Piano Man Arranges Yeseul Baek's Remake of Nemo's 2007 Ballad "Harsh Words.. This Cruel Love"

Singer-producer Piano Man arranged singer Yeseul Baek's remake of Nemo's "Harsh Words.. This Cruel Love," which comes out on the 18th at 6 p.m. It is a new version arriving 19 years after the original's release.

A calm opening that builds

The song opens calmly rather than pushing emotion hard from the start, and its feeling rises dramatically toward the second half. The track's introductory materials commonly describe this progression. The remake is built around the pain and yearning of parting that the original carried, with a new arrangement and vocal added. Baek's emotionally compelling, plaintive tone conveys the original's sorrow and lingering resonance, and the materials say her voice and delicate touch reinterpret the song. Rather than reproducing the original as it was, the remake keeps its character and adds Baek's own expression. It is aimed at listeners who remember the original and at those hearing it for the first time.

From Nemo's 2007 release to 2026

Nemo released the original in November 2007. According to the new song's introductory materials, it was loved by music fans at the time for its distinctive depth of feeling. The remake arrives in 2026, 19 years after the original. Baek took over the original's title and its breakup theme and reinterpreted the same song with her own voice and sensibility. The materials say she added her own color without losing the original's faint sorrow. For listeners who heard the original in the 2000s, it is a song they meet again; for newcomers, it is a ballad introduced in Baek's voice.

Piano Man's arrangement

Piano Man, a singer and producer, is described as having worked on "Go Away, Don't Leave: A Heart Beyond Time" and "If It's a Year." For this song he wrote an arrangement meant to blend with Baek's vocal. The materials say his rich arrangement raised the song's polish and immersiveness, and that sophisticated sound and a full arrangement reshaped the original. At the center is the heartbreak of Nemo's original, with Baek's delicate vocal and Piano Man's arrangement layered on top. Keeping the original's sorrow and shaping the new version's emotional arc are presented as elements of the work together.

In sum, Baek expresses the original's breakup mood and the rise from a calm opening to the second half with her own vocal, while Piano Man built the new version's sound through the arrangement.

Release details

The remake is released at 6 p.m. on the 18th on various online music sites, where listeners can hear it. Announcements list the title as "Harsh Words.. This Cruel Love."

Read the original (Korean)