Ryu Su Jeong: Tiger Eyes 1st Mini Album Review

The drought is real for Lovelinus with Lovelyz' most recent comeback back on May 20th, 2019 with "Beautiful Days". But on the bright side, Lovelyz' second youngest member Ryu Sujeong has made her official debut on Wednesday, May 20th, 2020 with the release of her first mini album Tiger Eyes!

Times are strange so I wasn't sure how I'd get my hands on a copy of the album within a reasonable amount of time. I called LA Kpop shop Music Plaza to inquire, and they said that they should receive Sujeong's album Thursday, May 28th or Friday, May 29th, and then it should be shipped out the week after and delivered by the third week of June. That sounded reasonable enough, so I pre-ordered one copy for about $22 USD shipped. I called Music Plaza again on June 1st, and they said that the album arrived at their store on May 28th. My album then shipped on June 2nd, and arrived on June 9th.

To my pleasant surprise, the album very well packaged in a sturdy cardboard box with one thick layer of bubblewrap, along with two freebies of IU and Taeyeon.

The album comes in a large holographic resealable bag, similar to Rocket Punch's first two mini albums. Unfortunately this means we have to rip it open to get to the contents, and worse, there is a sticker here that can't be preserved.

The sticker continues onto the back side of the packaging as well. There is also a sticker at the bottom with the album details.

I used scissors to cut through the top but still tried to preserve as much as I could. Inside is the photobook, with all additional contents inside the book.

The backside of the photobook has the tracklist and album credits.

While the exterior bag is quite large, the actual photobook is the same size as Ji Yeon's first mini album, roughly 6.75" by just under 9".

The front cover of the photobook has a glossy sheen while the border, spine, and back cover have a matte finish. The quality is really nice because they're not prone to fingerprints.

The photobook contains 80 gorgeous pages spanning over five different photoshoots. The first photoshoot is from the album cover. This is one of the two full two-page spreads included in the photobook.

The second photoshoot is of Sujeong in a strapless two-piece dress. I love the eerie yet magical feel the photos give, especially this one!

I am absolutely in love with this photoshoot. Sujeong pulls off this look so well, and I love how she shows different sides to her in these shots!

The fourth photoshoot is with this outfit.

The final photoshoot is my favorite - Sujeong looks like a rockstar in this outfit!

Sujeong really pulls off this style so well.

She is just absolutely so gorgeous, everything about this look is perfect.

This is my favorite page! Not only am I in love with this outfit, but the layout just makes it so interesting.

It's really simple, but I love how they mix up the layout throughout the photobook.

Each page has at most two photos.

Each track gets one page with the lyrics and song credits printed, and these pages are spread throughout the photobook.

Towards the end is Sujeong's thanks to note.

At the end are the album credits.

Slipped within the first few pages was the photocard.

And further into the photobook was the sticker.

Each album comes with one random photocard out of three. I'm really happy to have gotten this one, because it's one of my favorite outfits from the music video and no photos with this outfit were included in the photobook. Also each album comes with a matte sticker, the same one I had to ruin while opening the album!

Here are the backs of the photocard and sticker. The photocard has a glossy finish.

At the very back were the postcards.

Each album comes with the same set of four matte postcards. The postcards are about 4.75" by just under 6.75".

The quality of these are really nice, and even the design on the back are all different.

The very back cover has an extra flap to house the CD.

Here is how it looks like flipping the flap over once.

Here is how the disc looks.

This mini album contains 7 tracks. I by no means understand music but here are my thoughts on each track:

1. Be Cautious - The intro track leading up to the title track. 
2. Tiger Eyes - This title track along with the album concept show a new side of Sujeong! Here she seems so fierce and subtly powerful and just exudes this confidence. She mentioned how unsure she was of this concept but she definitely rocked it! And for a Lovelyz member to have non-natural colored hair as well (besides red which is close to being natural anyways), such a change!
3. CALL BACK - This track, along with the intro+title, are probably the most diverse in this mini album. It's not my style but I'm glad that Sujeong can express such diverse styles of music.
4. 너의 이름 (Your Name) - The remaining four tracks on this album have a similar feel, all are Sujeong really sharing her calming and soothing voice. These are definitely my style^^
5. 42= - This is just such a pretty song; I really like the style along with Sujeong's calming voice here.
6. 나,니 (NA, NI) - This just feels like a feel-good song, a great pick-me-up!
7. 자장가 (zz) - Also known as "Lullaby" on Superstar Woollim, the lyrics and composition were created by Sujeong herself! I'm so happy she was able to share her own work on this album. Her soothing voice matches this relaxing song so much and fits so well with the English title, and it really rounds out the overall tracklist really nicely.

Overall, I'm happy to see that Lovelyz is established to the point of debuting member solos (I'm talking full-blown solos with physical albums and full promotions), though it is amazing that the members have showcased their vocal talents since before debut through previously released digital singles). I feel so proud seeing Sujeong really owning the stage and doing so well, and I can't wait to see future promotions for her and the rest of Lovelyz!