Album review: ‘17 IS RIGHT HERE’ cements SEVENTEEN as K-pop Maestro
SEVENTEEN is back with their latest compilation album and a message for AI.
Images: PLEDIS ENTERTAINMENT.
To celebrate their almost decade-long music journey in the industry, the 13-member group released a best album, also known as a compilation of their best songs. The album features some of their top title tracks, Korean versions of some of their most popular Japanese songs, four entirely new tracks: "MAESTRO," "LALALI," "Spell," and "Cheers to youth,” and much more.
Thankfully, this album isn’t a goodbye-before-the-military-enlistment album. SEVENTEEN is scheduled to make a second comeback later in 2024.
The Concept
"17 IS RIGHT HERE" begins with the title track “MAESTRO,” a vocally charged, one of a kind song, perfect for a best album's title track for many reasons.
“MAESTRO” teaser 1 provided a glimpse into the song's concept, posing a seemingly simple question to the audience: “In our current reality, anything can be created with AI, so who is the real maestro?” This makes the Music Video a great parallel to the world we actually live in, a place where, for a few quick bucks, tech-bros have turned artists' reality into a dystopia-induced nightmare.
Generative AI is currently rising to prominence within the K-pop industry, though it seems SEVENTEEN is the first group to explicitly fight against it vocally. HYBE, the company that owns SEVENTEEN's label PLEDIS, also owns SUPERTONE (which according to HYBE is an “AI-based audio solution [which] creates a realistic voice that can sing and act, transforming the paradigm of the creation process”), making SEVENTEEN’s concept ballsy to say the least.
The Sampling
One thing I noticed while listening to the song for the 15th time was how it includes at least three samples from their discography.
First is the bass guitar riff from “Adore U” in the intro. Second is the melodic synth of “Fear” which can be heard around 1:40 in “MAESTRO.” Lastly, the melodic synth of “Rock with you” is present in the pre-chorus of “MAESTRO.”
Rumor has it that there are a total of 7 samples from their previous songs. This isn’t the first time SEVENTEEN member and producer Woozi has sampled one of his own songs, but doing so for the title track of their best album seems like the perfect thing to do.
The Lyrics
The lyrics of “MAESTRO” beautifully tell of SEVENTEEN’s music journey, depicting a sense of pride and humility. One part that stood out was leader S.Coups’ rap verse: “A SEVENTEEN's scherzo, It's a little unconventional.”
Due to the nature of the algorithm of current generative AI, no matter how many times you ask it to create something new, it will always produce a piece of art that is the average of its training dataset. On the other hand, the true maestro, SEVENTEEN, can mix and match to create something completely new that doesn’t fit the standard.
Secondly, vocalist Joshua’s verse: “Doesn't matter either classic or new thang, We take pride in our new combinations,” stands out as a potential dig at AI or simply an explanation of the group’s entire discography. While most artists stick to one thing that works, SEVENTEEN has been trying out new styles and genres throughout their career. Whether it’s the fresh upbeat “Adore U,” the EDM classic “HIT,” soft ballad “Pinwheel,” or R&B “Light a flame,” this group is known for defying genre. Even within one SEVENTEEN album you can find a song to cry to and a song to dance to.
The Music Video
The entire video is a piece of art – the outfits, the set design, the camera work, everything was great. The choreography is, of course, intense; it’s something only a Performance Powerhouse like SEVENTEEN could pull off. The Music Video itself warrants a 3000-word essay detailing the metaphors, imagery, and storyline in depth.
One thing that I didn’t instantly fall in love with, however, is the chorus. For a song as grand as “MAESTRO,” I felt the chorus should’ve been even grander and punchier. But the anti-drop chorus is quite underwhelming. Regardless, the song is still an instant hit.
The B-sides
"LALALI," the hip-hop unit’s (S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu, and Vernon) song, stands out as one of the catchiest tracks among the four new songs on the album. From its electronic wavy bass sound to the chorus: “Eorimeopji nan la-la-li, La-la-li, La-la-li,” this song is perfect for performances at concerts and festivals.
The entire track, especially Wonwoo’s verses, underscores SEVENTEEN’s resilience and determination to stay in the business, which is undeniable. Considering SEVENTEEN debuted under a bankrupt company and nearly a decade later has become one of the most famous K-pop groups worldwide, they are making history.
"Spell," performance unit’s (Jun, Hoshi, Minghao, and Dino) song takes on a more relaxed vibe, serving as a living testament to Woozi and Bumzu’s (SEVENTEEN’s in-house co-producer) genius. This song is inspired by Afro beats and executed amazingly.
Other than sounding great to the ears, one thing I noticed about this song was the instrument in the intro and the beat sounds like water cascading down, which ties neatly with the refrain: “This ocean view, every day, I'll give it to you.” Despite its recent debut, "Spell” has already stolen the crown of “I Don’t Understand But I Luv U,” SEVENTEEN’s performance unit’s previously most popular song.
During SEVENTEEN TOUR ‘FOLLOW’ AGAIN day one on April 27, 2024, Woozi shared a sweet story behind "Cheers to youth,” the vocal unit’s (Jeonghan, Joshua, Woozi, DK, and Seungkwan) song. It all began during one of SEVENTEEN’s concerts when Hoshi messed up his ending ment, leading to a teasing from the other members. In response, HOSHI replied with, “Everyone, I am living today for the first time too.” Inspired by these words, WOOZI started taking notes, and soon "Cheers to youth” was born.
The theme of self-love and being lenient on yourself, even when the world is hard on you, resonates throughout the song, evident even without reading the lyrics' translation. The soft vocals of Woozi and Seungkwan, paired with melodious piano and an upbeat, slightly nostalgic bass sound, cement "Cheers to youth” as SEVENTEEN’s iconic, unforgettable B-side. As the song progresses, Joshua and Jeonghan’s soothing vocals, along with DK and Seungkwan’s stable high notes, and the ever-rising chorus, infuse the song with optimism.
However, one complaint I have is the lack of collaboration from the vocal unit members. While "LALALI'' and "Spell" are written by the entire hip-hop unit and performance unit, respectively, the writing credits on "Cheers to youth” belong only to Woozi and Bumzu. For the album to have been more coherent, it would’ve been better if all vocal unit members had had a hand in writing this song.
The album continues with SEVENTEEN’s 28 title tracks and is neatly wrapped up with “ADORE U Instrumental,” reminiscent of their first comeback. There was absolutely no other way to end this masterpiece of an album.
Let us know your favorite “17 IS RIGHT HERE” track in the comments below.
Edited by Chelsea Cheetham.
Cherry Chu Magazine subscribers gain access to exclusive content including ad-free articles. Subscribe for free by clicking the link below.