Didn’t expect anything less
When YG comes through he comes through, and he knew he had to bring it with WINNER seeing as everyone’s been waiting so long. Don’t even know where to begin, but I guess we can start in what I believe is chronologial order. Before I get into that though, I wanna mention that I had no idea Taehyun was as popular as he apparently is. Good for him!
I think everything starts out with BABY BABY, the concept of the video showing various types of loneliness and the ways in which people try to cope with the feeling. All that glitters isn’t gold, and I think BABY BABY’s visual did a good job expressing that. I’m giving major props to the entire WINNER team for giving us something mature. There’s only so deep you can go with a Bubblegum Pop record and an MV to match, so turning things up a knotch by giving fans something adult oriented was definitely the way to go if you want viewers to resonate with the group and their music (and bring in sales, of course). If you’re trying to make WINNER a group that can relate to the masses, even globally, it’s the direction to take. The members did a great job expressing the various emotions too, and I’m always surprised at how well a lot of these idols perform dramatic roles in their music videos. A lot of idols turned actors aren’t the best as we all know, so I sometimes wonder how the team manages to pull the emotions out of the singers. It’s probably a mixture of some natural talent in front of the camera on WINNER’s end, multiple takes, good camera angles, and solid direction. Oh, and we can’t forget years of training before debut lol.
I’M YOUNG is Taehyun’s solo and he gets an entire music video for it which was awesome. BABY BABY left off with him boarding an airplane after flashbacks of his past relationship, and it’s safe to assume that’s where I’M YOUNG picks up. His voice is a unique falsetto that may be hit or miss but he does a decent job in his solo acting performance, the female lead being great in her own right and really helping him to shine. Also I’m happy Taehyun had an opportunity to play this type of role, a man in love and passionate about his girl. It helps dispel some of the rumors circulating around him about him being super feminine and possibly gay. Not saying that either is a problem or necessarily false, it’s just a lot of these rumors seem to have a negative connotation. I think Taehyun and his broken home issues (i.e. no father present, being raised only by his mother, and being bullied for it) have a lot to do with that (if those are even true). Anyway yeah, I’M YOUNG is a great ballad that’s definitely heightened by its visual accompaniement. It has a mature theme ending with a “you can’t always get what you want” message, and how love stories don’t always end happily. Again, I think he did a good job playing the part.
SENTIMENTAL is WINNER’s Pop record of the bunch. It’s what the mainstream will probably play most out of the three as it’s the most commercial. The concept is bright, colorful and inviting- it’s a song for all the under 19+ year olds. Obviously it’s not my favorite, but to be quite honest I wouldn’t have liked any of these songs as much as I did if it weren’t for their music videos. It just goes to show that when multiple senses are being stimulated the overall effect can be, well, multiplied, and you know you’ve created something good when all of the stimuli work together to create one solid, cohesive, feeling.
I’m thoroughly impressed with WINNER’s long awaited comeback! BABY BABY and I’M YOUNG made me tap into my own sad experiences and allowed me to empathize with the music and stories being told, which is a sign of good art. I look forward to this group’s releases because they bring the kind of sophisticated and deep concepts that iKON can’t; it’s just not their image. iKON definitely has some songs that are somewhat on par in terms of seriousness, but I don’t think they’d be able to deliver the same type of aesthetic or atmosphere that WINNER can if given the same concepts to work with.
What say you guys? Which song did you like most, if any? Are you impressed with the delivery by the members? Let ya boi knoooooooow~
(Source: WINNER)