The Hidden Gem on Each SEVENTEEN Album
An underrated track from each era!
While no SEVENTEEN song deserves to be overlooked, there are some B-sides that deserve more love than others. Here is one of those songs from each of SEVENTEEN’s albums and mini-albums!
17 CARAT: “Shining Diamond”
“Shining Diamond” laid the thematic and musical foundations for countless SEVENTEEN songs. It introduced audiences to the band’s mission statement, which is essentially “Persevere, become a dazzling diamond after withstanding pressure, and bring others along to experience that ultimately worthwhile pressure with you.” With an enlivening instrumental, they encourage “running through the climax” with them, trusting that they will eventually be grateful they did. Besides talking about gaining confidence both together and individually with time and effort, “Shining Diamond” proved that SEVENTEEN walk the walk: WOOZI composed it, he and two other members (S.COUPS and VERNON) wrote it, and HOSHI created its choreography. SEVENTEEN not only hype each other up but constantly and consciously strive to earn the hype.
BOYS BE: “When I Grow up”
Growing pains never sounded so lovely! With layered harmonies and a smooth piano/percussion/guitar combination, the members fret about not growing up as fast as their crushes: “I know I’m still a child… I can’t catch up to you.” Just hearing the phrase “When I grow up” is enough to make them “dizzy,” and feeling daunted by approaching adulthood is addressed with compelling vulnerability.
Love&Letter: “Still Lonely”
“Still Lonely” is about the caveats in SEVENTEEN’s desire for attention, making it an early example of the group’s music becoming more mature and nuanced over time. They sing about being “soaked in popularity” with an “overflowing” amount of phone messages, but a rise in popularity does nothing to cure loneliness: “I’m still frustrated… Time goes by / And I’m empty.” They seek signs that someone cares about them and realize they would prefer a higher quality of those signs than a higher quantity of them. The bridge is when their emotional state is described the most succinctly: “Ha, my overflowing popularity is in direct contrast / To the empty house inside.” Despite having a justification for despair, the song stays cheerful! Energetic voices, an ample use of ad libs, and synth tweaks on top of a bouncy beat all show this group is “bloom and gloom” more than “doom and gloom”!
Going Seventeen: “Fast Pace”
With a playful flute and piano and different tones set by different members’ vocal contributions, “Fast Pace” amusingly addresses the scramble to salvage a relationship! They sing about holding hands and trying to walk in sync, but that ideal scene is not meant to be; a romantic partner does not try to match their speed! They express exasperation that this person “walk[s] so quickly,” yet they keep trying to keep up instead of just letting that person go: “we’re going / You and I” (emphasis added). However, they acknowledge “no warmth” when they hold hands. To summarize, as someone leaves them far behind, they simultaneously say “Hey, wait up!” and “Good riddance, go away!,” which aligns with the peculiar contrasts in the sound itself!
Al1: “Habit”
While “Habit” has meaningful and wistful lyrics, its greatest strengths are its instrumental details. It has a slow pace but knows how to use it effectively. From the spacing-out of drum beats to the ways guitar-strumming trails off to make certain moments emptier, the song’s pensiveness is prolonged well. Plus, the verses’ quiet sadness avoids growing dull thanks to markedly louder choruses.
TEEN, AGE: “ROCKET”
“ROCKET” is cute and quirky in both words and sounds. It is peppered with sound effects (including a squeaky-toy-like one!), vocal distortions, and lots of “Ooo”s! The lyrics express disappointment in people hiding their individuality out of the fear of being judged, as well as the lovably naive advice to just “escape this gravity” and travel to outer space. If people can’t be themselves unapologetically on Earth, rather than hide who they are, the best decision is to just leave Earth! With contagious excitement at their own idea, SEVENTEEN sing about building and launching their own rocket to do just that!
DIRECTOR’S CUT: “Run to you”
This song is perfectly titled; it channels the feeling of running towards someone, albeit in starts and stops. Multiple times, instruments swiftly surge forward, and the element of surprise remains with cymbal crashes and guitar riffs. The song ends abruptly, as if they have nothing more to add. Their message is simply “I miss you and am on my way to you,” and when they reach “you,” that’s it!
YOU MAKE MY DAY: “MOONWALKER”
Lyrics like “I feel loved for the first time” and “Deep night” set the scene for blissful dreaming, and the “MOONWALKER” synthesizers suit that ready-to-dance demeanor. The chorus feels extra bright due to being after a hushed pre-chorus and beat drop. “MOONWALKER” evolves while maintaining a confident “rising high” sensation.
YOU MADE MY DAWN: “Shhh”
“Shhh” marked an extra-exploratory moment for SEVENTEEN’s sound. It combines whispers, whistles, a bass line covered with quirky synth details, and an alarm-like sound effect. Its inherent “just between us” theme comes across in unexpectedly attention-holding ways, in part thanks to a chorus that is like two in one. The lyrics add even more distinctiveness, with descriptors like “thirsty” faith and “sparkling” confusion! The scene is set for eager secret-spilling; this is a song for the buildup before someone spills the beans, an unusual scenario befitting this awesome oddity!
An Ode: “Second Life”
“Second Life” does justice to its deep subject matter. They wonder about who they were in past lives and who they will be in future ones, and love and empathy ground them amid their existential thought spirals: “When I see my face in your… eyes… I will hug you.” As long as they have each other, they have the courage to embrace the unknown. Their conviction comes across well in moments of greater and lesser power alike, from softly confessing over the plucking of strings to belting out their thoughts during the piano-backed bridge.
Heng:garæ: “Fearless”
“Fearless” is a prime example of SEVENTEEN’s success at making on-point follow-ups to previous songs. This one is an overt sequel, and Exhibit A is this lyric from “Fear”: “Nothing lasts forever, knowing that I still can’t end it.” Now, in “Fearless,” the line is “Nothing lasts forever, knowing that I still can end it” (emphasis added). With such a clear-cut “fear to fearlessness” premise, it was smart to mix things up instrumentally, and “Fearless” sounds very different from “Fear.” The “Yee-oh-oh” chant suitable for marching along to, guitar wails, and suspenseful drumming leave a bold impact all its own.
; [Semicolon]: “Do Re Mi”
“Do Re Mi” touches on a range of quintessential SEVENTEEN topics. These topics include being flustered trying to find the perfect words to articulate something (“When your feelings spring up / There are a lot of ways to express [them]”), valuing patience (“It’s okay to think about it more”), and encouraging pride in one’s unique vision (“You define the world / Mi re do”). The song offers the kind of reassurance that a child seeks from an adult without actually sounding patronizing. Kids want reminders that they are not “doing it all wrong,” and kids get stuck repeating to themselves that they are no good at something (a self-fulfilling prophecy that the lyrics allude to, saying that seeing something as “Difficult [is what] always makes it difficult”). But healing from wounded pride and breaking out of self-deprecating thoughts are things adults need help with too! The song speaks to the little kid that still exists in everyone, a source of bright light in need of replenishment.
Your Choice: “Heaven’s Cloud”
With marvelous falsettos and lyrics that conjure up images of bliss, “Heaven’s Cloud” is everything it was meant to be! They sound heavenly as they sing about spending time in a “secret paradise” in the sky where miracles are a daily occurrence. Also worth appreciating is its introductory role in the album Your Choice; it leads into the high-register opening of “Ready to love” well.
Attacca: “I can’t run away”
While the parallel might be unintentional, it is meaningful that SEVENTEEN went from singing “Don’t Wanna Cry” to a song about not running away from their feelings! “I can’t run away” acknowledges complex emotions that deserve unpacking, which speaks to the members’ inner growth. They reflect on a past relationship in all of its beauty and flaws, and they recognize that “Sadness might seep out sometimes / But I still can call it love.” This song also impresses due to being from the hip-hop team; it is a surprisingly sentimental moment for a subunit that tends to go in a more danceable direction.
Face the Sun / SECTOR 17 Repackage: “Shadow”
“Shadow” is all about contrasts. The 2-step rhythm offers a dependable foundation on which the members’ voices dynamically build and echo off of one another’s. The song is resistant to genre categorization yet firm in its stance, and SEVENTEEN make a particularly powerful point during the rough-voiced bridge. They speak volumes with a lack of voices, too: “Shadow” ends with over five seconds of silence, compelling listeners to just sit with SEVENTEEN’s reflections before moving on to the next song.
FML: “I Don’t Understand But I Luv U”
Not only did this song allow the performance subunit to prove they have vocal chops too, but it proved the group’s commitment to their ethos. The title sums it up: SEVENTEEN seek connections and understanding through the universal language of music; shared fluency in any other language is unnecessary. Besides the moving message, the song shines for the ways the instruments boost their voices’ impacts and vice versa. Guitars accompany pained voices with the perfect presence, one that is neither overpowering nor underwhelming. And the members’ voices combine and separate repeatedly, expressing agreement in each other’s messages without making those messages sound like they are sent merely for conformity’s or repetition’s sake.
SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN: “SOS”
As detailed more here, “SOS” shows growth from the mentality of the “Pretty U” era. While “Pretty U” emphasized SEVENTEEN’s frustration with not finding the perfect words to describe their feelings, “SOS” expresses contentment with that lack of resolution. It does not matter what form someone’s “SOS” takes; the message is understood intuitively. The sentiment is sweet, but the sound is more serious than anticipated! The beat dizzyingly barrels down a rock-oriented lane, as they lament a hostile world that has a “silent war,” “normalize[d] danger,” and “dangerous thoughts.” The emotions coalesce effectively later on, when multiple members repeat the line “We’re gonna be okay” in tones that imply this is not up for debate!
SPILL THE FEELS: “Candy”
This piano and string ballad accentuates the vocal team’s gorgeous voices, and the instrumental-only bridge allows listeners to miss their voices before they come back! As for the lyrics, they are classic SEVENTEEN ones. They compare love to adulthood in how it can get “bitter” and “tough” sometimes. They also suggest the best kind of love takes simple, small forms, like pieces of candy! If they “love like candy,” with “even a small word” leaving them feeling good, they can overall live happier lives! Relationship contentment comes in understated ways, commentary that brings to mind the “Little acts of kindness are what make a day good” message in the “Cheers to youth” music video!
Stay tuned for more SEVENTEEN-themed articles throughout the rest of May!
What was excluded from consideration: subunit and solo projects, single albums (as opposed to mini-albums, ones with at least three new songs on them), and albums that are primarily compilations of older songs.