#bts song review

[jiminsass-istant]

Fri(end)s- observations and review

Acting-

As usual, Tae has done a great job at acting. But the actress's acting was just.. meh. Makes me really appreciate IU. And not just that, Tae's acting was fine but they literally had no chemistry. That happens when you don't take time to know your coworker. IU and Tae are great friends and great actors and hence their chemistry works so well. Tae is able to create chemistry with anyone as long as he knows them (as seen with bts members and in his acting works too), even when the other side isn't good at it. But this time, somehow zero chemistry.

Somebody pointed out that there was an 'intimacy director' at the MV set too. Seems like they directed intimacy for all couples except the main one.

Storyline-

From the teasers, I already knew the storyline was going to be fun and interesting. I think it's pretty obvious that the scenes and environment we witness throughout the MV was from Tae's POV.

At first, he perceived that everyone else was happy because they were in love and had partners. In his second life, he was in love (or so he thought) and somehow all his problems in life were non existent. And he stopped noticing other people. So this time we saw the actual state of people around him and no one was actually completely happy, because relationships take work and not all relationships are meant to be. But Tae doesn't know that yet, because he smiles smugly at the camera with the girl by his side.

(somebody teach this girl to act, i swear to god)

And then he dies for a second time, but this time, he is smiling. Because he has realised something finally.

In his 3rd life, he wakes up beside himself (selfcest lol). But basically it means self-love. The moral being that a relationship won't change your fate. And that people who depend on a relationship for all their happiness actually lack self-love.

This time he wakes up with a knowing smile. And you know what, he probably knows he won't die this time because he won't be distracted by any strong emotions of love or despair. He'll focus on himself and he'll notice the speeding car before crossing the road.

Audio-

Honestly, I expected that the song would be 100% english. We already know that Tae is heavily inspired by a lot of western artists and loves to sing in English. The song is good and has some new vocal flavours from him. And it does sound inspired from a couple of songs I've heard before. I can't remember which ones, but definitely inspired. I loved the outro and overall the song is pleasing to the ears.

Edit(+) I appreciate Tae for trying a new cadence and tempo. The words are fast paced in this song and for a non-English speaker, he did very well.

Lyrics-

He's not the writer. But he definitely knows what he's singing about. I'm seeing vminnies make endless connections and tbh, i like seeing theories lol. As a lore and as a story, it's interesting.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 02/11/2024 (Lady Gaga, Tyler the Creator's CHROMAKOPIA)

Gigi Perez, with her first ever chart hit, has already landed at #1 as “Sailor Song” finally usurps Sabrina Carpenter’s “Taste” for the top spot on the UK Singles Chart, though mostly thanks to silly UK-specific chart rules that took a dent out of Sabrina’s points than a massive gain for the sailors, though her follow-up release may have given this a boost. Whether it can land more weeks on top before the year devolves into yuletide madness may be the more interesting question, but it’s a busy and intriguing week over all so welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: references to sex, death and anti-religious sentiment

Rundown

As always, we start the episode with our notable dropouts, those being songs exiting from the UK Top 75 – which is what I cover – after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we bid adieu to “Mr. Brightside” which dips below the top 75 alongside “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls, “Careless Whisper” by George Michael, “Bye Bye Bye” by *NSYNC and “I’m Gonna Miss You” by Milli Vanilli – all those old songs have a brief escape before crawling their way back another week, I’m sure. Otherwise, we say farewell to Surf Curse’s “Disco” and the impressively long-lasting “KEHLANI” by Jordan Adetunji, assisted by a remix with the song’s namesake but still having legs on its own that I did not expect for a second on its initial debut.

As for what fills up the gaps, we have a decent list of new songs, but of course, some gains and returns show up too, primarily because of Halloween, and whilst a split Halloweekend so to speak is not doing them any favours, we do see re-entries for songs, all of which I’ve covered before, that have been adopted as the annual spooky anthems, those being the “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers at #71, “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker, Jr. at #68, “Thriller” by Michael Jackson at #51 and perhaps fittingly, for a tracking week that technically included the day itself, “This is Halloween” by Danny Elfman at #41. As for our gains, once again, it’s mostly new songs of note but I will point out that we see boosts for “Noid” by Tyler, the Creator off of the album release midweek to #16, and then Addison Rae getting her first top 10 hit as residue gains from the new song help it reach #10. More on both of those acts will come later.

As for our top five, thanks to ACR – look it up – and some shuffling around, it actually looks quite different. “Somedays” by Sonny Fodera, Jazzy and D.O.D finds itself re-peaking at #5, and then it’s a great week for Gracie Abrams who lands “I Love You, I’m Sorry” and “That’s So True” up to #4 and #3, as ROSÉ and Bruno Mars shimmy up from the debut of “APT.” last week to #2, with Ms. Perez taking the throne of course this week. Now to see where our new stories of the week landed, and we do have a lot to comb through.

New Entries

#57 – “Over Each Other” – Linkin Park

Produced by Mike Shinoda

I’ve said all I need to say about the exhausting, disappointing reunion of Linkin Park which, as far as quality of the released songs thus far, has actually mirrored how up-and-down it could be with Chester. I’ll refrain from now on in discussing the controversy which still feels like it paints the singles in a certain light, but I digress; this is a relationship drama song about a relationship crashing down and the love being lost after so many arguments, struggling to accept that there is nothing there anymore. This does not sound like a Linkin Park song at all – there are some elements you’ll recognise like cinematic, electronic influences, the subtle Shinoda backing vocals that never get a chance to shine, but this softer song, not that LP couldn’t go softer as those were often their best moments, ends up in a painfully unimpactful pop-rock slog that has more in common with what Tom Grennan could have put out than even late-era Linkin Park. The bridge definitely maintains the LP feel with the stuttering, echoed vocals over a milder breakdown, but it never retains much of a personality, and Emily Armstrong herself feels incongruous to the mix by the end, with those vocal melodies retaining a softer edge when she should allow herself to break free of those awful ending moments of a relationship. Instead, it just peters out into near nothingness having never grasped much of a character in the first place. With putting this much focus on, and giving this middling material to, the new lead vocalist, they may have just lost their voice.

#55 – “Fable” – Gigi Perez

Produced by Gigi Perez

Considering that she has the #1 song in the country, the debut for this follow-up and its lack of promotion may strike some as strange, but Perez does not seem like the type to go for the easy hit, and that’s exemplified pretty strongly by the newly-famous indie folk singer’s new track, that rejects a chorus, instead going for biting verses that attack religion. Yes, we’re going there on the second single, with it all framed in the context of her sister having passed in 2020, and that praying simply did not work, it could not fill the tangible void of her loved ones. She criticises bitterly the weaponisation of religion for political purposes, and details her struggle with faith taking a physical impact as she lifts her sister’s urn and is overwhelmed with the guilt of questioning God, when the belief in inevitable destiny – not shared by all denominations of course – has led to her sister passing so young, with clips of the family talking played during the bridge. I love the warbling electric guitar that wells up behind the quieter moments to signify that stress and resentment coming to boil, and whilst the overall delivery is of a slower drawl that can be a bit tedious especially with less than subtlee lyricism, the added depth of the instrumental, adding brass and harmonicas alongside the admittedly flatter acoustics to fill out the mix in a way that is ultimately purposeless: it reflects her opening her eyes further, only for that desperate seeking for her sister to lead Perez right back to begging God for guidance and the promise of eternal life. It’s a devastatingly personal song lyrically that I find difficult to address as a full track, for who am I to tell someone how to grieve? I find it doesn’t hit as effectively as it does because of its performance, but those raw imperfections give it some level of strength. It’s hard to make peace with overall, and I don’t see it being a hit in any sense of the imagination, but it is worth at least a curious listen for the questions it raises and the raw honesty of it all.

#45 – “Aquamarine” – Addison Rae

Produced by Luka Kloser and ELVIRA

So this “Addison Rae” figure is now one of actual mainstream pop importance, at least temporarily, and I suppose I’ll restrain my confusion to who, why, how and when, she has a top 10 hit under her belt now and this new single at least reflects a consistent sound that’s able to morph to fit other genres and structures. You can hear the hazy alt-pop synths from “Diet Pepsi” here, and a limited, breathy multi-tracked vocal as well, but this is now in the context of a subtle deep house groove that can make sense of her sly, half-spoken approach and robotically filtered vocals. The content is more unapologetic seduction, but with that really great low-end bass, particularly on the chorus, she really sounds in control and commanding of the fun being had: despite how twinkly it is, she remains the focus of the song, the point of attention for her partner, through saying very few words at all thanks to fantastic vocal layering. Hell, I might like this song more than I had ever expected given just how strong the groove is and how the sparkling production adds and adds until that final, nonchalant delivery of the line “I’m free”. It may not be the most unique instrumental or vocal approach – she sounds a lot like Ariana Grande mixed with Tove Lo at times, particularly the pre-chorus – but it’s signature, it’s well-executed, it might actually be worth following up on. Huh.

#44 – “I’ll be There” – Jin

Produced by Pdogg, EVAN and GHSTLOOP

Jin has been one of the quieter BTS members when they parted their separate ways, at least in terms of the western music sphere, having not fully gone into trying to sell Billboard pop music as a solo act like some of his contemporaries, or find lanes in hip hop and R&B like the others. The last we heard from him in the UK was 2022’s “The Astronaut”, a song that didn’t make much of an impression on me, and I’m afraid that “I’ll be There” fails to also. A piano rollick with inappropriately Auto-Tuned vocals, it fully delves into a western pop rock sound for an unconditionally lovestruck song perhaps most fitted to a dance scene at the end of a DreamWorks movie, or the intro to the English dub of an anime. This is not inherently bad – in fact, there’s some unbridled joy in this song’s energy, but an energy that feels staggered by its tendency to just chug along regardless, so there are very few shocks to the system to keep it exciting. The attempt at a build in the bridge is unfortunately awkward and whilst I admire the commitment to this kind of song, the vocal mixing is way too inorganic and the song overall falls just as flat as it sounds. It’s completely fine, and could easily grow on me just from being irresistibly chipper, but cute can get you so far and there is barely anything else to this single to pick it out.

#24 – “Darling, I” – Tyler, the Creator featuring Teezo Touchdown

Produced by Tyler, the Creator

I could probably talk for days about CHROMAKOPIA, and that’s by design. Though my initial ideas about the narrative focus happened to not be as correct and prevalent as I had assumed when discussing “Noid”, it is still a present factor in an album that is conceptually messy but the better for it, acting as an incohesive spilling of guts regarding Tyler growing up and seeing everyone around him change, progress their lives in a way that Tyler just can’t see him doing for himself, especially in regards to having a family. He doesn’t adopt as distinct a character or sound for an album that’s all about being open and makes several pleas for not just T himself or those he comments on in his more external verses but the listener themselves to find themselves, find their route in life and where they feel at home, with much disdain for inauthenticity, though he completely understands that insecurities, including those that he experiences, are from where that breeds. With less than a full week of tracking, his mother narrated a relatively inaccessible and off-putting record that still landed at the top of the album charts in the UK, his first ever to do so.

That militaristic aesthetic on the cover art and videos reflective of the album’s soul-searching is also found in its aggressive, chaotic bangers, but makes a bit less sense for its smooth jams, with us getting both sides of the story here, though perhaps through the least lyrically dense examples, primarily since these are, besides the album’s first dud “Rah Tah Tah”, the first few tracks, with “Darling, I” in particular sounding like it could be a radio-friendly jam both within and without the context of the album… Hell, it doesn’t really fit its place in the album too much aside from Tyler’s mother giving stern advice in the beginning and it establishing a relationship from wherein “Hey Jane”, a dense set of bars about abortion and raising a child with an older woman, can exist. The main appeal, of course, of this track in particular is the oozing of vocal layering over sweet-as-sin acoustic guitars and keys that coat how limited Tyler can be as a vocalist with Teezo Touchdown on initially uncredited backing – I honestly prefer him not being credited, thematically, for the album’s personal content. Not that Tyler needs to be sugarcoated, exactly, as even when he’s crassly comparing his polyamorous relationships to cars, it’s with the same comic self-deprecation as the album maintains throughout. His barer vocals are also charmingly reinforcing the imperfection and insecurity that are behind Tyler’s refusal to settle down, and his sole, Ye-esque rap verse ultimately neglects loving relationships for musical success, and not really clarifying how exactly he feels about that fate. You can also hear elements of both Neptunes-esque drums and a direct sample from A Tribe Called Quest leader Q-Tip’s solo single “Vivrant Thing”, which debuted and peaked at just #39 in 2000, and it definitely has the ragged feel percussively that I’d expect from him. What I’m here for on a pure sonic level are the harmonies, the childlike wonder Teezo brings to his bridge beating himself up about how he keeps on falling in love with the girls he hooks up with, but can’t bring himself to commitment. It’s the most sugary a lament could get, and it prefaces “Hey Jane” with a snippet from Tyler’s mother about how transparency is key.

#15 – “St. Chroma” – Tyler, the Creator featuring Daniel Caesar

Produced by Tyler, the Creator

That’s an interesting platitude to hear from an album that starts off so heavily in a braggadocious façade that it replicates military chanting and marching through the “CHROMAKOPIA” mantra, barking and vocals resembling horse neighing filling in the blanks for all the distorted stomping and breathing. Much like “IGOR’S THEME” before it, Tyler introduces the main conceit and character of the album through a cinematic pulse gradually including clearer melodic layers, starting in a whispering register unbefitting for the flex but more revealing about whether that glee is authentic, if he feels he deserves it… and despite that tone, in spite of how introspective and self-questioning the record can be, there is a genuinely intense hunger for taking the reigns and benefitting from what you’ve built up that feels warranted. I love Tyler’s disregard for tradition on the grounds of Pharrell’s advice to “stop impressing the dead”, before Daniel Caesar’s chorus emerges with such a swell to emit a superhuman light, but one from inside. The song’s all about drive – no pun intended, it’s Tyler after all – and acknowledges the potentially lethal end goal of looking yourself in the mirror and thinking about what you could and couldn’t be, in the full-throated second verse, which also outlines that there is a gratitude there, it just sits under all the hubris that’s easier and frankly, a lot more fun, to display in comparison. It’s more of an opening piece than a song that feels all that complete, and it’s far from my favourite – “Like Him” is, and out of the bangers, “Balloon” takes that – but it’s still a damn good song worth singing the praises of. Part of me is surprised that “Sticky” didn’t debut this week, but considering just how unique this album is in the current climate, and how many great tracks there are, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a switcheroo eventually like with many big albums affected by the UK’s three-song rule. If you haven’t heard the album yet, which I can’t imagine you haven’t at this point, I heavily recommend it… and while you’re at it, check out the alarmingly thematically similar Halsey album that critics have taken an unhealthy dislike of thanks to plain ignorance that for whatever reason, isn’t going to be applied by those men in any way to a similarly clunky, heavy and derivative personal effort. Both albums are great because and not in spite of it, but unfortunately, I have to hammer this in here because Halsey made no impact on the chart itself. Realistically, we should look at these albums in very similar approaches that critics really don’t want to do for a couple of obvious, and less so, reasons. Either way, Lady Gaga next, I guess.

#7 – “Disease” – Lady Gaga

Produced by Cirkut, watt and Lady Gaga

If Lady Gaga wasn’t back with her smash hit Bruno Mars duet, and if she wasn’t back when she starred in a blockbuster movie that produced two albums from her, she’s definitely back now with an unequivocal lead single that… doesn’t do much at all. Sure, it’s debuted in the top 10, and it’s got an unapologetically electronic Gaga sound to it, allowing her to belt in the back amidst more suffocating synth bass and glitchy percussion reminiscent of ARTPOP, an album I love pretty dearly. Yet there’s something missing here, and it might be in the lyrics, which hint towards something deeper in the verses but do little than to build up to the chorus where Gaga uses medical terminology to play with how she can make this person forget all about their problems through sex. It's tried and true, and that’s the problem: she’s stuck selling something that’s been written so basically about a familiar and uninspired conceit, with no amount of melodrama really letting that bloom into something actually worth caring for, especially with the abrupt outro undermining whatever catharsis could have been built up. Much like “Stupid Love”, which towed a similar line, this is just all too safe to truly work in the way that Gaga will do with pop songs at her best. The same idea that she can build grand swell for the perverse and private is here, but it’s not ravenous, exciting or even really hinting towards much of a taboo. Instead, and it pains me to say, it goes in one ear and out the other.

Conclusion

This was mostly a week of interest for Tyler and Gaga but there can be both intrigue and quality found in the rest here, even if being less impactful than first envisioned may be the striking theme of this episode in particular. As for the titles, it should be obvious that Tyler runs away with Best of the Week for “Darling, I” featuring Teezo Touchdown, and whilst I’d like to give the Creator the Honourable Mention too, instead I’ll give that shout to… Addison Rae of all people for “Aquamarine” – it really works for me. After that, it’s a sea of meh but I’ll pass Worst of the Week to “Over Each Other” by Linkin Park and leave it there. As for what’s on the horizon, The Weeknd is teaming up with Anitta, whilst we have new albums from Lil Uzi and The Cure. In other words, stay tuned for Mariah Carey being thawed out and not much else. For now, thank you for reading, long live Cola Boyy, and I’ll see you next week!

[smeraldopookie]

[meltotheany]

Goodreads | Amazon US | B&N | Blackwell’s | Bookshop “I dreamt myths larger than my girl body could hold.” such a heartfelt literary horror debut that i think i will hold inside me forever. i really did love this, and the writing is just completely out of this world. i cannot wait to see what this author does next, and just follow their career and stories forever. ren has loved mermaids and their stories for all her life, but when she is a small girl she also discovers her love and fascination for the water, and the escapism and transformation it can bring. She joins her school’s swim team and starts swimming competitively, and this story takes place in highschool when her life is consumed with being the best swimmer her body will allow her to be, despite being only human… for now. and we get to watch ren holding on to the identity of a girl, of a swimmer, of a child of immigrants, of being queer, and we get to also watch her become the mermaid she was always meant to be. chlorine is also a little bit of an epistolary novel, and we get to see letters being written to ren’s friend/love interest, cathy, where we get to see her perspective of the transformation of ren, while also being filled with longing. this just adds an extra dark tone to the novel, because the reader is reading these one sided letters of missing someone, while switching back and forth to the story and the direction of events that are playing out with Ren inside her mind. i feel like you probably shouldn’t know too much more before going in, but some other things in this novel that i really loved, despite being hard to read: talk of being a child of diaspora and how the american dream your elders came searching for can really be a nightmare. how doctors can be horrible and not actually care about their patients or their health, and how medical care you are choosing to get can still feel like a violation, and how these last two things can be so much bigger when you’re a queer nonwhite kid. how adults can push kids so far past their limits, yet still ignore all the signs that they are drowning. overall, i really did love this and sapphic asian stories about feeling like you’re from a completely different world are always going to tug on my heartstrings very hard and very deeply. (and if you need to hear it, you belong and your continuous transformation is beautiful.) i really recommend this debut if you are in a good head space with the trigger warnings. bonus: this author is army and wrote a really beautiful piece about their debut novel, inspiration, and bts (and i am very grateful to read this blue side story and gain hope.) – On BTS, Writing, and What Makes an Artist. bonus bonus: i wrote this entire review listening to come back to me by rm on repeat because bts are also one of my greatest inspirations in life. content warnings at the start of the book: racism, misogyny, self-harm, eating disorders, homophobia, depression, and sexual violence. additional trigger + content warnings i found while reading: blood, menstruation, scene getting an iud, talk of abortion, pregnancy scare, abandonment, child abuse, grooming, hospital setting, concussion, extreme headaches, car crash one sentence mention, anxiety, grief, pica, needles, talk of debt, abuse of medication, drinking, smoking, vomit, bad medical professionals and treatment, a lot of microaggressions from the love interest, and i just want to emphasize that there is a lot of talk of body image and a lot of food descriptions that are central themes in this book that go hand in hand with disordered eating. goodreads | instagram | youtube | kofi | spotify | amazon | wishlist

[emerald-notes]

The Astronaut, single by Jin

Note: It’s been a long time and here I am, still stuck in ‘The Astronaut’. Gonna share some personal opinion on this and I swear, I’ll shut up.

Rating - 10/10

“A life, a sparkle in your eyes, Heaven coming through, And I love you.”

Where do I even start? I feel like no matter how much I rant, my love for this song can never be expressed in words. The lyrics, the music and the mv, all of these have their own charms. I just absolutely love it.

Let’s start with its lyrics. I love the references of the cosmos used in this song. If Jin was an asteroid drifting all alone, Army was his heaven, a safe place. When Jin is in darkness, Army shines upon him like the Milky way. “You became my universe” is enough to prove how Jin dedicates his life for us and how we have become everything for him. We all know from the previous solo works of Jin that he is someone who constantly doubts himself and it is the love of the Army that brings him back from despair.

Isn’t it amazing how Jin, and all the BTS members in general, show how grateful they are to us? I am also grateful to them for making us feel loved. This song directly touches the heart. It is, in fact, the best kind of love letter one can ever wish for. It is a song that feels too personal. I feel like it was meant for me, as an individual. That’s one of the best achievements of this masterpiece.

The music video is so cute. Jin, representing an alien crashing on earth, who apparently doesn’t have any emotions. The little girl of his neighborhood plays with him often and he unconsciously grows empathy within himself. On the day his spaceship is finally leaving to go back to space, Jin realizes that it is the earth that is his true home and comes back.

Here are a lot of indications. For a start, the little girl represents Armys. If Jin was someone without dreams, the Armys made him want to dream. Just like the little girl helped him with the development of emotions. Again, though unconsciously, when the alien Jin decided to leave for good, he left his helmet with the girl so that she doesn’t hurt herself riding the bike alone without him around. As our Jin was leaving to join the military, he had left his precious song and along with it, a lot of content for the Armys to enjoy in his absence. Even the morse code for ARMY was literally tattooed on his neck in the mv. Just like the alien Jin realizing that the girl was his true home and coming back to her at the end, our Jin also promises us his coming back after serving his time in the military. Hence, I love the music video so much and I keep coming back to it time after time.

I will forever be grateful to Coldplay for accepting Jin’s request and making this song a reality. They are the sweetest souls ever. It shows how a real artist can recognize and appreciate another great artist. I love the bond between Jin and them, especially with Chris. It makes me immensely proud how far Jin has come. While he considered Coldplay as his idol in his youth, he is now collaborating with them side by side. Both of their styles of music are evident in this track. As if two beautiful melodies came together to become a better version of themselves.

I can’t talk about the Astronaut without bringing up the concert in Argentina. Here’s another reason for me to be grateful to Coldplay. They really understood the significance of this song for the Armys as a goodbye gift from Jin and that’s why they decided to have him at their personal concert. I could see the admiration in their eyes when Jin was performing. I also enjoyed the part where Chris opened his arms for Jin to run and embrace him while he sweetly kissed him on the cheek. This interaction was everything. When, both Chris and Jin were singing together to my favorite part and they couldn’t help but laugh in between, we could see Jin’s sparkling eyes so clearly. It shows how overwhelmed he was with emotion. I won’t lie about crying to that part myself.

Finally, the “I love you” part deserves its own paragraph. Would you think that it wasn’t intentional of Jin to finish his last live performance for the Armys by saying that he loves us? I think not. Jin is a genius and an absolute sweetheart for that. The reactions of the Armys at the concert was genuine. They looked so happy and sad at the same time. And I love you too, my Jinnie.

I am fully absorbed in this piece of art. It has become a part of me and I am totally obsessed with it now. I thank you, Jin, for making me feel this way. This work of yours is going to live in my heart rent free for the rest of my life.

[halfseoulco]

"3D", KPOP in the West, & Artist Obligations

Published Wednesday, October 18th, 2023 — As global superstars BTS take further steps into what they've dubbed the Chapter 2 of their careers, it's been both interesting and rewarding to see each member put so much of themselves into their respective solo releases—especially since the vocal line, aside from OSTs, covers, and singles, had not yet released their own official solo projects (or mixtapes, as they had been called, since RM [2015], mono. [2018], Hope World [2018], Agust D [2015], and D-2 [2020] were released for free). j-hope's Jack in the Box (2022) came as a significant surprise after the bright, colorful experience that was Hope World, but otherwise, each member's solo album has turned out to be what was expected of them based on what is known in regards to their personalities, preferred musical styles, and personal tastes in music.

But what might arguably be considered the most anticipated solo debut was Jungkook's, as ARMYs were eager to see who the youngest of the seven-member group is without the rest of his bandmates. Of the seven, Jungkook has perhaps gone through the most obvious changes—the famous lip piercing (although the eyebrow piercing is sorely missed), the various tattoos, and other mostly physical changes to his image. His promotions with Calvin Klein broke the Internet and his debut solo single, "Seven (feat. Latto)", showed off a new, more mature side of the Golden Maknae that elicited mixed reactions from ARMYs and also laid the groundwork for his next single, "3D", which features Jack Harlow.

Shedding the "Baby" Persona & "Seven"

I think in some ways that being Jeon Jungkook must feel like being a Disney Channel star or any other artist who became big for something that they spend the rest of their life trying to get away from (e.g. Daniel Radcliffe and his desire to be known for something other than being Harry Potter). Combined with the tendency for Western society to infantilize Asian people and the Korean cultural norms for the youngest of any group to be doted upon and always seen as the baby, the most shocking part about Jungkook's solo releases so far is that it really shouldn't be shocking at all.

Having just turned 26 in September, Jungkook has probably been ready for quite some time to leave the image of BTS's maknae behind him. The man certainly doesn't look like a baby and even if he does look young for his age, the fact of the matter is that he is a grown adult. The nature of the KPOP industry makes it difficult for idols to talk about dating or sex—let alone actually date or have sex, at least in a public capacity—and because of the artist-fan relationship, it has been in idols' best interests to act like those things don't exist for them. "Seven" was the beginning of Jungkook not pretending that he's not thinking about or doesn't want those things—because it's not inherently bad or shameful to want them. Regardless of his maknae status in his group, he's still a fully grown man with his own agency, so if Jeon Jungkook wants to make music about having sex seven days a week, he can do that.

Unreasonable fans aside, if the basis for the counterargument is that there is already so much hypersexualization in Western music and media that we don't want to see it in KPOP, I think that's valid. The draw for many KPOP fans is that overall, KPOP presents such a stark contrast to Western music with its variety of concepts and differences in cultural norms. However, I don't even necessarily think that "Seven" is as raunchy as some people have made it out to be. Latto's feature is a little nasty (nasty in the good way, not nasty in the bad way) and Jungkook does say "fucking" in the explicit version of the song, but I think that compared to some of the songs that come out of the Western music industry, it's not even really what anyone could consider inappropriate. It's not demeaning, it's not aggressive, and he's not singing about women in a misogynistic way. In fact, I would go so far as to say that "Seven" is kind of cute; and if Jungkook wants to say "fuck"—or even if he wants to actually fuck—then he can.

This is something I will talk about more later on in this piece but as an additional point, we already know that BTS has become bigger than the KPOP industry and they've already crossed into the Western market with "Dynamite" (2020), "Butter" (2021), and "Permission to Dance" (2021). Whether you like it or not—and personally, I don't really care for this particular move as a business tactic but I really like "Permission to Dance"—the groundwork has already been laid for them to continue to grow their presence in the U.S. especially. If Jungkook and Big Hit Music want to put out a little something something for the locals, that's their prerogative.

"3D (feat. Jack Harlow)"

Strictly speaking, I don't listen to the radio anymore, not unless I'm in the car with someone who listens to the radio. I have little awareness as to what's going on in Western music in terms of new releases unless I hear it on social media—but one of the things about living in the age of the Internet is that you still hear things even if you're not actively searching for that information.

I have definitely heard some things about Jack Harlow. I've never listened to his music but I know that he has a certain reputation. When Big Hit Music announced the release of "3D", I tried not to have any expectations about his feature; and when the song came out, I didn't listen to it right away because my group chat had nothing good to say about his lines. Honestly, I was a little terrified.

I ended up listening to both the original and the alternate version the next day and I think you only need one guess as to which version made it onto my main playlist.

Whenever BTS collaborates with Western artists, there are ARMYs who always say that we're here to support BTS first, so even if we don't like the feature that much, we should still purchase and stream as much as we can to support BTS. I agree to a certain extent; I don't like Charlie Puth (or Charles, as my friends and I like to call him), but I like "Left And Right" (2022) well enough and I like Jungkook, so I tried my best to support it when it came out. Based on streaming rules and all that, I believe only purchases and streams of the original song featuring Jack Harlow count for charting, which is unfortunate but that's just how the game works.

I offer up all my apologies to Jungkook but there is nothing anyone can do to make me listen to anything other than the alternate version of "3D" from here on out.

Having watched the music video for "3D" a few times now via my favorite reaction channel on YouTube, my disgust from my initial listen-through of the song has only continued to compound. Considering that Namjoon had admitted in an interview with Nightline in 2021 that as part of their efforts to promote gender equality in their music he had a women's studies professor review his lyrics following criticism regarding misogyny in BTS's earlier years, I'm extremely shocked that Big Hit Music gave Jack Harlow's feature the green light. Regardless of the quality of the lyricism or how it played with the flow of the music, the actual content leaves much to be desired and is offensive on multiple fronts. I want to emphasize that this is not because of the song's sexuality, which, as I expressed earlier in the section about "Seven", is within Jungkook's right to express as an artist and as an adult. But knowing how much BTS has worked towards promoting equality for people of all genders, races, and orientations, the blatant misogyny and racism (via the "ABG" stereotype) has no place in the kind of music they've worked so hard to put out.

When I expressed my opinions regarding Jack Harlow's participation in "3D" to a friend who doesn't listen to KPOP, their response was, "Well, yeah, it's Jack Harlow", which not only made me feel justified in my response to the song but also confirmed for me that his lyrics in "3D" are not unusual for him; and while I looked into his background a little bit and saw that he is known for making donations to various charitable organizations and worthy causes and speaking up about his white privilege and how he approaches his music with that in mind, there is nothing that can convince me that someone who took all those actions publicly can also write the lyrics that are in "3D" in good conscience.

I don't want anyone to take this as me placing the blame on Jungkook for his collaboration with Jack Harlow but this particular conversation is a little tricky. On the one hand, I don't think that Big Hit Music has complete control over every little thing its artists do (and note that I say Big Hit Music and not HYBE, since the former operates independently), but at the same time, I think that the more likely situation is that the artists have some say but not all the say. If it wasn't Jungkook's choice to work with Jack Harlow in the first place, then we could say that this was a bad move on the company's part and that someone should have taken the time to go over his proposed lyrics before they recorded and released the song. Another possibility is that Big Hit Music knew exactly what they were doing and knew that there would be backlash so they released the alternate version without Jack Harlow's feature—because, as you know, there is no version of "Seven" without Latto. If that's the case, well, color me disappointed but not surprised.

KPOP in the Western Market

Personally, as a Korean American, I am and have been over the KPOP industry's need for validation from the Western music industry. While I am here to support my favorite artists' endeavors to make it onto Billboard charts and win Grammys, I wish that they would free themselves of the idea that they need to achieve certain things in the Western market in order to be considered successful and stop caring about them because that is just colonization in its modern form. The Western music industry will never truly see KPOP as a valid form of music or artform—hence the various awards that they make up specifically for KPOP groups instead of placing them in the same category as other mainstream artists—so why play a game that's been set up for their failure from the start? Plus, these awards shows know that KPOP, while still not being considered mainstream, is a popular niche genre; and they're not above using these industry leaders for views even though they have no intention of giving them an award—as seen at the 2022 Grammy awards when they placed BTS at the end of the show so that ARMYs would watch the whole show and increase their viewership and then didn't give them anything.

I don't think that KPOP groups necessarily need to break into the Western market in order to be successful. KPOP fans are already on the lookout for content and potential tours in their home states or cities; and I think that KPOP groups benefit the most from targeting their existing fans rather than trying to entice the locals because even those locals are more likely to get into KPOP based on the recommendation of their friends than through songs that are only in English. And of course I'm not in any way trying to discount any fans who discovered their favorite group after seeing them perform Korean songs on Jimmy Fallon or other U.S. based shows, but those people are probably already more open-minded to begin with. There is so much xenophobia in the U.S. and other Western countries that even though they notice the popularity of KPOP, aside from using them for views and/or financial gain, you will never really be able to convince the general public that you can indeed appreciate music that's sung in a language you don't speak.

There is still a very large U.S. presence in South Korea today that has a certain amount of influence on how Koreans in general may feel about needing to adhere to specific standards that are distinctly American or Western in nature, which is something I discussed in my think piece regarding BTS's enlistment and the history of Korean conscription. There is some pressure to play nice, as the U.S. "helped" prevent the North Koreans and Communist China from taking over the entire country, but as South Korea starts to come into their own, there may come a time in the future when they realize that they don't want or need the U.S. within their borders any longer—and maybe then KPOP artists will stop caring about Billboard charts and fake awards.

Until that day, the reality is that any Korean entertainment company—yes, even our dear, beloved HYBE—is a business, and their biggest concern is making money. There is, of course, discourse as to which companies are "good" and which ones are "bad" but at the end of the day, they're all running a business to make money using artists as their capital. The Western market, particularly in the U.S., is huge. You can fit five South Koreas in California alone, physically, and the potential for increased sales and streams is alluring. KPOP agencies have been making partnerships with American record labels left and right over the past few years, giving birth to both iconic collaborations and some that leave something to be desired. Because the push is to make music that will become popular on social media and start TikTok challenges that people can easily participate in, this catering to the general public runs the risk of alienating fans who have been loyal for years; and the influx of remixes featuring Western artists that are released on single CDs and heavily promoted have taken away some of the enjoyment of being a KPOP fan. That's not to say that some of these collabs are not good—some of them are great. But are they ever my favorite songs on the album? No, not really. I appreciate the range of artists, though.

At the risk of sounding like I'm enabling a certain "pick me" attitude that some people have about being KPOP fans (in the sense that they think of themselves as better than other people because they listen to music in Korean, which is a kind of fetishization that people don't like to acknowledge), as I mentioned earlier, the draw of KPOP isn't that it sounds like Western pop music. The appeal comes from how different it is; and if KPOP keeps trying to make itself palatable for the Western ear, then it's going to lose that appeal—and that's speaking purely from a practical, business perspective. I also want to emphasize that I am not necessarily lumping in groups' English tracks in this statement. I'm not the biggest fan of them but I don't think that a group is lesser than for releasing them. It takes a lot of courage to put out music in a language you don't speak fluently, and many groups' English tracks have brought fans a lot of happiness.

On that note, however, the other trend that I personally find problematic is the idea of "global" KPOP groups. Please note that this is not about gatekeeping KPOP, because KPOP is free to be enjoyed by anyone regardless of who they are. However, as I mentioned previously, South Korea is currently still occupied by the U.S., and while it has been skillfully covered up by mainstream media, South Koreans would actually very much like for the U.S. to be out of their country. It's true that U.S. presence has introduced many genres that are popular in Western music to South Korea (including genres that were created by black musicians), which allowed KPOP to build an industry that is known for blending genres and creating new sounds, but at its core, KPOP is something so distinctly and uniquely Korean; and most Koreans are very proud of the impact that Korean pop culture has had on the rest of the world because of KPOP. Talent can be sourced from many places but the practice of bringing non-Korean or non-Asian artists into a KPOP group reeks of colonization. If you think about it, colonization has happened more or less the same way in every instance: a larger world power takes notice of a smaller, less developed country with resources from which they can profit and then they take over to exploit those resources for their own benefit. In the same way, everyone wants a piece of the KPOP pie and when Korean or even Asian members are the minority in the group, it's no longer a KPOP group and more of a group that's doing KPOP. There are some people who would argue that what makes it KPOP is that it's sung in Korean but that's not exactly true. KPOP is a wholly comprehensive experience that includes the music, the choreography, the styling, the concepts, and the storytelling, as well as other elements that are inherently specific to Korean culture. There are some things that non-Koreans will never be able to fully grasp, no matter how much they study the language or the culture or how much time they spend living in Korea.

Additionally, KPOP is so lucrative that instead of becoming artists in their own countries, many people come to Korea hoping to get accepted as trainees so that they can debut in a KPOP group and maybe one day find success. Not only does this then take away from the Koreanness of the art form but it also takes away talented artists from the entertainment industries in other countries that could benefit from having that star power. Survival shows like JYP Entertainment's A2K and HYBE x Geffen's Dream Academy mean well, I'm sure, and those girls are all very talented and deserving of a bright future in music and entertainment—but being a non-Korean or non-Asian in a KPOP group is not like being a person of a non-Caucasian race or ethnicity in the Western music industry where the mainstream music is predominantly sung in English because Korean is not a universally spoken language. While the inclusivity and diversity is well-intentioned, you have to take into consideration what diversity looks like for each population. South Korea has been largely homogeneous for almost its entire life as a nation, and regardless of their close ties with the U.S., the makeup of the population is nothing close to the melting pot that exists in America. And no matter what anyone tells you about how much global groups will receive a lot of support because of all the different countries represented, a majority of the KPOP audience does not want to see foreigners in KPOP groups. I personally would much rather see a wider acceptance of idols from throughout the Korean diaspora and mixed Koreans as a show of the diversity that could be possible in popular Korean media than willingly allow the rest of the world to invade Korea again in a more nuanced way. What would be diverse for South Korea would be to see more black Koreans, more Hispanic/Latinx Koreans, and other non-Caucasian Koreans in KPOP in order for them to acknowledge the growing population of mixed Koreans while still maintaining its status as a Korean artform.

If there is such a demand for global groups, then the better route to take would be to follow in XG's footsteps: create a group of Asian (in their case, Japanese) artists who were trained in the KPOP system, release music exclusively in English, and promote all over the world. (I will say that their continued attendance at Korean music shows is a little baffling, considering that none of their music is in Korean. I know they're all learning how to speak Korean, though, so I'm hoping that they start releasing music in Korean—and in Japanese—so that they can really show that they are a global group.)

Are Artists Obligated to "Use Their Platform for Good"?

Plenty of celebrities have received the criticism that they should be "using their platform" to raise awareness about specific issues and topics and are often attacked for remaining silent. While it is true that they have so much social capital and public influence that it would be nice to see them use it to do something good for others, is it really fair to expect people to be constantly championing causes when they are also burdened with other responsibilities that we may be unaware of and/or unable to understand?

A lot of parents like to say that some celebrities need to carry themselves better and think about what they say and do because they have a lot of children and young people who look up to them. Again, this is true, but are we as everyday adults thinking about whether or not we're conducting ourselves in a way that would be appropriate for any children who may be observing us? Unlikely, unless you have your own children or other children in your family. Celebrities have very different lives and they have privileges that most of us will never know, but at the end of the day, they're also people and it must be exhausting to have to be "on" anytime you could be seen by someone, let alone for children that are, for them, only existing in the abstract and not in reality. Many celebrities don't become celebrities in order to have so much sway over such a large population of people—they simply pursued something they were passionate about and became wealthy and famous in the process. They're sometimes seen as these "other-worldly" figures but they're really no different from the rest of us when it comes to bare bones.

So are artists responsible for how the content they put out into the world affects others? Yes and no. For example, I don't think BTS should be held accountable for how the rest of the world views KPOP or Koreans just because they're one of the most popular figures in Korean entertainment. Should they be mindful about the kind of music they make given the diversity of their audience? Absolutely—but they don't have to. They can make whatever kind of music they want and how the fans receive it will send a message to them. They can choose to listen or not, and that is their right. It just so happens that they have chosen time and time again to put the fans first and that has played a huge part in their success.

Should Jungkook be responsible for protecting the ears of innocent children from the sexually explicit lyrics in his music? No, of course not, their parents should be keeping that music out of their rotation. But should Big Hit Music be responsible for vetting collaborations before releasing music that is racist and misogynistic? I'd really like to say yes, because that's something that would happen at the company level and not the artist level. If they really cared about Jungkook's image outside of the sexual themes of his solo music, then Jack Harlow would've never gotten the go ahead. Something like this is disappointing because prior to the creation of HYBE, Big Hit Entertainment had set the standard for being a company that valued their artists. It was really hard to not be a "company stan" at the beginning, but at the end of the day, companies will always value profits over people and even Big Hit Music is no exception.

Conclusion

There are some things that we as KPOP fans should consider. One, KPOP has the potential to become even bigger or crumble, depending on the actions that Korean entertainment companies take in the upcoming years. KPOP is really what put South Korea on the map and though they would benefit more from staying true to what has made the genre so beloved by many fans around the world, the shift in direction towards trying to appeal to Western tastes has been continuing; and this move has the potential to lose the interest of long-time KPOP fans who will see it as no longer being different from other genres and therefore no longer appealing.

Two, allowing access to the idol system for everyone isn't the solution people want to believe it is. Even with the backing of large companies, so-called global groups have a bigger chance of being snubbed by lifelong KPOP fans; and people shouldn't be trying to take something away from a population for whom their economy, society, and lives in general have been shaped by that one thing. Modern colonization exists and this is it.

Three, KPOP artists, while they don't grow in the same way as everyday people, do still grow; and they should be allowed the space to grow, whether that means being free to express their sexuality or their personality changing. Especially if you've been a KPOP fan for a long time, we are literally growing up with these artists. I myself am the same age as many third generation KPOP idols, and knowing how much my style has changed, how much my personality has changed, I don't expect that those things will never change for an idol. People who expected TWICE to do the cute, girly thing forever actually want them to look and act like little girls forever, and they are grown women. They're allowed to change because they are changing. People are not free for consumption in any way we want, and we need to get past this idea of demanding that idols need to stay the same.

Which brings us to four, artists and celebrities are people. Making art for a living is tricky, as it often is when you're doing what you love and being paid for it. While most people would say that that's the dream, it can also be a burden; and public figures can never truly be themselves because someone is always watching. And though we should never excuse someone's poor behavior, it's important to have some compassion for other people's situations. In a world where corporations hold most of the power and even the most famous artists are still chained to certain responsibilities and expectations, we should recognize that we cannot impose our own values and morals on others. If your favorite artist disappoints you, it can be very devastating, but it is also a testament to how much we place certain people on pedestals when we should all be treated equally as human beings.

Maybe this is all a huge overreaction to "3D" and maybe it's not. It's a very long-winded way of saying that I don't like the song but like most things, it's connected to other things and it's important to understand the context of all those things. Anyway, please pre-order GOLDEN by Jungkook if you can and I'll see you all on November 3rd!

[yeonsols-garden]

Intro: 2 cool 4 skool

Ok the first song in this series is 2 cool 4 skool. This isn't really a song in my opinion because it's so short but the reason I decided to talk about it is because namjoon literally tells us what the goal of BTS. As he says in the only line

We tell our story on behalf of those in their 10s and 20s

This tells us what BTS hopes to accomplish with there music. They want to make music for the younger generation. They want to make music that will impact them and speak to them. I think that this mini song doesn't a good job at giving us an introduction to BTS. I find it interesting and a good way to tell ARMY what they are getting into.

Next up on the list is...

We Are Bulletproof

[cutielycheepie]

Here's what I thought of Jimin's solo 'FACE'

Of course he was amazing, he's Jimin!

When the pre-single 'Set Me Free Pt.2' came out, I thought that for sure I wouldn't like the album (because the sound was quite different from what I expected) but then I saw the title track trailer and, nevermind, guess I'll love it after all.

And love it I did! I listened to Like Crazy... like crazy. It was everything I love in one, somehow! This is my favorite BTS solo song now, I love My Time but Like Crazy just has to take the crown. It's the best.

Like Crazy

It started out mellow and built it's beat from there, the "watch me go" part always gets me hyped up. The ending is forever my favorite part though, I sing along to it without a fail. Everything about this song just makes me listen to it again and again, and don't even get started on the MV! It's fun and the visuals are just divine.

Overall song: 11/10

Face-off

I think this is what I expected from the album after listening to Set Me Free Pt.2. It's actually good! I like the shift that the beginning took, even though I can't tell the purpose of it. It's nice! I don't have much to say but it's definitely a vibe :D

Overall song : 9/10

Alone

I think this song fits Jimin's voice very well, slow and soft. It's not a song I'd listen to just because I want to, but it's certainly good. I really like the sound effects in it, I don't know how to explain it, but the "day and night, repeated fall" part was so satisfying.

Overall song: 8/10

Set Me Free Pt.2

Of course I started liking it after it was all over my YT page.

Okay but really, I didn't expect to start liking it so much! I mean it's definitely not one of my favorites, but I listen to it and sing it for no reason, so I'll take that as a good sign! It also makes me want to dance, which is another good sign 💃

Overall song: 8.5/10

FACE

I think it was brilliant! Like Crazy is my new forever favorite solo song from BTS.

Overall album: 9/10

[afreenpoetry]

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 14/09/2024 (Linkin Park Reunite! + Central Cee/RAYE, Fred again.. - ten days)

Sabrina Carpenter may no longer hold the top three of the UK Singles Chart but she still hangs onto the top two with “Espresso” at #2 and “Taste” at its third week at #1. It’s an interesting one so welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: language, discussion of sexual assault

Rundown

As always, we start with our notable dropouts, those being songs that exit the UK Top 75 (which is what I cover) after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we bid farewell to a long list of hits, including “Double Life” by Pharrell Williams, “Bring Me Joy” by Rudimental and Karen Harding, “Pour Me a Drink” by Post Malone featuring Blake Shelton, “misses” by Dominic Fike, “360” by Charli xcx, Badger’s remix of “These Words” by Natasha Bedingfield, “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone, “Happier” by The Blessed Madonna featuring Clementine Douglas, “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen, “Houdini” by Dua Lipa and finally, “Evergreen” by Richy Mitch & the Coal Miners. Whew.

Now what ended up replacing this mass exodus of songs? Well, other than the new tracks, which we have plenty of, we also have re-entries for “i like the way you kiss me” by Artemas at #74, “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls at #69 and “Numb” by Linkin Park at #41, which we’ll get to. We also see a few boosts for “Scared to Start” by Michael Marcagi at #65, “Belong Together” by Mark Ambor at #59, “Carry You Home” by Alex Warren at #36, “WILDFLOWER” by Billie Eilish at #30, “We Play” by Coldplay and friends at #26, “The Door” by Teddy Swims at #16, “Sailor Song” by Gigi Perez at #13, “Move” by Adam Port, Stryv and Malachiii at #12 and “Somedays” by Sonny Fodera, Jazzy and D.O.D at #10, with most of the higher gains filling in for Oasis losses.

Our top five in the UK Singles Chart this week consists of: “Please Please Please” by Sabrina Carpenter at #5, “The Emptiness Machine” by Linkin Park at #4 (yes, I know, we’ll get to it), “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan at #3 then of course, Sabrina with the top two. As for what’s below, it’s pretty interesting so let’s start right at the bottom.

New Entries

#75 - “Embrace It” - Ndotz

Produced by RJ Pasin

We start with… what? Okay, so Ndotz is a rapper from the UK who imitates Cash Cobain’s cover art gimmick on this single’s art, but the music is anything but, going for a bass-heavy rhythm not dissimilar to a Neptunes beat but with bass so blown-out it basically comes as its own bass-boosted meme version, which makes sense given that it’s barely two minutes, mentions TikTok in the chorus and commands girls to twerk, presumably to this song, so the mystery is solved to why this cheap, kind of garbage mix is charting. The worst thing is, thanks to the silly acoustic guitar and the fact you can tell Ndotz is having some fun, I don’t even dislike this. I don’t want to give the obvious, somewhat cynical attempt at virality much praise, I don’t want to “hand it to ‘em”, but I gotta hand it to ‘em. It’s just somewhat funny, and that’s pretty much all it wanted to be. Sure!

#71 - “Circadian Rhythm” - Drake

Produced by London Cyr, Ben10k, Eli Brown and Gordo

So, the embarrassed post-beef Drake has been posting songs on social media, leaking them to his website, hoping the sample gets cleared, then tossing it onto streaming if the reception is positive, and this has been vaguely unsuccessful, with the songs - even potential hits like “It’s Up” with 21 Savage and Young Thug - not making much noise, even with Drake still dissing subliminally throughout these leftovers. This song from the latest re-release of 100 GIGS - in reference to the realest thing he’s ever done: dump a bunch of useless files on a website because he felt like it - is billed as somewhat of a sequel to his 2013 song “The Language” but this all just feels like a demo. The chorus is primarily drumless, filling space with a chipmunk sample, and the verses have oddly webby-sounding snares, with Drake’s verses not fully equipped to the beat yet, and some unclear vocals if I’m being honest where I absolutely had to check what he was trying to say. This might be common for Future but definitely not Drake, whose nasal drone has never been indecipherable. The song ends abruptly, has frankly nothing to say with pretty minimal and vague lyrics about the rap game betraying him and shouting out Toronto artists, which may be the realm he should be in: part of Kendrick’s critique was his lack of identity, and harkening back to when Drake was at least marginally closer to his birthplace may be a step in the right direction regarding that. If this is the Toronto sound, though, this may be the drowsiest of all time because this is clearly a dull leftover, and for Drake, whose discography is no stranger to dull leftovers, when it’s this obvious, that’s just sad.

#70 - “I Adore You” - HUGEL, Topic and Arash featuring Daecolm

Produced by HUGEL, Topic, A7S and Late Nine

The only names I recognised here were Topic and A7S, who had some hits together in 2021, namely the top 10s “Breaking Me” and “Your Love (9PM)”, which were both okay slices of European deep house. Here, the German and Swede DJs team up with HUGEL from France, Iranian singer Arash Labaf who represented Azerbaijan in Eurovision years ago and South African-born Daecolm for a considerably multinational collaboration. Music really is borderless these days so I was interested on how this would mesh, and whilst you can definitely hear Daecolm bring an Afro-house rhythm in both the percussion and higher-register vocals, they’re inserted into a more generic tropical house template that doesn’t allow the organic sense of much of the African music that charts nowadays translate very well. I appreciate the strings in the back of the chorus, but with such an echoed mix and incessant “la-la” vocals, the final product renders as overproduced with very few realised sonic ideas, just kind of an unemotive noise, which is disappointing but might be expected with four lead artists, four producers and a short runtime that aligns strictly with the typical EDM build-drop format, but without much impact as everything is a wispy cloud, made to soundtrack adverts telling me to visit the Canary Islands rather than actually form that solid of a groove or string me along with an anthemic hook. It just kinds of floats in the air, but with a stiffness brought to it by how programmed it all is, and how there’s little in the way of actually unique sound design. I suppose it joins “Move” in this niche category of international Afro-house tunes which set the energy to negative numbers, but we didn’t really need another one.

#68 - “BABY I’M BACK” - The Kid LAROI

Produced by Rog��t Chahayed and Dopamine

I know this looks bad with The Kid LAROI and Drake, but I promise you that there is interesting, worthwhile and genuinely amazing music coming up, it’s just that there’s plenty of less impressive stuff to get through also, like all weeks. I was faintly interested to see LAROI collaborate with UK DJ group Dopamine, who typically don’t collaborate with rappers necesssarily, but that quickly left me when I realised it was another lazy sample flip. As I always say, the story starts in 1977, when Player released “Baby Come Back”, cheesy soft-rock adult contemporary schlock typically schmaltzy of its era,  but just catchy enough to be a semi-ironic guilty pleasure, which Yung Gravy understood when using the track as the basis for his comedic storytelling track about MILFs, “Cheryl”, from all the way back in 2017. So why The Kid LAROI wants to try and get us to believe it as a semi-serious breakup narrative with some toxic piss-offs but still loving platitudes, is completely beyond me. The original song by LA band Player peaked at #32 over here despite topping the charts stateside, though Vanessa Hudgens brought it back to the chart by sampling it on 2006’s “Come Back to Me”, peaking at a whopping… #100. Mr. LAROI’s rendition is largely pointless, with a weirdly-mixed chipmunk variation of the hook, where you can tell it transitions to a version where the vocals may have been removed through an AI website, which is largely covered by the drums, so why so much of the song actively presents the sample without them is also beyond me, the drop doesn’t hit hard or anything. I suppose the bridge’s flip on the original hook with the pianos is sweet, but LAROI doesn’t have the soul in him to pull this off, at least not yet. Sorry, it gets close to being… okay, though.

#66 - “Neva Play” - Megan Thee Stallion featuring RM

Produced by LilJuMadeDaBeat, Shae Jacobs, B Ham and Peter Fenn

“Neva Play” is the newest single from Texas rapper Megan Thee Stallion, coinciding with the success of her VMAs hosting and her other stateside hit “Mamushi” with Japanese rapper Yuki Chiba, by bringing Korean rapper RM, of BTS fame, to the fold, though Megan had remixed “Butter” before so this is not the first time they’ve crossed paths. Hilariously, Megan makes what appears to be an active attempt to keep it clean here, to fit with BTS’ young fanbase, seemingly unaware that RM was not afraid to drop F-bombs anyway. Other than that trivial note, the song’s pretty cool, there’s a minimal phonk beat that really brings into question why it needed more than Megan’s long-time collaborator LilJu to bring it together, though the distracting deep backing vocal is a bit off-putting in the verses. Megan has a lot of charisma, and whilst the content isn’t anything new - or really anything referencing East Asian culture outside of a “Hadouken!” ad-lib - her verse is a lot of fun. The counting chorus feels a bit basic or immature for this kind of banger, but RM brings a really compelling verse here. In fact, he outperforms Megan by just being really interesting - I wasn’t familiar with just how deep his drawl could go, pairing interestingly with Megan by smokily floating in at the end of the chorus and quickly going into a staccato verse about how he paved the way for Asian artists, before swtching into different flows and paces, including one moment where he purposefully kills all momentum of his verse to echo into a different cadence that feels very fittingly Memphis and also surprisingly catchy, with a decent amount of unique character and swag to his warm tone that he later brings onto the final chorus. Without RM, this would be a fine if typical Megan track, but his performance is pretty interesting if not a bit awkward or slightly abridged, and I like to hear the BTS members stepping into weirder cadences and musical ideas. More of RM would be interesting to hear.

#64 - “peace u need” - Fred again.. and Joy Anonymous

Produced by Fred again.., Joy Anonymous, Barney Lister and Will Bloomfield

So this week, Fred again.. released one of my favourite albums of the year, ten days. I spoke more about this on my RateYourMusic 2024 listening log - account name: exclusivelytopostown - but in summary, the album acts as what I would imagine as a picturebook, a collage of postcards reflecting on a particular Summer wherein those memories are all stored in layered, gorgeous progressive house taking motifs from more ambient directions and placing them into slow-burn atmospheric dance tracks. Outside of “adore u”, I love pretty much all of the songs on there, and it’s an incredibly cohesive listen despite the fact that we hear so many different voices thanks to it consisting primarily of remixes, and perhaps succeeds in part due to that as we get to hear different stories that all tie into the reminiscent feeling of wishing you could experience that Summer all over again, with the sound collage interludes forming a togetherness that is really touching and reflects on Fred’s collaborative spirit.

“peace u need” is yet another highlight, with perhaps the most strident attempt at making a classic 90s house piano banger considering the faint crowd cheers and vintage piano notes placed against a falsetto moan not dissimilar to Moby’s “Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?” - at least that’s what it reminded me of. This track is a rare example of Fred providing his own vocals, longing for a relationship that has passed but hoping for amicability and fulfilment on both sides, given how lost he is without them but also how much they put into making it work, though this can also function as an analogy for nostalgia. “I let you take a piece of me” - your identity is found in memories you can’t revisit but also end up remembering, or dreaming about, on those particularly “quiet nights”. He teams up here with UK EDM duo Joy Anonymous here, who do not disrupt or honestly, really add anything new to, Fred’s distinct, stuttering style and greatly uses his sample of Snoh Aalegra’s 2017 track “Time”, fabricating a semi-duet between Aalegra and himself that really manifests in a creeping refrain of backing vocals that eventually overrides the entire track, leaving little of Fred’s vocals remaining as the “silence” - the distance from that period of time - “clouding” the mix entirely. The organic drums that rumble on occasion from the middle section onward as well as the tiny blips of vocal rendered as practically a sound effect shimmering just a bit too high in the mix, exemplify the album’s constant instrumental mirroring of the beauty of the humanity he experienced and that of the electronics he’s using to express it. Much like nearly all of the album, this is an incredible if not too accessible track, eschewing a pop structure for clearer and more concrete progression, including a weirdly eerie bass warp coming in at the last second to end that timespan for good. I don’t see it making a second week at all, but it’s absolutely worth your time, and thankfully, we have another one of my absolute favouritess from the album right up next.

#57 - “just stand there” - Fred again.. and SOAK

Produced by Fred again.., PARISI and Tobias Wincorn

ten days debuted just outside of the top five on the albums chart at #7, but that is still an impressive feat for an album that is simultaneously a remix compilation and almost sound collage, with “just stand there”, primarily a spoken word piece as Fred has explored a couple times before, coming towards the middle of the album. The piece pre-empting it, “.four”, has a car ticking aimlessly in a spreckle of rain, before a sample of SOAK’s spoken word piece “I’m Alive” featuring Gemma Doherty begins. SOAK is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter who broke out in 2015, whose track here is used mostly to have a spoken piece sat in the middle of wonky, heavily-manipulated vocal loops surrounding, circling the story being told, though it’s a different one from the original, as fragments from it are re-contextualised and at times looped to emphasise the awestruck moment of having someone tell you that she loves you. They stand there, amazed by the connection they feel and the appreciation of being able to “hear a world”, which makes them feel alive. There are many ways to interpret what now registers as a poem, in fact I have contemplated, given how introspectively focused some of the details seem to be, to if the “she” is the speaker themselves and it is a track about a confused sense of self-love and recognition of the world around them.

I love the pitch-shifted, distorted vocal leads cutting in as the song produces a slight bounce alongside more organic drums faintly set out to the left of the mix, I love the rise of pianos elevating the relative mundanity of SOAK’s poetry, the self-appreciation they find in observing other people live their lives and internalising that wonder, and especially the stuttering vocal that transitions the piece outside of that distorted bump of a kick into utterly transcendent territory, once the poetry steps way out of reality and into the surreal: “all four seasons happen in one day”, and whilst they’re already lovestruck, quite literally stuck in place because of their overwhelming feelings, it becomes unbelievable. Hell, it becomes too much to continue to try envisioning, and the song fades into echoes of vocal and synth that phase in and out, whilst they remain. Without anything, despite everything, “she loves me.” The fact that this is sandwiched between “fear less” with Sampha and “places to be” is really unfair, an emotional rollercoaster in the mid-section of the album that is as gorgeous as it is utterly overwhelming, which fits the nature of not just this song but the conceit of the whole record. It’s one of my favourite songs of the year, as if Fred again.. didn’t already have enough of those, and I cannot recommend his latest album more. Once again, this basically cannot last a second week, but God, it deserves to. Now, what’s next?

#38 - “Moi” - Central Cee and RAYE

Produced by Harry Beech and Eight8

…Cench, did you have to bring RAYE down with you? Central Cee, as he becomes more of a global star, has been swiftly shredding my goodwill for him, becoming increasingly gimmicky and embarrassing, seemingly taking his status as our biggest rap export to fuck around and make sure we’re never taken seriously in the genre again. We have an irrelevantly lovestruck French intro from RAYE here, which is atmospheric enough, but is completely rendered pointless by a flexing set of typical Cench verses where he talks about threesomes, drugs, the fact that you just HAVE to mention him when talking about drill - no, I don’t - and thirsting for random women in the public eye that he should just leave alone. He leeches onto the gay jokes again in the chorus, over a decent 2-step rhythm that transforms in and out of a stiffer drill beat, but the more telling line may be: “They gave me a fish, they ain’t teach me fishing”. Cench never struck me as ambitious, so the platform he has, largely off of TikTok virality and connections, I think scares him as much as it does me when it comes to how he represents UK rap. What’s frustrating to me is that I think he knows other people deserve the spot he has, but he cluelessly stumbled into it anyway and isn’t really willing to let it up at this point. Instead, he continues dropping these loose singles - allegedly from an album called Can’t Rush Greatness… okay - as he appears less connected, much less convincing and all the more deluded. Take a break, man, make something worth the pedestal you’re giving yourself and maybe stop relying on what got you there in the first place.

#4 - “The Emptiness Machine” - Linkin Park

Produced by Mike Shinoda

“This is not what I had planned. It’s out of my control.” One of the most successful rock groups of the century, Linkin Park, and the music world as a whole, suffered a terrible loss with the death of their co-lead vocalist, Chester Bennington, in 2017. Since then, the band has naturally been dormant on much new material but have played concerts, some in tribute, and have released troves of unreleased or rare material in compilations and reissues of their earliest records. There had been some concerning moments, namely the AI video for “Lost”, but the treatment of the posthumous material was respectful enough, at least as much as I can tell as I was never the biggest fan of Linkin Park. I would not say they have any great albums that are consistently fantastic all the way through, but what they do have to me are plenty of fantastic songs and even more fond memories dating back to my childhood, so regardless of my overall opinion, they definitely hold a comfortable place in my heart. So this reunion, which had been rumbling for a while, was probably going to grant strong opinions from me regardless of who it was and, ironically, I actually did not have strong opinions on new lead singer Emily Armstrong’s performance during the live shows. The livestream featured the Dead Sara frontwoman singing “Numb” which honestly did not seem all too different or interesting, though it clearly gave it enough of a boost for the song to return to #41 this week. She has a good voice, she was clearly present and has the range to perform much of their material, and since they’ll be recording and releasing new songs, she does not need to “replace” Chester.

Here’s the deal, though: Armstrong is connected to the cult of Scientology, which is extensively controversial, with Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta and his wife Chrissie on Instagram criticising the choice publicly by connecting her with the group and accusing her of being present at the 2020 trial of actor, Scientologist and convicted rapist Danny Masterson, which she admitted to and called a “friend”. Chrissie herself was a victim of Masterson, and with Chester’s history of being sexually abused as a child as he admitted to Kerrang! and NME, naturally this sparked outrage amongst some fans and music nerds in general who found that the choice of lead singer does not reflect Bennington’s principles, trauma, experiences and what he both fought for and expressed in his music, which has always been angst-driven and, at times painfully, honest. I tend to concur that this was a tone-deaf decision and though not all of his family have been open or even disapproving, his son Jaime has spoken against the decision and also about how band members including Mike Shinoda have ignored his concerns, and even that Linkin Park “fans” have harrassed him over his public opposition to the new singer. Armstrong confessed in a response that she did indeed attend the trial but was mostly dismissive of the contents or identity of what the trial actually involved, claiming to be unaware of details that at the time of trial, were - as allegations - readily available, especially to someone familiar with the then-alleged, now convicted.

I do not have to tell you that I have enjoyed music by bad people, I do not have to tell you that Armstrong is not the worst person ever, I do not have to tell you that the other members of Linkin Park I’m sure already have skeletons in the closet. I do have to tell you that this sucks. A man who formed some of my earliest memories of enjoying and connecting with music having his former band return, without the acknowledgement of his own family, alongside someone who defended - though not as publically as others - a man who afflicted sexual violence onto others, when Chester has been sexually abused and wrote earnestly about his overall trauma on the very records his band members played on, just sucks to me, and it seems many others, including Jaime and including the Bixlers. I cannot imagine how Emily Armstrong can guiltlessly cover some of his songs, and even if she relates them to her own experience as many fans have, Hell, many audiences have in general, including myself, I can’t help but feel a gross element to that. Those aren’t just not your experiences, they are experiences you worked in part to dismiss. For many, the apology will be enough, and that’s fine. Hell, I’m still going to listen to that new album when it’s out and it won’t stop me from relistening to their back catalogue which has some of my favourite songs of all time, like “Waiting for the End”, “She Couldn’t”, “Given Up” and a ridiculous amount of modern rock classics. Linkin Park are still a great band, and their legacy is not torn by this. But doesn’t it just suck?

You know what bothers me the most? The song’s fantastic. Armstrong’s not Chester, sure, but she already has an impressive chemistry with Shinoda, whose voice seemed off at first but blends perfectly with her more breathy rasp, and as a songwriter, Shinoda is in full pop form, with fuzz and reverb alongside some fantastically muffled drums leading in the echoing verses until a very typical but still anthemic chorus about falling victim to perhaps misguided hope and optimism leading you on in a moment of vulnerability: giving your life and receiving very little in return. It was a clever move to have Shinoda lead in, with Armstrong driving the song from the second verse on, but appearing in smokier, backing screeches during the first chorus, and once the full band comes in, whilst it doesn’t go as hard as it could, it’s still an incredibly full mix as you’d expect from Linkin Park. The band may have replaced the singer and drummer, but the core emotive thesis that LP have been working with for decades may still be here, and honestly, for as much shit as I will give her “apology” and public connections to Scientology, Armstrong kills it here. I’m a sucker for some good pop-metal and whilst this is far from their best, it’s a killer track, I’ll give it that, even if it probably won’t last too long past this week - though it’s 2024 so anything could happen - and it comes with a lot of baggage that I don’t think anyone was looking for.

For chart trivia purposes, as always: “Numb” returns after peaking at #14 in 2003 and returning to #20 in 2017. When it peaked, the Black Eyed Peas’ “Where is the Love” was #1. Its official mashup version with JAY-Z’s “Encore” matched the #14 peak on three separate occasions across late 2004 and early 2005.

Conclusion

I didn’t lie, did I? It was a fascinating week with an array of genres, artists, stories and even quality, but Fred again.. sweeps the competition here, getting Best of the Week for “just stand there” with SOAK and the Honourable Mention for “peace u need” with Joy Anonymous. Worst of the Week is more of a toss-up because the worst this week has to offer is largely just mediocrity, but I think Drake takes it by default with “Circadian Rhythms” as Cench wastes even more of our time with “Moi” featuring RAYE as the Dishonourable Mention. As for what’s on the horizon: The Weeknd, Playboi Carti, Tate McRae, Charli xcx and Troye Sivan with Dua Lipa on the new remix, it could be a lot at the top of the hit parade next episode so prepare for that. As for now, rest in peace to Will Jennings, Frankie Beverly and the legendary James Earl Jones, and I’ll see you next week!

[thesunshinenotebook]

Sunshine Review: Love Wins All by IU MV Starring V of BTS

[wishheroes]

Weekly K-pop Round-Up (20240523-20240531) pt.1

hello and welcome to another weekly round-up! today we will be reviewing k-music releases from the last week of may which happens to be may 23rd until may 31st! due to this week being longer as it's the last week and there being a lot of new releases, i will skip some that i don't have many thoughts on. hope you enjoy!

MONA LISA - Soojin

this song is great! this release suits soojin way more than agassy did, although both are great fits for her. the sound this song has really takes me back to 3rd/4th gen which i absolutely love. the instrumental is well made, and there's a summer vibe to it which makes it a nice song to listen to in the summer season. another thing to mention is the music video, it's absolutely fantastic. the visuals, the set, the effects, i loved everything. and it looks very high quality too. such an amazing comeback from soojin.

ERROR 405 - JD1

this is a bit funny, but this song genuinely made me emotional. mainly because it reminds me SO much of dkz, and i have a strong emotional attachment to them. moving on though, as you can probably guess i enjoyed this song a lot. it's really fun and i can definitely imagine myself listening to this a lot. the music video is also fun. honestly the best way to describe this song is, well, fun! if you enjoyed this release i wholeheartedly recommend you to listen to also check out some older dkz songs like universe, all i need is you or crazy night.

Be Ur Girl - B-OURS

to be completely honest, this just sucks. the mixing sounds atrocious on this, the vocals don't match the song at all and it's all over the place! i hoped their singing would save the song but being real, it only made it somehow.. worse? i feel bad. the girls have potential, it's just the song that's terrible and they need more practice. i feel bad criticising how low quality it is because they're obviously a nugu group, but i really have nothing positive to say about this song. i liked the summer-y vibe. that's it. hopefully before their next comeback they get some vocal lessons and a better producer.

How Sweet - NewJeans

endless plagiarism allegations aside, this has to be one of their best releases to date. the beat is simple but it works so well, and their vocals mix with the instrumental perfectly. it's addictive yet easy to listen to which makes it a perfect on-loop slash re-listen track. i could probably listen to this on loop for an hour straight and not even realize it's been so long. it's a cute song. personally i'm waiting for more songs like ditto and cool with you since those were my favourite releases from them but this one is solid too.

LOST! - RM

i like this a lot! i'm not a big rm or bts fan (or at least anymore) so i haven't really listened to any of namjoon's stuff after indigo but i was pleasantly surprised with this song. it's definitely very much my type of vibe and it immediately went onto my playlist. it's such a nice song. it's one of those songs that just feels like youth to me. honestly the more i listen to the more i like this song. maybe u could even say i love it. i hope he continues this sound in future releases as well.

Armageddon - aespa

language warning for anyone who needs it.. WHAT A FUCKING COMEBACK. aespa just never disappoints this shit is SO GOOD. that music video?? insane! the song is so addictive and SO well made i'm so unwell. i have no clue if i prefer armageddon or supernova from the double titles but girl at this point does it matter both are fucking crazy. everything about this comeback screams Q U A L I T Y! imma get it done~ oh ay oh ay oh - this release was crazy good.

KING KONG - TREASURE

huge step up from the disaster that was bona bona, we have treasure with their new single titled king kong. as someone who isn't a big fan of treasure i actually enjoyed this comeback a lot. i think it feels quite reminiscent of older yg releases which might be why i like it so much. i'm especially a fan of the chorus. i love the "here we go" part so much. it suits the song so well and it's extremely addictive. it's a solid comeback! thank you for not ruining my ears this time around, treasure.

Taxi Blurr - Jay Park (ft. Natty)

okay let him cook! this guy might be terrible but oh boy does he know how to make a solid track. this song KIND OF sounds like something jongin would release, and i ult jongin, so i like this a lot. natty's feature on this song was great too, her voice fits this song extremely well and she doesn't sound out of place at all which is great because a lot of songs with features suffer from that problem. honestly i did kind of almost fall asleep while listening to this but in this case it's a good thing. everything sounds good together and everything is mixed well into each other so it's a yes from me.

Empty - CHEN

chen serving vocals as usual. beautiful ballad, as expected from an exo member. did i fall asleep? yes. but if you fall asleep to a ballad, that just means it's really fucking good. feels like a lullaby that puts me right to sleep. the instrumental is beautiful too. i'm in love with this song i feel like i could truly listen to this on hours on end.

LOOP - Yves (ft. Lil Cherry)

mother. this song is definitely one of my top 2024 releases. serving pinkpantheress realness. i mention pink a lot these days, did u guys know i'm a huge fan of her? as expected from a queer individual. anyway, this song is outstanding. perfect concept for yves, she absolutely nailed it. nothing negative to say about it at all! oh actually though, remember when i said that a lot of songs suffer from a feature that is out of place and just sounds wrong? yeah. this is one of them. lil cherry, i'm sorry, but we need you out. this is like boys a liar pt2 with ice spice except the feature is even worse. dear me. thank god the song is so good that it just can't be ruined no matter what.

click here for part two of our weekly round-up!

[bigdidk]

【Jimin - 약속 (Promise)】Everyone deserves a Jimin in their lives | Dylan is an Introvert

🧣Hi y'all

I'm so sad that BTS will be back in 2025. Two years are so long. Even my fish cannot make it for 2 years. RIP for my fish.

Last night, I just listened to all the BTS songs again, like running over all the albums. And I still cannot believe I will not be able to see my boys in these 2 years. I miss how their songs cheer me up in my darkest days.

Right now, I'm just experiencing another breakdown in my life, as the one that I'm relying on will disappear for a while. However, please remember you can also be your light as you promise with Jimin.

🤝🏻Jimin - 약속 (Promise)

😿What this song is about

This song is dedicated to Army, which is the name to describe BTS's fans. Jimin wants to tell their fan that you have to love yourself and be your own guidance light in their lives. When you listen to this song, you can feel that Jimin is not only delivering this message to the fan but also talking to himself. 

There are not a lot of instruments in this song. Only using a guitar to create how raw and truthful Jimin is to express his feelings with the Army. He's never confident with his voice. I mean, WTF?? Jimin, you have an angel-like voice that is so smooth to listen to, especially at night, which even cures depression. 

🎇My favorite lines

아무렇지 않은데 그렇게 말하는데 사실은 내가 그게 아닌가 봐

'But I'm alright', I say, yet I guess I'm not, not really

It breaks me to see how he's always being a sunshine, but he's so broken inside. Wow, did I just randomly rhyme with that? Lol.

I want you to be your light, baby You should be your light

Thanks, but I don't know. What if I cannot be my light, and you are the only match I can hold?

🔦Thank you SO MUCH for reading this 

I thought this song review would be cheerful, but I made it sound sad. Nonetheless, I wish you could be your light and not give up on yourself. Today is the day to start all over again. I believe in you. Keep that work up, and keep smiling. Let's go through this challenging life together.

[bencgtravels]

My Top 10 Songs of 2022: #6 PSY (feat. SUGA) - "That That"

#6 - PSY (prod. & feat. SUGA of BTS) - "That That"

Not a lot to be said here. Simply a cathartic banger from Mr. Gangnam Style himself.

2022, pandemic's over, do what you wanna!

[musicjunkie71315]

Very Random Music Post

Hey guys! Back again. This weeks post are gonna be a little different. So this week as you guys may know was thanksgiving! I was out of school so I went on vacation to the beach and on my first day there I went to the mall. It was really packed and crowded because it was Black Friday and the lines were long. I was able to get into the some of the stores that I wanted to go to but not all. Anyways some of you are probably wondering what this has to do with music so I’ll go ahead and get into that! Well I was in books a million because that was one of the stores that the mall had and while in there searching for books I saw the bargained book section, which are books that have very low prices, and I saw a book called the Big Book of BTS. Y’all, I just had to get that book. Who was I to deny myself of having a BTS book?! Anyways if you know me by now you know that I absolutely love Love LOVE BTS so seeing this book excited me. I read the whole thing in the car. Ok that’s all I wanted to say. Buy guys!

11/27/2022

[kookslastbutton]

Those Eyes Chico ༓ myg (m) | chapter two

✑ Summary: As the new marketing director for Min Yoongi’s upcoming D-Day album & tour, you’re expected to bring your expertise to the table. This shouldn’t be a problem—you’re the best in the business and you’re used to drawing a strict line between your professional and personal life. But what happens when the lines you’ve fought to keep as separate blur for the first time?

pairing: idol!yoongi x plus size!poc!reader

genre/AU: angst, fluff, smut, slowburn, coworkers2friends2lovers, winter setting, forbidden love

word count: 6.1k+

warnings: This chapter in particular is written from Yoongi's perspective, oc is 28, Yoon is 30, oc is not originally from South Korea, oc has light brown eyes, swearing, mentions of alcohol consumption, smoking, mentions of body shaming by Hybe executive, bestie!tae is wonderful support 🥹, light fighting between members (literally crack), Namjoon has a little crush, Oc being a total boss at work bc she is amazing at her job, and cute & meaningful Yoon and OC interactions that make them finally start bonding (a little flirty too, hehe) 😉

now playing: Sweet Dreams by The Last Shadow Puppets

a/n: CHAPTR TWO IS HERE! GOD...the slow burn exists outside the series too with me not updating for two months. I'm sorry guys but TYSM for your patience! I'm VERY excited to release this chapter bc I think Yoon & Oc are super cute, hehe. Okay anyway, this series is dedicated to my wonderfully crazy friend and sorta beta, Gloom @theuselessdaydreamingidiot, and to all our fellow Yoon lovers bc we miss our sweet man SO MUCH 🥺 Enjoy! 🥰 Also huge thank you to @itaeewon for designing this beautiful series header! Love it!!

Series Masterlist | next chapter >>

Yoongi stands with his hands placed loosely on his hip, chest heaving as he attempts to catch his breath. The seven of them had been practicing choreography for their new RUN BTS song nonstop when Jimin called for a much-needed, fifteen-minute break. There’s a part of him that’s thanking the younger for it and another that’s wishing he hadn’t, as every moment left alone with his thoughts is spent decoding his last encounter with you at the cafeteria.

Why had you made such a beeline for the exit the moment he was waved over by his member?

You also completely ignored his attempts to greet you on your way out. He only stopped by the cafeteria to slip an orange in his pocket before returning to his studio. He didn’t mean to intrude or incite that you had to leave with his sudden presence.

Taehyung assured him that you merely left to tend to work matters, which he’d typically sum as hyper-fixation with one’s work as he’s prone to do the same, but this felt different at its core. Your behavior seemed more intentional than that. The last thing he wants to do is misread the whole situation, but he must’ve done or said something to cause your uneasiness.

“Hyung, how did the album meeting go this morning?” A clear voice comes from Yoongi's left as his fellow band member, Namjoon, strides next to him, water bottle clenched in his fist. Like himself, large droplets of sweat dots around the man’s brow. The minor interruption shakes Yoongi out of his slightly dazed state.

“Went well.” He takes a big swish of his own water before screwing the cap back on. “We reviewed everything in three hours and the album looks better than I anticipated. There are a couple of promotional strategies that still need finalizing, but I’m pretty confident about it overall.”

“That’s great, man. __-nim’s been doing good work with TXT for the last few years, so she’s definitely suited for the job. I thought about requesting her help to promote Indigo but the timing of it all didn’t work.” Namjoon’s voice drops an octave at the last part, as if remorseful for more than a missed professional opportunity.

“Ah, maybe your next album hyung,” Jimin suddenly chimes in, slapping the taller man on the shoulder from the side. “I have a feeling you and __-nim would work well together. Think about it, you’re both natural born leaders and you’re smart too. I bet __ -nim has as high of an IQ as you.”

Namjoon’s cheeks flush with the faintest tint of rose as Jimin flashes a knowingly cheeky grin. Yoongi, of course, witnesses the entire exchange, the slightest part of him feeling uprooted by the thought of his band member and new marketing manager suddenly hitting it off. He decides not to comment on the matter, choosing to remain in ignorance instead. This is all speculation, right?

Now that they’re all on the subject of his album though, it gets him thinking that maybe he’s been too narrow viewed regarding the reason for your off putting behavior at lunch.

D-Day’s release has become a consuming priority lately, with everyone involved worked to the bone. Aside from himself, you’ve been bearing the brunt of it. He’s appreciative of course, considering the album holds a deep sense of meaning to him, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want it to be perfect. A little pushback during the first proposal is natural, yet he did get more resistant toward ideas during this morning’s meeting than anticipated. Perhaps some of his nitpicking was unnecessary, adding to your already heavy load.

Yoongi’s head feels worse the longer he entertains the possibility. He doesn’t want to make the first time working together a complete whirlwind, especially this early. A strong, healthy partnership starts with trust, safety, and mutual respect. The same philosophy can be applied to relationships of varying natures. That reminds him—since when did Taehyung and you become so close? He’s been ruminating over it all afternoon, like a jigsaw puzzle he can’t solve.

It’s odd how little he knows.

“I heard someone mention __-nim over here. I want in.” A small grumble leaves Yoongi’s lips as Jungkook pushes next to him, displeased by how tiny his space bubble has gotten due to the huddle his members have formed around him. Just why the hell is everyone so interested in his new marketing director? That's what he wants to know.

“Can you introduce me to her sometime hyung?" Jungkook pleads. "I’m thinking about releasing an album in the next year and it’d be great if you could hook us up…yknow?”

Oh, Yoongi knows. He knows exactly what this young buck is insinuating, but it isn’t mating season yet and even if it were he will do no such thing as to “hook them up”. Besides, his conscience tells him that you wouldn't be interested in the company of a younger man anyway—not that your dating life is any of his business or anything.

“Get in line Jungkookie, behind Namjoon. He needs her for his album first.” Jimin squeezes down on Namjoon’s muscular shoulders with both hands, shaking him just enough to hype him up. His hands are removed seconds later when he’s told to knock it off.

“That’s enough about this, okay? I’m pretty sure Yoongi-hyung is the only one who actually needs __-nim right now because, in case you dumbasses have forgotten, D-Day is set to release in April,” Namjoon scolds the two with a commanding tone. Jungkook, per usual, remains persistent in his original request and keeps his full attention on Yoongi.

“Anyway hyung, as I was saying, I know your album takes priority so I’m in no hurry to meet her. I can be pretty patient as you know-“

“Heh, that’s a lie.”

“Shove it Jimin, no one’s talking to you.” Jungkook’s eyebrows scrunch together as Jimin snorts helplessly next to Namjoon.

“You shove it Kook,” Jimin counters. “And stop trying to date __-nim! Find your own woman!”

“I’m not trying to date her! She's my noona for gods sake! Do you think I’m oblivious to how the public reacts to idols dating? Also, __-nim is a Hybe employee, not an idol. I can only imagine the type of scandal the media would spin it as.”

“Right, we all know you actually just want to take her to your bed instead,” Jimin interrupts for the umpteenth time. “Our handsome leader, on the other hand, is interested in her professional abilities. We can learn a lot from him.”

“Why are you always trying to start a fight with me Jimin? Is it because I can take you, now that I've been building up more muscle?” Jungkook’s accusations earn him nothing more than a sea of eye-rolls until Jimin lunges himself towards him, puffing out his chest the best he can to size him up.

Namjoon rubs his face with a hand, a clear visual display of his exhaustion. He’s been moderating these stupid squabbles for nine years now. “Alright very mature, biggest boy band in the world and this is what it’s come to? Amazing, congrats to everyone for winning the award for most-”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Seokjin interjects, effortlessly shouting over everyone while waving his hands. “My brothers…why are we fighting over here like a couple of peacocks? We are all beautiful in our own, individual ways. Mine, for example, is my handsome face.”

“For the love of god hyung, we’re trying to settle something. Go take your inspirational pep talk elsewhere!” Jungkook bends his knees, swooping down to throw Jimin over his shoulder but he misses when the man starts tickling him ruthlessly.

“St-ah-stop it Jimin!"

“You stop it, you frickin’ brat! Trying to take advantage of our hyungs for your own selfish gain.” Jimin then slaps Jungkook on the ass which does not go unappreciated as Hoseok cackles from the other side of the room. Up until this point, he’s been scrolling on his phone, completely unbothered by the chaos. As Hoseok nears the action, Jungkook delivers a swift kick to Jimin’s rear end.

“Ow, what the fuck Kook?!” Jimin tries soothing the sting by massaging it with his hands. “You little prick!”

“Oh come on, I barely hit you. Gaining sympathy points won’t help this time, plus I see you trying to hide a grin. You think this shit is funny. You’re sick you know that?”

Jimin makes a move to return the kick to his youngest member but ends up hitting a far taller, and leaner subject instead. Taehyung, who just returned from the bathroom, throws a hand over his abdomen and grunts from the sudden impact.

“What is—shit Jimin that really hurt!” Taehyung’s baritone voice echoes off the walls as he winces from the pain. He takes a few deep breaths, then viciously eyes the two brawlers followed by the rest of the room. “What the hell is going on? I heard you all talking about __-nim from the hallway. Yoongi-hyung here is trying to kick off his album and tour, which we are supposed to be celebrating over drinks this Friday, but here you are arguing with each other and who has the biggest dick. Well, you can all put it away because as __-nim’s best friend, and number one wingman, only I’m allowed to set her up with someone and it won’t be with any of you! Sorry hyung…” he looks at Namjoon who appears to have brushed the comment off.

As soon as Taehyung ceases his mini-speech, eery silence sets in. Hoseok is the first to dare say a word.

“Uh, so what’s this about being her best friend Tae?”

“Yeah, I had no idea either.” Jimin quirks his head to the side, awaiting the details.

“Same,” Namjoon adds in a short breath.

“What happened to us, man?” Jungkook pouts at Taehyung, a total 180 from moments ago when he was in an unsolicited sparring match with Jimin. “You used to share everything with me. Now you’re holding out on me. Since when did you and __-nim start hanging out?”

Yoongi’s ears perk up for the first time since all the commotion began, curious to hear Taehyung’s response. He only recently discovered the blossoming friendship hours ago and even then, it was a brief inside look.

“I didn’t think to mention it but yeah, we started talking since her first day at Hybe. I bumped into her on the way into work, early morning for both of us. I expected her to be a bit on the reserved side, considering she was a new hire, but she was quite friendly. The more we talked, the more I felt like I knew her as if a childhood best friend I’d reconnected with.” Pausing, he wets his lips before continuing. “We share a lot of our meals together now, like our lunches during the weekday. Her food tastes amazing by the way. I think she missed her calling as a chef but it’s more than food— it’s a love language, a labor of love.”

“Wow, you two sure are connected,” Hoseok speaks first again, seeing the rest of his members working to process the new bit of info.

“Platonically, yes.”

“This’ll be good for Yoongi-hyung and his album then! No bad blood exists here!” Hoseok shifts his gaze between Taehyung and Yoongi, pleased with the outcome. The older of the two remains speechless, yet it’s far from a dazed expression. Yoongi is instead deep in thought, the wheels turning in his head.

So maybe it’s true that birds of a feather flock together, he hums to himself. The two of you seem to be social butterflies with a vase full of commonalities. He, on the other hand, prefers his solitude. That’s not to say he’s a hermit or anything though. Hybe hosts a company-wide New Year’s Eve party every single year and he’s made his best effort to attend them all. He mainly mingles with his members, but he still makes sure to small talk with other coworkers. Come to think of it, did he even see you at last year’s New Year’s Eve party?

He can’t remember much from the night except Seokjin scolding him for not wishing him a happy birthday the minute the clock struck midnight. He was a bit tipsy at that point. Taehyung disappeared soon after to make his usual rounds, stopping to chat with everyone in his path. Maybe he took off to talk to you during that time.

Okay, he really needs to stop thinking about you.

"Just to confirm, is everyone still on for Friday night to celebrate D-Day?" Jimin pipes. "I booked us a good place to have some food and drinks.

Taehyung nods, "I am, as long as it's not the same place we saw our CFO and his much younger date feeding each other. I couldn't eat for the rest of that night."

Jungkook fakes a gag before replying. "I'm sorry but does anyone know how is he still working here? Guy creeps me out."

"I swear, I couldn't agree more. Just yesterday he made an egregiously body-shaming comment toward __-nim to someone else on the board. She kept a brave front when she told me, but I'm damn tempted to get him removed from his position myself!" Taehyung's nostrils flare as he shares his frustration, fingers digging into his hips.

Yoongi takes a final chug of his water before abruptly tossing the bottle on the floor. A sharp crack resounds through the space, instantly commanding the authority of the room. “Fifteen minutes is over,” he gruffs. “It might be twenty minutes with all the bickering earlier. We don't have time to be talking about this anymore.”

“Come on now," Hoseok says. "Didn't you hear what Taehyung said? Our CFO really is a class-A jerk. I feel so bad that __-nim has to put up with his bullshit, she doesn't deserve it." His eyes frantically search the room, hoping to rally support.

"Don't worry about that asshole," Yoongi assures, "I'll handle it." He strides over to his choreographed position on the dance floor as if a leader in his own right, the rest of the members following in his steps.

"Just don't kill him, hyung," Namjoon says, resting a hand on the older's shoulder from behind. Yoongi merely snorts lightly in reply.

Yoongi is dead tired, his feet feeling heavier the minute he stands from his studio chair. He could have left hours ago, but here it is nearly 9:30 at night, and he's only just leaving the office.

As he shuffles down the hallway towards the elevator, he notices the eerie silence. It's thick, almost palpable. There's not a soul left in the building this late at night. When the elevator doors open, he leans casually against the metal rail, closes his eyes, and mentally retraces his day.

Overall, it was a decent day, he thinks, productive at best. Skipping dinner to work on his album tracks was an easy decision, but he might be paying for it now given the intense growling of his stomach. Despite his songs being considered perfect by his members, he can't help but tweak each one a final time. It's as if his gut tells him there's still a piece missing from the whole.

All at once, the elevator comes to a sudden stop. Yoongi's eyes shoot open, anticipation flooding his senses. Is someone still here? He listens intently, straining to hear any sound over the faint hum of the elevator. After a few moments that feel like an eternity, the elevator doors slide open to reveal an empty, dimly lit hallway. It's the 16th floor. He hesitates for a second, peering into the shadows, but there’s no sign of anyone. Strange.

Just as the elevator doors begin to close, Yoongi hears a distant, unmistakable voice. "Please hold the door!" you plead, your voice strained with urgency. He responds immediately, stretching out an arm to block the door. "Thank you so much," you say, slipping in beside him, your bag thrown over your shoulder.

Yoongi watches as you enter, curiosity in his eyes. It seems you were of like mind tonight, working late and likely burdened by the extra work he caused for you. The feeling of tension is as clear as it was yesterday, lingering as a reminder of the unspoken discomfort between you both.

But then again, there's that issue Taehyung mentioned, looming in his thoughts. He hadn't realized you overheard the horrendous comment his CFO made about you. No wonder you hurried away from him like a bat out of hell yesterday; you knew he knew. He wouldn't dare shine a light on the situation and risk embarrassing you further; no one needs to relive such a belittling experience. Yet, he's wrestling with the right words to say.

"Heading home, Min PD-nim?" You surprise him by speaking first, voice firm with a touch of gentleness.

Yoongi allows a faint smile to tug at the corners of his lips, hoping it'll relieve some tension. "I am, it's been quite a day. What about you?"

You nod, shifting the bag on your shoulder. "Same here. Just had to wrap up a few things before heading out."

He hesitates for a moment, noting how you speak as if it were only a few minutes past five or six in the evening. "I understand. I was working in my studio up until now. I should be back up there tomorrow too," he says, then chuckles lightly, "Sometimes I feel like I should just live up there."

You return the subtle laugh and smile softly at him, your light brown eyes catching his dark ones. It feels like the same prolonged gaze you shared upon first meeting, yet now, it's somehow become easier; perhaps a hint of familiarity.

"By the way," he continues, seizing the opportunity, "feel free to call me Yoongi-ssi. I'm not that formal in case you didn't know." He playfully gestures to his casual attire; tan cargo pants, grey plaid button-down, and sneakers.

You seem hesitant towards the request at first, evident from your delayed response. "Are you sure?" you choke. "I don't want to over step my boundaries."

"There's no need to worry about that," he assures. "We're on equal level aren't we? If we're going to be working side by side for the next eight months give or take, I want us to feel comfortable with each other. Please, call me Yoongi-ssi."

"Okay, I might need some time to get used to that," you say, head nodding, "I'll try calling you Yoongi-ssi from now on."

"There's one other thing too," he pauses, "since we'll be working on D-Day's promotion from start to finish, I'll have many of my own opinions. It's a natural instinct for me, but I don't want to be a hinderance. I don't want anyone else giving you issues either, so I'd like to hear your full thoughts on matters, especially when it comes to important decisions."

"That means a lot Yoongi-ssi, thank you. I'm very grateful that you'd allow me to be a part of this and I'd very much like us to have an equal partnership. This is your album though, so I want to make sure it gets the recognition it deserves in the way you'd prefer."

Yoongi glances at the floor numbers displayed to the right of the elevator doors. Any second now and you'll reach the lobby. He wouldn't mind talking longer, but letting you both get a decent night's sleep is the far better idea at this point.

"I trust that D-Day is in the right hands with you, __ssi," he replies. "It's why I recommended that we work together to promote it in the first place. Bang PD was also confident in the idea. We don't doubt your expertise for a second." He pauses when the elevator doors slide open and allows you to be the first to exit. "Have a good night, okay?"

For the first time, you reciprocate the wish with a full, illuminating smile. It's not a professional one, Yoongi notes, its a real one—as genuine and sincere as his words. He takes it as a sign that the tides may finally be turning for the better. "You too," he hears you say before you push through the large revolving doors and step into the cool night air.

In the evenings that follow, Yoongi finds himself back in his studio as promised, a glass of whiskey in hand. He ultimately decided that if he was going to be here until all hours of the night, he might as well have a cold beverage to keep him company.

As he leans back in his chair, swirling the dark amber liquor in his glass, his mind inadvertently wanders to you. Were you downstairs again? Were you here with him? It would seem that given your unexpected late-night encounter in the elevator, the validity of the idea wouldn't be all that wild or far-fetched.

With each passing minute, as the clock inches closer to the late hours, he finds himself circling back to the same thought. It's as if the possibility of running into you has become a highlight of his night.

Just then, a deep and familiar voice interrupts. "Burning the midnight oil again, hyung?"

Startled, Yoongi looks up to see Taehyung standing in the doorway, a sympathetic smile on his face. Despite it being almost 9 at night, his younger member is nothing short of flawless in appearance.

"Yeah, working on my tracks," Yoongi replies, offering a small smile in return. "What are you doing here?"

Taehyung steps further into the room, hand tucked in his pocket. "I wanted to stay late to keep __-nim company, but I'm not sure how much longer she plans on staying tonight. I was on my way out when I figured I'd stop by to see you too."

"Well, thanks for thinking of me. Want a drink?" He offers, nodding towards the nearby whiskey bottle.

"No, thanks," Taehyung declines politely, shaking his head. "I'll let you enjoy your whiskey in peace. Although, __-nim might take you up on that same offer one of these days. She has a strong taste for it, as you do. Anyway, I'm heading out. Don't overdo it with your music, hyung, they're already perfect."

Once Taehyung leaves the studio, Yoongi's previous string of thoughts return to him tenfold.

So you really are here, he muses, and you happen to like the same throat-burning alcohol. Should he venture downstairs and offer a drink? No, that would probably be too much, and he wouldn't want to interrupt you. Maybe if Taehyung were accompanying him, but not alone; he doesn't share enough rapport with you to merit such a spontaneous drop-in yet.

No, he takes another sip of his whiskey, he'll see you tomorrow morning instead; during your morning meeting. But that gets him thinking—he's still yet to decide on whether or not he'll make an appearance on Fallon's show. He’d done it with his members numerous times, but this would be the first time doing it alone. His album would indeed benefit from the exposure, though.

"Damn it," he curses, raising from his seat. "I work my ass off. I work my ass off for it all!" He then sits back down, finishing off the rest of his whiskey in one gulp, the burn soothing his frustration momentarily. With a resigned sigh, he turns his attention back to his music. "Damn it, I guess I'll do it."

If it weren't for his phone notification reminding him of his 10 am meeting on Friday, Yoongi would have missed it entirely. Normally, he never forgets important events, but several late nights in the studio had predictably caught up with him. He feels extremely sleep-deprived today, his memory more prone to blanking than usual. Waking up with a throbbing headache at 5 am, which hasn't dimmed in the slightest, doesn’t help either. Nonetheless, with only ten minutes to spare, Yoongi has no choice but to pull himself together and head downstairs to the conference room.

"Good morning, Min PD-nim," you greet him as he walks through the door. "We're about to start."

Yoongi drags out a chair and takes a seat. You look nice today, he notes quietly to himself. He makes sure to send a small smile your way before returning the warm greeting. "Good morning __-ssi," he says. "I told you we can speak informally didn't I?"

He waits for your response, easily tuning out the startled reactions from the rest of the team. Most high-ranking officials in the organization expected to be addressed formally by those in lower positions, but here he was, openly requesting you to speak as equals. It was almost unheard of during work hours. He was Min Yoongi, after all.

"Right, of course," you reply, "You'll have to excuse me, Yoongi-ssi. It slipped my mind for a moment."

Yoongi watches as you shuffle a few papers in your hand before continuing. "To get us started, I thought we'd discuss the decision to schedule a spot on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Will we be proceeding with this?"

"After mauling it over I think it's a good idea for the album. Do we have an idea of when this would happen?"

"Ideally after the album releases and around the time the U.S. tour begins April 26th. I say we aim for early May. Given Fallon's show's high demand, we'll need to get a jump on this as soon as we can." You shift your attention to your digital marketing and promotions team. "So-hyun, can you reach out to the producers and see what strings we can pull?"

She nods, scribbling a quick note on her writing pad. "We'll reach out today. I'll let you know as soon as we get a response."

"Excellent, thank you. I'm glad to hear you're on board with this Yoongi-ssi. It'll be a great way to promote D-Day and attract a global audience. The more smartly we utilize our resources, the better your album will be positioned in the current market." You take a brief pause to flip through your notes again. "Speaking of resources, we'll need to start booking magazine shoots and interviews. I'm proposing we run cover pages with Marie Claire Korea and Vogue Japan."

Yoongi would be taken aback by the flood of ideas and schedules you're firing at him, all within the first fifteen minutes, if he weren't already aware of your level of competency. This is exactly why he chose you, he hums to himself, your preparedness is impressive, but not surprising.

"I presume this will take place next year?" he asks. "During their spring issues?"

"Absolutely. We'll submit inquiries soon to get the ball rolling, but having the shoots completed now would be premature. Plus, it'll take some time before there are any openings with the companies. I think we should be consistent with tour dates and have Marie Claire go out in May and Vogue ready in August of next year."

"Okay, I'm fine with all that but we'll need to have something exciting released now, don't we? I know I start my weekly lives tonight, but shouldn't there be something more we can do?"

"I agree," you reply. "That's why I wanted to propose a brand new idea that came to me a couple of nights ago while I was drafting promotional content. Anytime idols release a new album or music, it gets published on YouTube, right?"

He nods, curious on where you're heading. "Right."

"Why don't we start a talk show with you as the host Yoongi-ssi? It can allow your fans to see another side of you, as well as the general public. We can invite your BTS members as guests where you can discuss music or past challenges that you've had to overcome—the choice is yours. To make it more interesting for viewers, you can have these frank conversations over a glass of whiskey or soju."

"I like the idea," he says, weighing it in his mind. "What would the timeline look like for this?"

"If we move forward with the idea, I suggest December 5th and we continue it for a max of two months. I know that only leaves us with just under two weeks to get started, but creating the set shouldn't take more an a day or a day and a half. We can also easily shoot a 30 to 60-minute video in an afternoon and publish it on YouTube the following week. Of course, a preview of the show will need to go out beforehand."

"Would we be able to invite other guests to the show? Outside of my members, I mean."

"Yes, feel free to invite whoever you'd like. We can start with the member for the first several episodes but ultimately, welcoming a variety of guests from the same or differing industries would be the goal."

"If I may." A member of the social media team suddenly joins the discussion, "I think Kim Namjoon-nim might be a good person to feature first since Indigo releases December 2nd."

Yoongi nods in agreement. "I can ask him."

"That would be fantastic, actually. If his availability is limited, we could have him guest star for the second or third episode instead," you add. "Hoseok released Jack in the Box this summer so we could have him be the first guest as well."

"Do we have a name yet?"

"Suchwita," you answer without hesitation. "It's a play on words with Daechwita."

"Suchwita..." Yoongi repeats, "Time to get drunk." He chuckles at the last few words, amusing the room, but you remain contemplative.

"How about Suchwita...time to drink with Suga, instead? It's simple and has a slight whimsical nature."

"Sure, let's use that," he answers, noticing that you've already begun jotting down the idea. "Yours is better."

Despite the adrenaline from the productive meeting with you and your team, Yoongi still feels the weight of his sleepless nights bearing down on him. His headache remains relentless and he is in dire need of a moment to himself. Once the team disperses, he slips his phone into his pocket and makes his way outside. The crisp, early morning air should offer him some relief, along with the pack of cigarettes tucked in his pocket.

When he reaches the building's designated smoking area, Yoongi takes out a cigarette and lights it, taking a deep drag as he leans against the cool brick wall. As he exhales, watching the smoke dissipate into the clear sky, his thoughts drift back to the meeting. The idea of hosting a talk show, "Suchwita...time to drink with Suga," still lingers in his mind. It’s an intriguing concept, and he can already envision the relaxed, candid conversations that could come from it.

His thoughts are suddenly interrupted by the sound of footsteps crunching on the ground nearby.

"Oh, Yoongi-ssi," you say with alarm, obviously startled by his presence. "I didn't mean to interrupt you. I'll come back lat-"

"There's no need for that. Join me if you'd like." Yoongi watches as you hesitate to accept his offer, your feet already positioned to head back inside the building. "Seriously, there's plenty of room, and no matter what they'll tell you, I don't bite."

He allows himself to smirk as you carefully move beside him, only stopping when there is at least two feet of space between you both.

"Thanks," you say, pulling out your own pack of cigarettes and lighting one. "I needed a break too."

"Rough morning?"

"Just busy," you reply, leaning against the wall next to him. "But the meeting went well. We should be able to get the ball rolling now that we have a more finalized plan. I'm glad you liked the idea of starting Suchwita, by the way."

"I do," Yoongi says, nodding. "It has a lot of potential and I'm sure Namjoon will be more than happy to help us out. He's a natural at this kind of stuff. I guess it's why he's our band leader."

"You know you're good at all of this too, don't you, Yoongi-ssi?" You pause, taking a puff of your cigarette. "Even when you have a lot on your mind and a packed schedule, you have a knack for making people feel at ease. It's why I think producing Suchwita will be such a great way to connect with fans and other artists—you'll be the host."

He chuckles, appreciative of the remark. "You really think that? That I make people feel at ease? It's not what a lot of people assume."

"Nah," you reply, tilting your head up toward the clouds. "They're just on the outside looking in. Those who know you, who are around you and talk to you, will agree that you're a pretty calming presence."

"Well, I think we're not so different then." Yoongi shifts his eyes to your face, still looking up at the sky, and smiles softly. "So, what made you come to BigHit? Didn't you say you worked for Atlantic Records? That's a pretty good gig."

"Yeah, it was. I learned a lot there, and man, I was thrilled when I got offered the job as a brand manager. I've always loved music, ever since I was a kid. I could connect so intimately with the lyrics. Music is one of the few things that could soothe me during rough times, and it still does today. I'm sure you can understand."

Yoongi nods, intent on listening to your every word, intrigued by your story.

"Anyway, sorry about getting long-winded here" you chuckle. "I ultimately decided to move on when Bang PD reached out and offered me the marketing manager position for TXT. It gave me the chance to be a more integral part of bringing music to individuals who need it most. It's like we say, 'music for art and healing.' I'd never had the opportunity to manage a completely new set of musicians before either, let alone a group. Plus, being on the global marketing team? I couldn't turn it down."

"It makes sense why you joined us then, and I have to say, it's a blessing you did too. Music is a way of communication for me, a way I can best express my story. That includes my past, present, and hopefully future. After hearing all you shared, I don't think there's anyone else I'd trust with handling my album promos." Yoongi pauses a moment, unsure if he should ask the next thing on his mind. "How come we never met before? I mean really meet and talk?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure myself. But things have a way of falling into place when the time is right, I suppose." You're now looking at him, the intensity of your gaze mirrors his own. A gentle breeze tousles a few strands of your hair and for a split moment, Yoongi begins to understand what Taehyung meant earlier when he said it feels like he's known you his whole life, like a childhood friend he'd reconnected with. While it may not be to that extent for himself, there's a comforting warmth emanating from you that leaves him feeling strangely tranquil.

"Given the circumstances, I feel like we should have at least met through Taehyung by now," he slips out. "Or even at a company-sponsored event."

"Why, do you like me that much, Yoongi-ssi? After five days of working together?" Your playful tease catches him off guard, revealing a side of you he hadn't seen before. It's kind of cute-wait, what?

"I-"

"Sorry," you quickly interject, feeling the need to backtrack. "I shouldn't have said it like that."

"Don't worry, there's no need for apologies. And to answer your question, I like you enough." He hopes you can hear the tease in his own tone as he responds.

You both lapse into a comfortable silence for the next few minutes, the only sounds being the distant hum of traffic and the occasional chirp of a bird. He finds all of it soothing in a way he can't quite explain.

After a few minutes, you turn to him, your expression thoughtful. "You know, if you ever need to talk or just need a break, I'm here. We're teammates now."

Yoongi looks at you, his tired eyes softening with gratitude. "Thanks, __-ssi."

You give him a reassuring smile before pushing off the wall. "I'll let you finish your cigarette. See you later? And by later, I likely mean at 9 or 10 pm in our company elevator."

"Yeah, see you later," he laughs, watching as you walk back toward the building. He takes one last inhale, extinguishing the cigarette and letting the remaining smoke escape his lips slowly.

Yeah, he likes you just enough.

a/n: Hope you enjoyed it! Lmk what you think 🥰

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