewhat overwhelming for the female singer.

In rhythmic pop songs that don't require complex vocal techniques, such as "Mirror" or "Confession ," Chi Pu demonstrates a certain suitability with her delicate vocal timbre. Her voice blends seamlessly into the overall arrangement like an instrument against a vibrant, dense bass backdrop. Chi Pu's enunciation in the short hooks also creates a clean, sophisticated feel.

However, moving on to "Angel ," a pop song with a more complex structure requiring constant shifts in vocal technique, Chi Pu began to show signs of fatigue. Right from the transition between pop and contemporary folk styles in the first half, her performance felt rather rough. In the spoken parts, her delivery remained stiff and lacked emotion.

When venturing into the ballad genre with "Forget About Me" or " 55 ," Chi Pu's vocals are controlled to a listenable level, not truly emotional but less revealing of weaknesses. However, when placed within the not-so-special arrangements and compositions, the overall quality of the two songs only reaches a level of acceptable listening.

In terms of songwriting, most of the songs in the album were written by Vu Phung Tien. However, the overall quality of the compositions is not very consistent. Some songs are easy to listen to (e.g., " What Do You Want to Listen To Tonight? "), but others are completely unconvincing. Even within the same song, there is a mix of good parts and unremarkable sections (e.g., "Angel ").

The album's biggest weakness lies in its lyrics, which are somewhat pretentious and lacking in subtlety. Some lines feel bombastic, empty, and even a bit bombastic, such as in the track "Angel ": "I am unique/ I am blessed/ I am not a mocking dogma/ My pride is boundless."

Believe It or Not is perhaps the most fitting song for Chi Pu. The song doesn't put her through overly demanding technical or emotional challenges, but operates on a clean pop structure, with the emphasis placed on a catchy hook that has a certain appeal. Amber Liu's appearance in the vocals is also quite well-placed.

EXs ' achievements haven't been particularly outstanding.

Clearly, Chi Pu's investment in this album is undeniable, especially in the production and visuals. However, in recent days, EXs ' performance has been rather modest, failing to create a significant buzz on music streaming platforms and social media. The album's quality itself isn't particularly outstanding when compared to other recently released Vpop products.

In fact, there are quite a few artists who don't have strong vocal abilities but still create quality studio music projects, such as Hoang Thuy Linh or AMEE (MONGMEE), thanks to their ability to exploit their musical personality and choose suitable material. Unfortunately, with EXs , Chi Pu hasn't quite achieved that yet.

Source: https://znews.vn/tiec-cho-chi-pu-post1663130.html