#★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀ i have always been the storm ⠀— ⠀ ... ⠀ belladonna

[museforblooms]

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀TROUBLE IN SHANGRI-LA is the fictional second mini—album released by the idol band BELLADONNA on August 1, 2024 by Superbloom Media. The album was accompanied by two title tracks: HOME and PHOENIX. While Trouble In Shangri-la sold well, it was carried by domestic netizens with a sizeable margin between them and the international fans. In total, Belladonna sold 300,000 units by the end of their first week, which was a 66% increase in total sales, showing just how popular they were becoming. Despite issues with their international fans, Belladonna were everywhere in South Korea during their promotional period and they were given the nickname THE NATION'S ROCK PRINCESSES by the media. In particular, lead singer KWAK YULLI and BAE HAENA became two of their newest darlings.

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀Trouble in Shangri-la is named after the same song from the album, which discusses themes of love, betrayal, loss, and redemption. However, Shangri-la would not be chosen as a title track, not even performed at their comeback stage, for unknown reasons. According to BAE HAENA, Shangri-la serves as a metaphor for an ideal state of mind that has been disrupted by conflict, which can be seen throughout all seven songs on the album. The album has two versions: UTOPIA and DYSTOPIA, with the second selling a considerable amount more than Utopia. DALLAS LINWOOD would serve as the executive producer of the album and would feature OLIVER SONG in a guest role on PHOENIX, though the girls would take more charge in the production side and write all their songs.

TRACKLIST — playlist.

‘ # 001.⠀ ⠀ROTTEN ──── written by bae haena, produced by dallas linwood, and performed by kim wonhui. rotten explores themes of rejection, frustration, and a sense of being undermined in a relationship. according to haena, the repetition of "worm in the apple" emphasizes their perception of themselves as being seen as flawed within the relationship, as if they are unwanted within the sweetness of the relationship. there is a continued sense of self-doubt within the song and the narrator is completely burdened by their own flaws, with the apple representing their identity and being stuck by something small. wonhui was chosen to sing the intro due to her deep, yet hypnotic tone that served as the perfect introduction to the album.

‘ # 002.⠀ ⠀TITLE TRACK. HOME ──── written, produced, and performed by kwak yulli. home is an exploration of longing, identity, and the search for a place or state of security. she reflects on the idea of "home" as not just a physical space, but as a deeper emotional and psychological state. she wanted to capture the nuances of feeling out of place and the desire to want to return to a state of comfort. home captures the theme of loss as well with many not understanding why it was chosen as the title track until yulli went into depth about it on their comeback live. home was well received by fans and earned their multiple music show wins.

‘ # 003.⠀ ⠀SHANGRI-LA ──── written by all the members, produced by dallas linwood and bae haena, performed by kwak yulli. as mentioned above, this song features on themes of love, loss and redemption. it's a vivid picture of emotional turmoil and the search for inner peace amidst chaos, the members reflect on young love that was once vibrant but was tainted by heartache by the end. though their love interest was once unique and someone that they cared about, they acknowledge the pain and shame endured within the relationship. it delves into the complexities of love and forgiveness as well, conveying a sense of resilience as they grapple with the broken promises and struggles with their past.

‘ # 004.⠀ ⠀UNLOVED ──── written by bae haena and kim eulsun, produced by dallas linwood, and performed by bae haena. this track explores themes of unrequited love and the longing for genuine affection as the singer yearns for a morning where the sun shines brighter than angel wings. they have a strong hope for a second chance at love despite all that has happened in the past, which is shown in the chorus through the concept of misplaced love and betrayal. they are pleading to "turn back to love" as they call on everyone to rethink their understanding of love.

‘ # 005.⠀ ⠀PHOENIX ──── written by kwak yulli, produced by oliver song, and performed by kwak yulli. just like the name suggests, this song focuses on messages of resilience and rebirth—that their pain will lead to growth and renewal, just like it does for the legendary phoenix. it's an anthem of hope and strength, completely different from the rest of the songs on the album and yulli stated that it was like a "dream board" for belladonna. she wants the members to look at these shared memories they have together and hold onto their deep connection forged through not only superband, but the two albums that they have released together. she reminds them that they are stronger than they think and even in the darkest times, the potential for rebirth exists.

‘ # 006.⠀ ⠀CONFUSION ──── written by kim eulsun, produced by bae haena, and performed by kwak yulli. confusion explores themes of self-doubt and the struggles with personal failures, reflecting on the singers own perceived shortcomings and the emotional impacts of not measuring to soceity's standards. eulsun revealed in a livestream that confusion is autobiographically and started as a journal entry right after she moved in with her grandparents. she also said it was very "plastic flowers" inspired, which did not go over well on twitter.

‘ # 007.⠀ ⠀WANDER ──── written by kim wonhui and bae haena, produced by dallas linwood, and performed by bae haena. just like the rest of her members, wonhui struggles with her self-worth and the concept that life is a series of trails and errors. she's always been outspoken about her need for perfection despite much of her life being a "beta test" of personal development. she is constantly testing and refining herself even when it gets hard. though the track was primarily written by wonhui, haena was given a songwriting credit for fixing and improving the lyrics at wonhui's urging. in the end, she calls for fans for embrace their imperfections and view them as a larger part of the journey rather than a setback, which was her resolution for the new year.