Feeling down? K-Pop performance powerhouse SEVENTEEN brings heaven on earth with their 11th mini album, “SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN”
Let’s face it, life is tough. We’ve all had our share of bad days—some more than others—where it just gets extra difficult to keep going. Often, we need someone or something to turn to, especially during these moments—and that something for me is music. It doesn’t really matter what language it’s in or whether there are words or not, music just speaks to me, to you, to us. Music has the power to connect people, to make us feel various emotions and to make us feel alive.
K-Pop boy band and performance powerhouse SEVENTEEN celebrates music, love and life in their record-breaking 11th mini album entitled SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN. The 13-member group brings positive energy and good vibes in this eight-track album, produced by SEVENTEEN member WOOZI. Plus, some members even co-wrote and co-composed certain songs. What a talented bunch, amirite?
While the album’s title is a play on “seventh heaven,” a state of extreme happiness, so we know that their message is not one of toxic positivity. We all go through good and bad times, which SEVENTEEN acknowledges. But the group also reminds us in the album that despite it all, life is still very much worth living. After all, there are friends—and perhaps lovers—worth being with, songs worth listening to and causes worth fighting for.
Produced by Marshmello, the opening track called SOS is a cry for help due to our current state of affairs. SEVENTEEN asks “Where is the love?” as everything seems to be falling apart and every day feels like a battleground. They sing about the world being cruel—with many of us fighting silent battles—and wanting to find a way out. But SEVENTEEN reminds us that we’re not alone. It’s okay to ask for help, shoot that SOS and call a friend. After all, that’s what friends are for.
The album’s main track is a fresh, feel-good and funky song called God of Music. Here, SEVENTEEN thanks the God of Music for—you guessed it—music! The song is about how music transcends words and language (back me up here, fellow K-pop stans). In a Teen Vogue interview, Mingyu says, “Since the title is God of Music, we didn’t want to send the message to a particular person but have this song go out to everybody, everyone that listens to music. We wrote the lyrics imagining that we were talking to everybody across the world, thinking about togetherness, and trying to make the lyrics as friendly and easy to listen to as possible.” SEVENTEEN further proved their point by including an instrumental version of God of Music in the album!
Diamond Days, the album’s third track, is reminiscent of Shining Diamond, the first track in SEVENTEEN’s first album called 17CARAT. In this song, they recall their first days together and look back at the time they’ve spent as trainees, singing and dancing in a small basement with pistachio-colored walls. K-Pop stans know how rigorous and exhausting the idol training system can be, but as they say, diamonds are formed under pressure—and SEVENTEEN is one of those gems that really shine. Talk about a full-circle moment!
Now, here comes the subunit songs! While all members can sing, dance and rap, SEVENTEEN is divided into three subunits—performance, hip-hop and vocal—each with a song in the album.
The performance unit—comprised of Hoshi, The8, Jun and Dino—sings about how the future can be nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time in Back 2 Back. Yet they reassure us that despite the uncertainties that the future brings, “it’s gonna be alright.” We won’t be alone as there are people who’ve got our backs!
Next up is a quirky song that gives off spooky vibes! In Monster, the hip-hop unit—composed of Scoups, Mingyu, Wonwoo and Vernon—showcases how far they’ve come as a group and how they’ve become beasts at their craft. They rap, “If you don’t believe, come to our concert. Everyone calls me Monster.” Case in point: SEVENTEEN will be having their Follow to Bulacan concert on January 13 and 14 at the Philippine Sports Stadium, the largest football stadium in the Philippines. The possibilities are indeed endless.
After all the upbeat songs, the vocal unit switches up the vibe with a slow and sad tune in Yawn. Woozi, Jeonghan, Joshua, Seungkwan and DK sing about the pain, sadness and emptiness resulting from someone important in our lives leaving. They remind us that life is short and all our relationships are impermanent. The least we can do is treasure and cherish the moments we have with the people we love.
Lastly, SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN ends by bringing the group together again in Headliner, a term that denotes the main act. The 13-member group lays out the beauty of admiring and loving someone, our headliner. (SEVENTEEN, you are my headliner!) Love makes us go the extra mile for the people we hold dear. Love makes us stay with our loved ones—may it be family, friends or a significant other—through thick and thin. Love enables us to shine together.
SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN has both been my seventh heaven and safe haven since its release, and I’m grateful to SEVENTEEN for that. As an ambitious yet exhausted student, this album has brought me happiness and has been fueling me through endless examinations, papers and presentations. Life may be tough, but SEVENTEEN shows us that there’s so much more to live for. There are still more songs to listen to, more people to love and more people who will love us, more experiences to try, and more dreams to turn into a reality. So, thank you, SEVENTEEN, for reminding us of that!
Copy MJ Viernes
Art Macky Arquilla
