Song Review: Seven by Jung Kook (BTS) ft. Latto

Easily one of the most anticipated releases of the year, BTS Jungkook collaborated with rapper Latto to deliver a full-blown sex anthem. It can easily be released by any western artist who does songs of a similar style, and it would blend right in. Depending on your taste, this could be a win.

There is a reason why I mainly listen to K-pop. I love how innovative and fun the production choices are. Because such a large range of genres can full under the umbrella of ‘K-pop’, it makes listening to every song an exciting experience, as you don’t really know what to expect. If I wanted to listen to a Western pop song, I would go out of my way to listen to that instead. 

In the case of ‘Seven’, nothing about it feels ‘K-pop’, except for the fact that it is a Korean artist performing the song. This is speculation on my part, but this might be the point. Jungkook might be intending to break out of the ‘K-pop’ identity, or at least partially (given how infamous BTS is, it is practically impossible to completely let go of it). However, because the song does not have any elements of ‘K-pop’, I’m automatically less enthused by it.

The tempo that runs through the whole song remains rather stagnant and unchanging. There is not a moment where something particularly interesting (at least in my opinion) happens within the production, which makes the song sound relatively one-note. The beat does have me nodding my head along, but when there is little variation through the song, I start nodding off instead towards the end. This straightforward approach really does work if the beat clicks with you from the beginning and you don’t mind too much repetition. The flow of the lyrics is indeed smooth and slick, and the words run off your tongue nicely when you sing along, particularly in the chorus. However, the structure feels formulaic. This isn’t inherently a bad thing, yes, but to someone who greatly values interesting production choices in making a song breach into the ‘great’ or ‘excellent’ category, it becomes a liability. Oh, and before I forget, as with many releases from HYBE, Jungkook’s voice is quite heavily processed. This partially removes what makes his voice unique in the first place, which introduces the idea of the song sounding somewhat ‘generic’, and something another western artist could release.

This is quite surprising coming from me, but the most interesting part of the whole song is the rap verse from Latto, which is a welcome breath of fresh air. Her delivery is easily the most dynamic moment of the song, her flow excellent, with no shortage of varying inflections and pitch fluctuations. It helped make the song stand out a bit. I’ve never heard of Latto before this song, but I think I might have become a fan. 

Perhaps I should give the song some credit in how catchy it is. It would be quite hypocritical of me to not acknowledge it, especially with how much I gave NewJeans’ ‘Super Shy’ so much credit despite giving it similar criticisms (one-note, repetitive, etc.). At the end of the day, if the melody rings true, and it doesn’t become annoying, it is a win. In ‘Seven’, it certainly rings true. There is good reason, besides Jung Kook’s popularity, why the song is a global hit at the moment.

All in all, ‘Seven’ is certainly not a bad release. It is objectively, solid. But that’s as far as it goes.

Hooks – 9
Production – 8
Vocal Delivery – 9
Rap Delivery – 9
Overall – 8.75