BTS - Epiphany
When I first watched "Epiphany," I was disappointed. I KNOW! I can’t believe I said that either. As somebody who was anticipating #Jintro and whose bias is Jin (what even is a bias in a group of biaswreckers?) I think I was secretly hoping to see the eldest BTS member finally show us his best dance moves. Watching it in a conference room at my job may not have been the best setting either, but usually that doesn’t affect me. However, after re-watching with English captions, my opinion has CHANGED. I can’t expect Jin to be somebody he is not, just like I cannot pretend to be somebody I am not as well.
Within the BTS universe, the story line, involving parallel universes and time travel, already contains three years worth of information, with Jin as the centerpiece. His role in this story is to endlessly attempt to create the best worlds for those he loves. In the "Epiphany” MV, the viewers gained more insight into his role, while also seeing the story pushed forward. We get a glimpse at the sheer monotony of his routine, always returning in defeat to this sparse room after another failed attempt. As each BTS member enters a various timeline and lives out another version of their lives, they are blissfully unaware of the countless other times they have done this. For Jin, their unknown and unseen savior who remembers each of his failures...it is torture.
With the lines “I wanted to live my life for you, but as I keep doing that, I just can’t bear the storm inside my heart,” we get to the heart of Jin’s epiphany. He sings “I finally realized so I love me. Not so perfect but so beautiful.” You can’t love anyone until you learn to love yourself. While some might see the choice to focus on oneself as selfish, the decision to live entirely for another person is wholly destructive. Jin has finally accepted that as he sings, “I’m the one I should love in this world.”
“Epiphany” will be the introduction track for BTS’s upcoming LOVE YOURSELF 結 Answer album, set to be released on August 24th. The final installment of the Love Yourself series, I, personally, am very excited to see how the group wraps up the era.
- Shannon
Leo - Touch & Sketch
This was one of those songs that I was not expecting at all. Leo, of boy group VIXX, is known for being a soft, quiet member, with a beautiful voice well suited to ballads and an aptitude for musical theater. In 2015, he had made a sub-unit debut with Ravi, in VIXX LR, however his EP, Canvas, marks Leo’s debut as a solo artist. In the title track, “Touch & Sketch,” Leo explores a sensuality that we’ve only seen glimpses of in his other works.
In Canvas, Leo is credited as song writer for all seven songs on the album, and had a hand in producing five of the tracks. “Touch & Sketch” represents a delightfully different side of Leo. The words of the song paired with the music video are entrancing, using the acts of ‘touching’ and ‘sketching’ to describe the embrace of a lover. Laid over a slow thrumming bass, the song builds to a funky pop chorus, only to recede back to a softer synth and bass instrumental.
The music video is full of drifting flower petals, paint splashing on the floor, and abstract settings within a decadent mansion. Leo, obviously, is the center of attention. The MV jumps from scenes of him sitting in front of a canvas, dancing with backup dancers, standing in a billiards room wearing the paisley suit we saw from the teasers, and laying on a bed draped in white. A beautiful female actor joins him in some scenes, thus activating my inner fangirl (pardon my squealing). As the MV closes, we discover the painting he was working on this whole time was a portrait of himself. Perhaps this song was an ode to self-love all along...
Overall, Leo brings a whole lot of sexy confidence to the table with this debut track and I’m loving every minute of it.
- Kerry
iKON - Killing Me
iKON returned with New Kids: Continue, their new EP starring title track “Killing Me.” Following their last record-breaking mega hit, “Love Scenario,” the septet continues their break-up theme with a less than bittersweet tone. “Killing Me” is moody and tortuous, with lyrics about not being able to move on after the end of a relationship. Unlike “Love Scenario” where they laugh off the break-up as a sweet ending, “Killing Me” questions why it happened, and why the loneliness is so haunting. The lyrics full of angst and pain are slowly built up alongside soft beats, until suddenly it bursts into a contrasting chaotic upbeat. The choreography is slick with a mix of background visual noise and soft movements with hard-hitting transitions. The New Kids: Continue EP showcases iKON’s diversity, one of their biggest strengths. The mini album contains five very different tracks from various genres, from punk rock to power ballad. Check out their recent promotions for both “Killing Me” and “Freedom."
- Julie
LOONA - favOriTe
After nearly two years of pre-debut activity, LOONA finally reveals their final form with their debut track, “favOriTe”. Well, kind of. “favOriTe” is technically just a pre-release track, but it does a great job of teasing what may be to come when we finally get their long-awaited debut album.
Self-declaring that this is the first time at their “maximum potential,” the 12-member group shows off their confidence and charisma in a burst of energetic percussion and brass beats. What I love most about the music video is how the group isn’t limited by strict choreographic sharpness. This song and music video actually remind me a lot of EXO’s “Call Me Baby," which also featured dancing against a purely pop track in an edgy warehouse setting. Except LOONA is bringing even more intensity and a bigger beat. There’s a looseness and unpredictability to their expressions, and I love that a girl group is getting to express the powerful energy that we see a lot in boy groups.
- Julie