The final (I assume) Note came today from Seokjin for Stay, the subunit song he was part of along with Namjoon and Jungkook, the song itself originally intended for Jungkook’s mixtape. According to Seokjin’s BE Comeback Weverse interview he wrote the opening line -- Was it a dream? -- and came up with the idea for the theme as well as the intro, the lines he sings in his Notes, which Jungkook also sang in his. It makes sense seeing as they alternate between each other when singing the first four lines.
The way in which Seokjin sings his lines in the Note feels a lot like you’d imagine it does right as you’re coming up with the words while simultaneously trying to match and make them work with whatever melody you have in your head, dreamy yet focused, light and happy yet controlled to a certain extend. It’s interesting to have Jungkook’s and Seokjin’s Notes on the same lines and be able to compare how different yet (logically) similar they sound. But also, can we just talk about Seokjin’s voice for a moment, how clear and good he sounds even without trying (I mean, yes, he is trying, and doing a great job, but it’s still different from the way you’d try when properly singing or even recording, you know what I mean?) and how much he’s grown as artist and singer in the last almost decade? Especially as someone without background in singing? Absolutely awe-inspiring.
When it comes to the video, the contrast between the closer shots focused more on Seokjin are in warm yellow and orange tones, inviting and friendly, evoking a sense of welcoming friendliness and comfort, while the wider shots of him on the sofa are kept in a more of a blue dominant color scheme, even if there’s some pale yellow/orange in there as well, which goes we’ll with the idea of the song, that even if we are apart now (due to the pandemic) we’ll still remain together/we’re still together, we’re blue (cold, alone) and yet there’s yellow (warmth, togetherness, a promise that we’ll see each other again). The sofa he’s lying on is also quite interesting due to the spray painted ‘NO SEAT’ on it. The only metaphor I could see in that would be social distancing, meaning you wouldn’t be able to sit there if someone else is already sitting because you’d be too close to each other, therefore another reminder of the theme of being apart yet connected by the paper plane Seokjin throws as though wanting to communicate with someone further away from him, perhaps. Though what’s with that shot with the colorful breakfast cereal with milk as background? That I’m really unsure what meaning it could hold. Anyone have a guess?
Seokjin is also using a notepad though with a marker instead of a pencil like the other members, something permanent that can’t be erased (like the bond between the members? And also between BTS and ARMY?), and therefore Taehyung remains the only one who used his digital notes app instead.
Notes commentary masterlist.