SEVENTEEN’s compilation album is out now and features four new tracks! I will be sharing my thoughts about SEVENTEEN’s new songs once all of the corresponding music videos have been released. Subscribe to 17 Carat K-Pop to not miss the episode about them! Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify here! Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts here! Subscribe wherever else you get your podcasts here! Until then, revisit my ultimate deep dive into SEVENTEEN’s discography through my ongoing essay series! “The Artistry of SEVENTEEN”: A big-picture takeaway I have gotten from watching all of SEVENTEEN’s music videos and listening to all of their songs. “What SEVENTEEN’s Music is Saying”: My argument that SEVENTEEN’s work both celebrates and critiques the limitations of language. “SEVENTEEN, Autism, and Me”: A personal reflection on why I think SEVENTEEN’s work has resonated so deeply with me as an autistic, introverted person. “SEVENTEEN and The Truman Show”: The meta commentary SEVENTEEN’s storytelling involves and the ways The Truman Show’s influence on their work is obvious in hindsight. “Dissecting SEVENTEEN’s Song and Album Titles”: The deeper meaning behind the group’s grammar and spelling choices. “A Lyrical Exploration of SEVENTEEN’s Storytelling”: A look at the recurring themes in SEVENTEEN’s song lyrics and the reasons for those trends. “A Guide to SEVENTEEN’s Choreography”: How specific moments in SEVENTEEN’s dance routines emphasize their music’s messages. “A Guide to SEVENTEEN’s Music Video Settings and Key Props”: The significance of specific details in SEVENTEEN’s music videos. “The Changing Lenses in SEVENTEEN’s Music Videos”: How lighting and camerawork are artfully used by SEVENTEEN to bring home their videos’ messages. Album reviews: Attacca, Face the Sun, SECTOR 17, and FML. Lastly, my “Be the Sun” World Tour Review! View the Substack version of this piece here!
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A summary of updates on the dispute between ADOR and parent company HYBE. View the Substack version of this piece here On April 25, 2024, ADOR founder and CEO Min Hee-jin held an emergency press conference with her lawyers, during which they responded to HYBE’s latest claims about her management of the subsidiary. Here are the main takeaways from the conference:
MIYA talks about starting her solo career, being inspired by VIXX, and her love of cats! MIYAさんに改めて自己紹介をしてもらいましょう! MIYAがソロ活動のスタート、VIXXからの影響、そして猫への愛について語る! Photo courtesy of MASTER LIGHTS Please introduce yourself and describe your new single, “MIYAO”!
自己紹介とニューシングル「MIYAO」について教えてください! Hi, this is MIYA. “MIYAO” is a song that expresses myself and was made with a production crew with whom I have a close relationship. This is a meaningful song [with] a unique rhythm that incorporates electronic hip-hop elements and a heavy bass sound, and the lyrics are filled with [my] identity and determination. ミヤです!MIYAOは自分自身を表現したような内容になっていて、制作陣もミヤと関わり深い人達で作られたのでバックグラウンドも含め意味のある一曲になっています。重みのあるベースサウンドにエレクトロニックヒップホップ的要素を取り入れた独特なリズムや、歌詞も MIYA としてのアイデンティティと覚悟が詰まった内容になっている。 What would people be surprised to learn about “MIYAO” or the making of its music video? 「MIYAO」やそのミュージックビデオのメイキングについて知ったら驚くであろう事実は何ですか? I can’t think of anything right now, but personally, I was a little bit worried, because I [had] to do [a lot] by myself, but it went more smoothly than I thought it would. MUNIのみなさんを驚かせるようなエピソードは思いつかないのですが、個人的には今回全ての場所(レコーディング、MV撮影)で初めて1人でやると言うことで不安もあったのですが、思ってたよりスムーズに進行していったのがある意味ビックリしました。 An explainer about the current dispute between ADOR and parent company HYBE. View the Substack version of this piece here! First of all, what is ADOR?
ADOR is the company that brought mega-successful girl group NewJeans into the world back in 2022. ADOR’s CEO is Min Hee-jin, who famously worked for SM Entertainment before founding ADOR. What is an audit? An audit is an inspection by an external party of a company’s financial records. The goal is not necessarily to find evidence of wrongdoing; it’s just an evaluation of the credibility of a company’s financial statements. Why did HYBE request an audit of ADOR? HYBE is literally invested in the financial status (and related public image) of ADOR! HYBE owns 80% of ADOR’s shares. Additionally, HYBE claims there is reason to be suspicious of how ADOR has represented itself to the public. A ranking and review of the best new releases from K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, and P-pop artists! View the Substack version of this piece here! #20: SUPER★DRAGON, New Rise
This short but intoxicatingly sweet EP is like one long, shape-shifting EDM banger! Raps, singing, and instruments all share a relentlessly high energy level. Each song further flexes title-track potential with the perfect finishing touches: a tambourine shake here, some flute notes there… instrumental add-ons are generously, albeit unnecessarily, used, rising to the challenge of sustaining such high momentum. New Rise presents a key side of SUPER★DRAGON’s musical image in three inventive, eccentric formats. #19: UVERworld, Eye’s Sentry Filled with twists and turns that defy genre labels, Eye’s Sentry is emblematic of UVERworld’s unique sound. Fast drumming and a saxophone make for unlikely but delightful partners in the title track, and the saxophone returns with new counterparts in “High Light!” The stomp-along-ready EP’s climax blends EDM and rock influences and lasts the perfect length; “High Light!” ends after enough sonic exploration to feel worthwhile but before the loop-de-loops can get too dizzying! Listeners ought to feel similar satisfaction when listening to “uber cozy universe,” which quickly goes from subdued to anything but. Eye’s Sentry is a chameleonic musical blitz that does not overextend its welcome. #18: UNIS, WE UNIS In a surprising detour from the cryptic debut teaser videos, UNIS’s “SUPERWOMAN” video exists in an adorable, uber-pink realm! The fake-out previews indicate that despite opting for a tried-and-true K-pop girl group concept, this group has many tricks up their sleeves! In other words, “SUPERWOMAN” avoids seeming like a generic K-pop debut release thanks to the element of surprise, and switching things up remains the name of the game throughout WE UNIS. The mini-album includes an empowering Afrobeats single (“SUPERWOMAN”), a second confident anthem (“Whatchu Need”), songs with cute lyrics that use butterfly and rainbow analogies (“Butterfly’s Dream” and “Dopamine(UNIS Ver.)”), and a ballad about lingering doubts and fears (“Dream of girls(UNIS Ver.)”). Softness, sweetness, and strength coexist and allow UNIS to uniquely shine. Ingyeong Choi describes how and why she makes music that often comes from her diary entries and always comes from emotional openness. 최인경은 종종 자신의 일기에서 비롯되고 항상 감정적인 개방성에서 나오는 음악을 만드는 방법과 이유를 설명합니다. Photo credit: Instagram For those who have not heard your music before, how would you describe it to them? How would you finish the sentence “Ingyeong Choi is ___” or “Ingyeong Choi’s music is ___”?
이전에 당신의 음악을 들어본 적이 없는 사람들을 위해, 당신의 음악을 어떻게 설명하시겠습니까? “최인경은 ___입니다.” 또는 “최인경의 음악은 ___입니다.”라는 문장을 어떻게 끝내시겠어요? This is one of the topics I always worry about and find difficult. It's always difficult to summarize my abstract music into simple, clear words! My diary is where I get the most inspiration when I write songs, so I think it would be fun to describe my music as “a story that has been hidden until now.” Aren’t you curious what the story is about? Come listen! 제가 늘 고민하고 어려워하는 주제 중 하나인 것 같아요. 추상적으로 풀어낸 저의 음악을 간단명료한 단어로 정리하는 게 늘 어렵다고 할까요! 제가 곡을 쓸 때 가장 많은 영감을 얻을 수 있는 게 저의 일기장이에요. 그래서 저는 제 음악을 “최인경의 음악은, 이제껏 숨겨왔던 이야기입니다“라고 해봐도 재미있을 것 같아요. 어떤 이야기인지 궁금해지지 않나요? 들으러 오세요! When and how did you first dream of becoming a musician? Did any specific person or experience inspire your love of music? 언제, 어떻게 처음 뮤지션의 꿈을 꾸게 되었나요? 특정 사람이나 경험이 음악에 대한 사랑에 영감을 주었나요? The idea of becoming a musician [has been] a vague dream I [have] had since I was very young. As a child, [I] loved the music played on the CD player in [my] dad's truck and often sang along. I think I first tried writing a song as a joke when I was in the first year of middle school. I don’t remember the melody, though! I have naturally loved music for a very long time. 뮤지션이 되고 싶다는 생각은 아주 어렸을 때부터 어렴풋이 갖고 있던 꿈이었어요. 어린 시절 아빠의 트럭을 타면 cd 플레이어에서 나오는 음악들을 너무나 좋아했고 자주 따라 불렀어요. 중학교 1 학년 때 장난삼아 처음 곡을 써봤던 것 같아요. 무슨 멜로디였는지는 기억 안 나지만요! 저는 아마 아주 옛날부터 자연스럽게 저절로 음악을 사랑해왔던 것 같아요. Please describe your newest single, “helpless.” 최신 싱글 'helpless'에 대해 설명해 주세요. The song is about [falling in] unrequited love with someone. How great would it be if a person’s mind could go [the way we want it]? I also [have tried having] a few unrequited loves, even though I knew [they] wouldn't work. Love is infinitely beautiful when we are facing each other, but it seems to be infinitely painful when the directions are misaligned. I tried to put only the painful aspects of that love into the song. ‘왜 사랑은’이라는 곡은 누군가를 덜컥 마음에 품어버린 짝사랑에 대한 곡이에요. 사람 마음이라는 게 내가 마음먹은 대로 되면 얼마나 좋을까요? 저도 안될 줄 알면서도 해보았던 짝사랑이 몇 번 있었어요. 사랑은 서로 마주 보고 있을 때는 한없이 아름답지만, 방향이 어긋나있을 땐 한없이 아픈 감정인 것 같아요. 그런 사랑의 아픈 면모만을 곡에 담아보았어요. Yangsun shares her experiences writing an OST, participating in a songwriting camp, getting noticed by BTS’s V, and much more! 양선은 OST 작곡, 작곡 캠프 참여, 방탄소년단 뷔의 주목을 받는 등 자신의 경험을 공유합니다! Photo courtesy of Yangsun For those who have not heard your music before, how would you describe it to them? How would you finish the sentence “Yangsun is ___” or “Yangsun’s music is ___”?
이전에 당신의 음악을 들어본 적이 없는 사람들에게 당신의 음악을 어떻게 설명하시겠습니까? “양순이는 ___입니다”, “양순이의 음악은 ___입니다”라는 문장을 어떻게 끝내시겠어요? “Yangsun's music is made by my taste.” 양선의 음악은 나의 취향이 만든다. Who or what first inspired you to become a musician? 당신이 음악가가 되도록 처음 영감을 준 사람은 누구입니까? I don't remember who inspired me to start music, but [it might have been] S.E.S. [I have] practiced and recorded songs since I was eight or nine years old, [and] I always wanted to be a singer. I definitely remember why I wanted to write songs and what inspired me: I wanted to tell my story somewhere. Even now, the most important thing for me is writing [songs like a] diary. 처음 음악을 시작하게 영감을 준 건 누군지 기억이 나지 않지만 나는 8살 9살부터 노래를 연습하 고 녹음해보곤 했다. 아마 나의 첫 아이돌 S.E.S.가 아닐까 싶다. 나는 늘 가수가 되고 싶었다. 왜 곡을 쓰고 싶었는지 무엇이 영감이 되었는지는 확실히 기억이 난다. 그건 나 자신이었고 어딘가에 든 내 이야기를 하고 싶었다. 일기처럼 곡을 썼다. 지금도 가장 중요한 것은 일기쓰기이다. The one-of-a-kind artist answers questions about where her passion for music comes from and what to expect from her next release! Photo credit: Instagram Your sound is difficult to summarize in just a few words, but how would you describe it if you had to in a brief way?
Jazz-influenced indie J-pop. Can you describe some key points in the evolution of your music interests? My grandma bought my family a piano when I was four, and I started taking lessons. Around the age of eleven, I was inspired to switch to guitar because of a scene in the movie Back to the Future. In high school, I was introduced to jazz [music], and in college I got more into jazz and wrote my first song with Japanese lyrics. What was your experience like moving to New York, and has the New York music scene changed your sound in any way? Moving to the city was a hard transition at first, especially since I had just graduated college and was trying to figure out what to do. But I became really comfortable after the first year and love New York so much. I am influenced a lot by my friends and bandmates in the city, [including] Noah Leong, Claudius Agrippa, Noam Tanzer, Ransom McCafferty, and John Roseboro. Unpacking the profound life lessons in a classic novella, TXT’s discography, and the points where they collide. View the Substack version of this piece here! The Little Prince, a classic novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, begins with the narrator lamenting how adults reacted to his childhood dream of becoming an artist. They saw his drawings and not only mistook them for things that they were not but rebuked him for thinking he could make a career out of his work. Disheartened, the narrator gave up art and became a pilot. The rest of the book covers the narrator’s recollections of the days after he crashed his plane on an island and befriended the other person there, who is referred to as the little prince. While the narrator tells his story to the readers, the little prince recalls his adventures to the narrator of traveling to different planets. Through his storytelling, the prince transforms and expands the narrator’s worldview in downright magical ways, reconnecting him with his inner child. TXT’s musical storytelling has a comparable impact, and while the group’s most overt nods to The Little Prince appear in their new era, minisode 3: TOMORROW, many of their previous eras share The Little Prince’s most important lessons, similarities that are clearer in hindsight.
Seeing and Believing One of the first memories the narrator recounts is the little prince asking for a drawing of a sheep and repeatedly asking for a new version that looks closer to what he has in mind. Growing more frustrated and impatient with every draft, the narrator eventually gives up. He draws a box and tells the prince to picture the sheep residing inside it. The boy reacts giddily, saying that’s exactly how he envisioned the ideal sheep picture! The last time the narrator tried perfecting an image through redrafts, he was a child, and adults saw his work’s unconventionality as a lack of quality. “Drawing Number One” was the narrator’s attempt to draw a boa constrictor digesting an elephant, but all the grown-ups saw was a hat. This became his test of character: The one-of-a-kind group talks about their name, animated alter egos, pre-debut nerves, and goal of having a “perfect” performance. Photo credit: X / Twitter Please introduce yourselves and share a fun fact about yourself and/or a special skill you bring to the group!
YEONJUNG: Hello! I have a very unique voice [and] dreamed of becoming a dancer. So I'm interested in dance and choreography creation. JIANA: I'm JIANA, the lead vocalist of YOUNG POSSE. I love to sing Ariana Grande's songs. SUNHYE: Hello, I'm all-rounder leader SUNHYE. I'm into writing lyrics and [working with] MIDI these days. JIEUN: I'm the youngest in this group. As I wrote in the lyrics of "ROTY," I made my debut suddenly, but I'm calmer and [more] passionate than anyone. DOEUN: I'm DOEUN, and I'm [like the] giraffe [in] YOUNG POSSE. I love cooking delicious dishes for my members! For those who have not heard your music before, how would you describe it to them? How would you finish the sentence “YOUNG POSSE is __”? “YOUNG POSSE is young and playful at heart,” but on the stage we [have] charisma! Your band name has been described as meaning “youth with a purpose.” What does that expression mean to you? When we work together, things that we can't do individually become possible. “POSSE” means “anything is possible” [“to be able”] in Latin, so it's a word that we like to dream about all the time. |
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