By Elizabeth Chang
On Oct. 23, 2023, K-pop group SEVENTEEN made a comeback releasing their 11th mini album, “SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN.” With three festival-themed artwork versions with related trinkets inside, SEVENTEEN attempts to convey emotions of ecstasy and happiness through eight new tracks.
SEVENTEEN debuted on May 26, 2015, under PLEDIS Entertainment, and SEVENTEEN is under HYBE Entertainment as of May 25, 2020. The group consists of 13 members: S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino. SEVENTEEN’s official fandom name is Carat and fans are referred to as Carats. The group has three subunits, hip-hop, vocal, and performance. SEVENTEEN is most known for their amazing performances, self-produced music and versatility in music genres.
“SOS (Prod. Marshmello)”
Released entirely in English, the song provides a catchy chorus credited to the electronic music producer Marshmello, who collaborated with Woozi and Bumzu in the production of the song.
SOS is used for emergency situations; SEVENTEEN is trying to express that they are always there for carats through the song especially with the line, “cause I’m your friend.” A lot of people can relate to the lyrics of this song and feel comforted by it. I myself have been replaying “SOS” for a few weeks because I really like the chorus and think Vernon’s voice matches the song well.
“God of Music”
Promoted on social media, music shows and T.V. shows, “God of Music” is the title track of this album. This song conveys the message that music connects all of us regardless of our differences.
The music video on YouTube includes vibrant colors that correspond with the bright, upbeat song. Woozi described this song as ecstatic and like a festival, similar to their album cover. The music video was filmed in Budapest, Hungary. Near the end, there is a scene where a disco ball microphone is seen in space — literally. I was surprised to find out that the microphone was actually launched into space through their collaboration with Sent Into Space.
Because this is the title song, the group provided choreography with it to perform at music shows that I think really matches the beat and lyrics. It’s memorable, and I even memorized some of the parts myself. My favorite part is the lyrics “kung chi pak chi kung kung chi pak chi” because it’s really catchy.
“Diamond Days”
The intro to this song is very similar to the intro of “Shining Diamond,” a song from SEVENTEEN’s debut album. In both songs, the intros start with the lyrics “slip into the diamond life.” This song was sampled and contains lyrics developed from “Shining Diamond.” So, there are a lot of resemblances between the two songs that fans will recognize.
I found the chorus to be really interesting as it consists of repeated “da” sounds like the beginning of the word “diamond.” My favorite part is the intro and outro where there are whispers of the “slip into the diamond life” snippet.
“Back 2 Back”
The fourth track on the mini album is “Back 2 Back,” which is the performance team’s song. The performance team consists of members who are not the main vocalists and they focus on performance or choreography. Listening to the lyrics makes you feel like you’re in a movie, “back to back” with a reliable ally as you’re surrounded by enemies, like how Hoshi describes. Despite the fact that the group members are not main vocalists, they prove that they are talented in all aspects through the impressive high vocals implemented in this song.
“Monster”
This mini album was released before Halloween, and “Monster” is the perfect song to play to get into the Halloween spirit. This fun and spooky song is sung by the hip-hop team.
It starts with a funky, mysterious and spooky melody that reminds you of the Halloween songs you’ve heard of. The lyrics include phrases and words such as “goblins,” “draculas,” “trick or treat” and “thriller” that remind you of the spooky season. “Monster” also includes sound effects like screams, whispers, door bells and whistles that contribute to the Halloween feeling.
The doorbell sound reminded me of ringing the doorbell for trick-or-treat. I found it interesting that the majority of the chorus is “na-na-na,” which has an eerie sound to it. Looking at the lyrics “walk like a monster, bottom to top star” and “if you don’t believe, come to our concert,” I speculated that they were talking about themselves and their journey. I thought it was pretty impressive that they were able to integrate a deeper meaning to a lively song. My favorite part of the song was the pre-chorus where the beat starts to get faster and gets ready for the drop in the chorus.
“Yawn”
“Yawn,” which is sung by the vocal team, introduces a slower paced song after five fast paced songs in the mini album. The lyrics also depict a more sentimental emotion than the previous songs on the track. The song is about the change or end of a relationship, and, like “SOS,” “Yawn” is a song with relatable lyrics that provides comfort to the listeners.
I personally like the bridge and the last chorus as they’re different from the rest of the song. Woozi sings the bridge — the way he delivers his line is creative because he sings his line as if he is yawning, which circles back to the title of the song.
“Headliner”
The meaning of a headliner is the main act or star. During SEVENTEEN’s comeback talk show for this mini album, they referred to themselves as headliners and as well as their fans. SEVENTEEN explained to Carats that while the group might be their “headliner,” from SEVENTEEN’s perspective, the Carats who come for their performances are their own “headliner.” I found this song interesting because there’s only one chorus before the bridge while other songs usually have two choruses. The ending of the song is impactful as it ends with “you’re my headliner.” I feel like this would be a great song to end a concert with because of the sentimental lyrics and melody.
“God of Music (Inst.)”
The eighth (last) track on this mini album is the instrumental version of “God of Music.”
The songs on this mini album are unique and fun to listen to. I was once again reminded that SEVENTEEN is a group that is overflowing with talent. With Woozi taking part in composing and writing all of the songs on this album and S.Coups, Mingyu, Vernon, Hoshi and Wonwoo helping with songwriting, they show their dedication and hard work to not disappoint their fans. As a Carat who has listened to SEVENTEEN for 11,503 minutes in 2023, I would definitely recommend giving these songs a chance as they might become your new favorites.
