Just barely over three months since their debut, the charming lads of BOYNEXTDOOR are back, knocking once again on our doors.
Answering the door this time around, however, there’s a hint of dejection and angst, a striking change from the beaming smiles and giddy spirit Jaehyun, Sungho, Riwoo, Taesan, Leehan, and Woonhak had shown the first time around.
Out on 4 September, WHY.. is the six-piece rookie boy band’s sophomore outing and first EP, comprising of the 3 singles from their debut release, WHO!, plus three new tunes including the title track ‘뭣 같아 (But Sometimes).’
Like a sequel with an unforeseen twist, the comeback release picks up from the pilot episode: one about infatuation, wooing or a first love, as shown in the first 3 tracks: ‘돌아버리겠다 (But I Like You),’ ‘One and Only,’ and ‘Serenade.’ Now, suddenly, they’re in shambles.
“Story-wise, WHY is the continuation of our debut single album WHO. It’s a candid representation of all the emotions one would feel when experiencing a breakup, so any youth who has that experience of a first love can relate,” explained dancer Riwoo at a media showcase in Seoul (9/4), ahead of another action-filled round of promotions.”
Youngest member Woonhak revealed that the newer releases were developed around the same time or in tandem with the original 3 debut tracks. Because of this, he explained that WHY had been meant to be seen as one story: “Think of it as one cohesive album. If you listen to it with that in mind, you’ll be able to really feel the roller coaster of emotions ranging from budding love to heartbreak.”
The proof of concept is in the lead single, named ‘뭣 같아 (But Sometimes),’ a garage rock-inflected romp with production just a tad reminiscent of the late aughts to early 2010s canon (think: Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, and more).
“다 뭣 같아 / 다정했던 사진 속 네 모습이 / 다 똑같아 / 이번에 다를 거라 했었던 말도 (Everything sucks / How you look so sweet in photos / It’s always the same / How you said it’ll be different this time),” they sing. It’s all juvenile woes, albeit a maelstrom of them left in the wake of a split – a stark contrast from the ebullient ‘But I Like You.’
“I’m sure everyone copes with a breakup differently, and I thought for people around our age, their ways of coping might be immature and not the most graceful,” said leader Jaehyun. “So we wanted this song – its lyrics and performance – to reflect that insight we had.”
Onstage, all of these had to be obvious as well, as main dancer Riwoo shared, “Our songs are quite straightforward in terms of the lyrics, which is why the choreography needs to emulate that. So we always talk amongst each other so that our gestures and the dance we do onstage can reflect the candidness of the lyrics.”
“It’s a breakup song reinterpreted in a BOYNEXTDOOR way: a group of boys still coping with breakups. Simply put, we compiled all the raw, edgy, unrefined energy one would expect from youth our age,” Jaehyun added.
“'But Sometimes’ encapsulates the mix of emotions one would feel… like the sense of emptiness – expressing it in a very blunt way,” shared Taesan, who also came up with the song’s title and hook: ‘뭣 같아,’ an expression roughly meaning “Everything sucks” in Korean.
“This track needed a strong punchline, a single phrase that sums up the entire song from the first-person point of view,” he shared, adding that he had helped write the song and most of the EP with Jaehyun and Woonhak.
The members are joined by their own boss, superstar rapper and KOZ Entertainment head honcho Zico (also name-dropped in ‘But Sometimes’ by his real name, Jiho 지호, Leehan pointed out). Hitmaking producer Pop Time, who had also mentored the six-member act from the beginning, is also at the helm in developing WHY.
“When we write our lyrics and compose, we think about how our members talk and behave in real life,” Woonhak shared. “We try to take their habits and quirks and incorporate them into our songs. That’s why you’d feel like you were talking to a friend when you read our lyrics, and why you’d find our songs to be more relatable.”
Elsewhere on WHY, in the chill hop-tinged midtempo interlude, ‘Crying,’ BOYNEXTDOOR croon, “I’m crying like a baby / Nobody knows,” as if unable to come to terms with a lost love.
Things shift once again at the EP’s closer, ‘ABCDLOVE,’ the most lighthearted tune among their newer fare. “Accordingly, it captures the emotions after the storm of love and heartbreak has passed,” Riwoo said. “It’s a hopeful reminder that although the void left after the breakup might feel alien to you now, it will get better over time.”
“We are singing about love, but it is a very different spin. This different concept and mood – I am excited to find out how the public will perceive this,” Leehan said.
True to their moniker, BOYNEXTDOOR have been capturing the attention of fans and audiences with their plain-spoken, “down-to-earth” narratives and congenial tone – which the members pride themselves on and have even garnered them accolades: recently, the Korean Consumer Forum’s Brand of the Year Award for Rookie Male Idol and even a feature from the GRAMMYs as a K-Pop boy band to watch.
“I want to return that love to the public through great performances and great music. Through this promotion, I want to reach more fans all around the world in a variety of ways,” main vocalist Sungho said.
Listen to WHY.. here and other platforms:
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