The SEVENTEEN attitude for CARATs worldwide

Myungseok Kang : relaxed piano and brass back lyrics that say, “There’s no end to the dream journey / But you can take a breather today.” But soon the vibes transform with explosive drums and the thirteen young men on the stage dance vigorously to “Till the sun rises / Go all out till our party’s over”. “HOME;RUN”, the title track of SEVENTEEN’s special album “; [Semicolon]” urges the listener to, like the semicolon in the middle of a sentence, take a break; yet the members sing hard without pause. The song is based on swing, but instead of the richness or relaxation of piano and brass, the thundering drums are at the forefront and the members belt out the melody almost with roughness. The refrain contains performances that seem easier than their earlier songs, but the choreo still requires constant movement. Whereas swing jazz was a way for these veteran idols to show their ease coming from years of experience, SEVENTEEN shows how much energy in singing and dancing is required to express that kind of pizzazz. In the “HOME;RUN” music video, SEVENTEEN act like both young men dressed to the nines and young men wandering the streets. No matter their look, they’re all searching for the diamond that seems to represent their fandom “CARAT”. Five years after their debut, the team can now sell over 1.09 million albums in their first week. But they're still searching for their diamond. That’s why the song seems more like a message of consolation to their fans via their hard work than “[N]o end to the dream journey / But you can take a breather today.” Just like how SEVENTEEN’s dawn is hotter than our midday sun, they run full tilt to bring the fans this sweet respite. S.COUPS starts the song with “SEVENTEEN Right here”, and there could be no other way to start it.

A musical that heals an era

Hyunkyung Lim : SEVENTEEN’s “HOME;RUN” performance is a musical show. The members are scattered across the stage but snap into a single file when the song starts, like the curtains that slowly push away the darkness to reveal the stage. S. COUPS, WONWOO, DK and MINGYU hold their place in the center of the stage like the catcher, pitcher, hitter and umpire, respectively, in the middle of a baseball game; the other members who reach the ends of the stage become the ensemble that bows right properly at “SEVENTEEN Right here.” It’s the moment the curtains rise for “HOME;RUN”. The members of SEVENTEEN become the main actors, an ensemble, dancers and baseball players on the stage. They become the curtain that closes as a stage mechanism to signal the transition from one scene to another, and then turn into musical instruments that create the rhythm with snapping fingers and stomping feet. They swing their arms and legs to the jazz band sounds of piano, brass and drums, and then jump with their arms held high in swing dance moves that exude freedom. These swings get them ready for the home run. WOOZI stands in the center and shouts, “Let’s make a day we won’t regret” as four members run clockwise like baserunners before leaping into center stage. WOOZI calls out right away, “Grand slam / Home run again”. The hit parade continues until they hit a grand slam, and they dance heartily. The musical film “42nd Street”, which came out in the Depression days of 1933, gave hope and joy with a story of a show overcoming tough times and becoming a hit. SEVENTEEN’s “HOME;RUN” perhaps contains a similar reflection of our society today. Their dancing and singing that relentlessly build up to a home run despite the occasional break is a performance for everyone living in an era of pandemic-fueled depression and despair.


SEVENTEEN running the track of life

Yejin Lee : The unit songs on SEVENTEEN’s special album “; [Semicolon]”, from the second track “Do Re Mi” to the fifth “AH! LOVE” are fragments of youth as expressed by the members who find themselves in different moments on the path of life. SEUNGKWAN, VERNON and DINO’s “Do Re Mi” tells the listener to follow the voice in the heart with “You can just think easy / Like Do Re Mi / Think it’s tough and it turns out tough.” THE8, MINGYU and DK’s “HEY BUDDY” talks about friendship by meeting friends “After throwing something on” and being together “From one to ten / everything we want to do” as “Problem solvers for each other”. JUN, HOSHI, WONWOO and WOOZI’s “Light a Flame” discoveres the delicate emotions of getting to know each other by “Walking the fine line”. Next is S.COUPS, JEONGHAN and JOSHUA who naturally segue into “Me to you, you to me / Become open about everything” to someone who “Planted this small seed into my arid heart / And made it grow” through their unit song, “AH! LOVE”. With units organized by age, SEVENTEEN’s songs remind the listener about the eternal themes of youth of friendship and love through their own lives and their own concerns.

Listening to the title track “HOME;RUN” again after going through the album gives it a new feel. SEVENTEEN’s message in “We’re holding the bat / Even with two outs on the bottom of the 9th / Tomorrow is another day” is the result of the everyday lives and thoughts of the members as reflected in “Do Re Mi” or “HEY BUDDY”. “HOME;RUN” is how the members are consoling the fans, and the tracks that follow are their lives. Through the units that are based on their relationships, SEVENTEEN retrace their special links and sing about how they share their lives and encourage each other in the course of their daily existence. They start off as a team, and then round the “track” of their album in their own courses before coming together as SEVENTEEN to sing in the final “All My Love”. “This song is for you / So we can approach your love”. This is the capping moment when the 13 members come together as one again and send their love to everyone listening.