“Really, Really” by Winner, Sunday, July 24, 2022 (Trigger Warning: Suicide)
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Winner is a South Korean boy band signed to YG Entertainment. Debuting in 2014 as a five-piece group, they had several successful singles before group member Taehyun left the group in 2016, citing mental health and personal issues. The next year, in 2017, Winner released two single-records Fate Number For and Our Twenty For, with two new songs on each single record. Besides emphasizing that the band was now only four members, the records played with a spring/summer Tropical Dance vibe. Unlike many K-pop artists, Winner is largely self-produced, with the band members taking active roles in producing their songs, choreographing their dances, and marketing their music.
TRUST MY HEART. A lengthy K-pop hiatus over a year between the EP Exit: Eand Fate Number For, the band emerged with singer Nam Taehyun. The year 2019 was a bad year for K-Pop. Former f(x) member Sulli committed suicide following only bullying. A few weeks later singer Goo Hara took her life as did former Surprise U singer Cha In-ha. In the wake of Sulli's suicide, former Winner singer Nam Taehyun spoke out against the pressures put on to celebrities in Korea and the brutal effects that online bullying can have on stars. But these three suicides were in the shadow of another high profile K-pop star who took his life in December of 2017,SHINee's leader Jonghyun. At the time SHINee was one of the biggest boy bands in Korea behind EXO and BTS, but the pressures of the industry had precluded his taking care of his mental health. Jonghyun wrote in his suicide note: "I am broken from inside. The depression that gnawed on me slowly has finally engulfed me entirely." Taehyun's exit from Winner was truly a brave move.
IT TICKLES MY STOMACH JUST THINKING ABOUT IT. Winner's music is always upbeat and positive. The group has an ear for a hook, and their 2017 releases are no exception. Today's song "Really, Really" is a fun, tropical-sounding song. Although the song is contrasted by the black-and-white stylized artwork and music video, the band's next single-album Our Twenty For brings to life the vivid colors reflect in the music by shooting the music videos for "Love Me, Love Me" and "Island" in Hawaii. Though shot in black and white, “Really, Really” shows brilliance early using light and wind. Time seems to pass over the course of the video as the sunlight shines less strong as the video progresses. The dancing in the video gives the song an extra layer of energy, but it’s not the group performing the dance that is most notable but the girls dancing in the video. The bouncing cars at the end of the video, though, seems to feel a little dated in a bad way. But overall, it’s a fun song for a sweaty beginning to a three-week summer vacation. Enjoy!
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