Banger of the Summer: Jungkook Unleashes His Full Charm with Seven

Pop lovers truly won with Jungkook’s first official single. Released last July 14, Seven by Jungkook (feat. Latto) is a three-minute pure pop earworm.

Seven is an energetic song about showing devotion to a lover who feels “the weight of the world” on their shoulders. It is straightforward in its lyricism — revealing one’s desire to ease the burdens their significant other might feel, despite being pushed away. This message is also evident in the song’s music video, where Jungkook is shown to go through all sorts of accidents and natural calamities as he pursues his lover, portrayed by Han So Hee. He persistently tells her to “break [him] off another time” because he can still “ease [her] mind.”

The song begins with some calm filtered acoustic notes, but this is a quick misdirect. That calm melody doesn't last long as it is immediately overtaken by a highly percussive beat reminiscent of classic UK garage rock vibe. This percussive beat is the predominant pattern throughout the song, and the almost glitchy percussion goes well with Jungkook’s airy vocals.

However, those soft vocals are just one facet of the charm that Jungkook showcases throughout the track. The first half of the pre-chorus also features Jungkook using a scratchier sing-song rap style, very circa 2013 to 2015 when he used to lend his rapping skills to official BTS releases. Then, he transitions back to using his head voice, expertly delivering falsettos that truly show his range as a vocalist.

The catchiest part of the song, though, is the chorus. In it, Jungkook counts the days of the week, suggesting the intensity of his feelings remains the same all the time, even “every hour, every minute, every second.” The beat in this part of the song, coupled by the rapid delivery and layering of vocals, recalls classic late 90s to early 2000s pop tracks (think No Scrubs by TLC, U Remind Me by Usher, and 7 Days by Craig David). Add to it Latto’s distinct rap style in the second half of the track and you have a fusion of several genres rolled into a harmonious track that is sure to make waves.

This packaging is a perfect vehicle for Jungkook to showcase the full range of his capabilities as a vocalist. Seven is not his first venture into solo work, having lent his vocals to collabs such as Left and Right with Charlie Puth as well as to official soundtracks such as Stay Alive (prod. SUGA) and Dreamers (feat. Fahad Al Kubaisi). However, as Jungkook’s first official single, Seven allowed him to show the full range of his abilities as a singer, without any limitations of collaborating artists and the brands for which he sang the aforementioned soundtracks.

BTS announced over a year ago that they will be venturing into Chapter Two of their journey, this time focusing on solo projects. ARMYs understandably reacted with hesitation at first, initially assuming there would be fewer releases moving forward. However, BTS, as always, have kept their promise and truly showcased what they could do as individual artists. This holds true with Jungkook as well.

Big Hit Music called Seven “an invigorating summer song” that will let listeners “experience the full breadth of Jungkook’s charm.” Arguably, the song does more than that. It also showcases Jungkook’s more mature side, especially given that the song has an explicit version, where “lovin’” is replaced by “f***in’.” This single replacement changes the whole vibe of the song, turning it from a romantic track to, as what some reviewers have claimed, “a straight-up sex jam.”

It was Jungkook who took initiative singing the song, stating in an interview with Variety that he immediately thought, “This is it,” when he first heard the track. It was also Jungkook who greenlit Latto’s inclusion as the featured artist as he thought her voice could add “another layer of liveliness” to the song. This is how Jungkook flexes his capabilities, not only as a singer but as an artist who is fully involved in the creation of his songs.

Since Bang Si-Hyuk posted a photo of Jungkook in the studio on Instagram last April 10, ARMYs immediately knew that something great was in the works. Expectations were high, and as always, whatever ARMYs expected had been exceeded. Seven (feat. Latto) is the kind of bop that gets anyone humming it every hour, every minute. If this is just a taste of Jungkook's solo activities, then no one is truly ready for whatever it is he has in store for the future.

Written by: Whoopi

Edited by: Marcie

Designed by: Achan

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