NU’EST’s Baekho sits, deep in thought. He ponders and spends countless days, contemplating on the “right” melody and the lyrics to go with it. Then it hit him, the universal word that is known to almost all of mankind- “love.”
The creative block, (similar to writer’s block) wasn’t as hard for Baekho to overcome. He had pulled the group into producing something amazing for the group.
NU’EST had a successful comeback on the 21st. The album is complete with six catchy love tunes. The songs are all easy on the ears and very mainstream pop.
The mastermind behind the crowd favorite album, is the main vocalist, Baekho. We have Baekho to thank for the birth of this album. He hadn’t just composed one song; in fact, all of the songs on the album are all his creations. “The Table” had apparently undergone the most changes out of all of their other works.
Since the songs were all created by Baekho, we were very interested to see how he interpreted the idea of “love.” Below, we have organized the songs in order and described it as best as we could.
Track ① Call me back = “Call Me Back” is the first song on their album. The song is a profession of love. JR and Baekho are responsible for the lyrics of the song. The song sounds like a summer day with the background acoustic sounds.
"Give me the phone / Open the app and pick a song from the search bar/ Let me take a look through your playlist.”
▶ Dispatch(D) listen: The song was sweet from the start. The soft tunes made it relatable to anyone who’s ever been in love or currently is. They take all the positive feelings one experiences at a time of bliss when in love, and incorporates it into the song. Baekho and JR’s creativity birthed the perfect love song by utilizing the soft voices of the members to fit the abstract of love.
Track ② (Love Me): This catchy, mainstream pop song is the title track for this album. The song is a mix of alternative house, house, and urban contemporary. The signature sound for this specific song is the whistle sound in the beginning. The song is about trusting one another in the name of love.
“Get close to me now, On my mind/I want to dance with you on this empty street./We just need to be as brave as we are now.”
▶ D listen: “Love Me” is the first song that was made. Due to it being the title track, Baekho had a lot to consider. He drew inspiration from a scene in the hit Korean drama, “Goblin.” The song is also easy on the ears. The “I want to dance with you on an empty street” is allegedly his favorite part of the song.
Track ③ (ONE TWO THREE): “One Two Three” is a song that specifically talks about the butterflies one gets when one is in love. It’s a song with the trendy new jack swing sound. This time, the lyrics were written by Baekho and Minhyun. Apart from it being a love song, it does everything to emphasize the charisma of the boys.
"You, who I first thought of as a dream / Stay by my side By my side / I’ll become one with you/ Will you be the topic to my discussion? / I’ll go after you on the count of three baby.”
▶ D listen: This is the song we’d recommend to anyone who is unfamiliar with NU’EST. The apotheosis of the song is the exuberant background. The song makes you want to get up and moving the minute you hear it. “One Two Three” is more sanguine in comparison to the other songs that take a more tranquil approach.
Track ④ (trust me): The title is self-explanatory; it illustrates an attempt of one gaining the trust of another. The song amplifies the word love and paints an enthusiastic, youthful picture surrounding the idea of love. It’s a mix of pop and R&B and is every bit trendy as it can get.
"Leave the complicated ideas. /I’m telling you Oh Oh/let’s reminisce over the memories that swept us by/ I wanna take it slow.”
▶ D listen: The song is a love story told in a matter of three minutes and twenty two seconds. Since this album is a result of fruition from Baekho’s creativity, we interpreted this album as love though Baekho’s eyes. After observing the songs, we noticed a similarity in them all; he is very passionate about love. The songs are all vehemently urging the lover in question to helplessly fall in the pit of love with them. The songs are stories about the ardor they have for their person of interest.
Track ⑤ “Stay Up All Night”: This song was chosen as a sub song, meaning that they’d prepared a performance for this song along with “Love Me.” Baekho and JR reminisced on the emotions of love and conveyed them through the song. This one leans more towards an EDM genre.
"I’ve never regretted anything because you are my love /At least for me, I haven’t. /The times I was at my best is engraved in my heart because you’re my love.”
▶ D listen: Baekho’s sincerity is perceived through the song. It’s clear just how much he values love. We like to think that the songs suit them perfectly and the members built something extraordinary and authentic to themselves.
Track ⑥ “If We”: The last song on the album is very different to its other counterparts. While the other songs tell the story of glee and the bright aspects of love, “If We” paints a picture of hopelessness and a longing for a love that once was.
"As I open my eyes every morning / The pile of work I need to get done is probably the same as every other day / although it’s a pity I missed the ride by a close second/ I need to move on.”
▶ D listen: It seems Baekho decided on following something out of the ordinary. The rapper JR, wasn’t given the task of rapping, but singing instead. The move allowed the song to be unique and distinctive from their other songs.
Although it might come to a surprise to those who expected their last song to be just as upbeat as their other ones, we believe that it was a good conclusion to the album. The song further proves the boys’ abilities to perform at a well-rounded scale.
Lastly, we’d like to take the time to reflect on Baekho’s efforts in the making of their recent album. He has put his own time and beliefs in the advancement of their musical careers. Not only has he done something for his members, but he has also given the fans a much needed and deserved comeback.
Baekho isn’t just a veteran idol, but he’s also a musician, who’s highly dedicated to his craft. We have a sneaking suspicion that he’s well on his way to becoming something more than extraordinary.
<Photo credits=Pledis Entertainment>
<Translated by=Justina Kim(Dispatch)>
