Introduction

In early 2021, when half the world was still taking COVID-19 seriously and the other half were pretending it never happened and wasn’t happening, I started listening to One Direction. And 5 Seconds of Summer. And eventually BTS. My mind wanted something fun and simple and easy to consume: the pop/rock boy band.

At this point, along with the pandemic still taking a toll, my life was in a period of extra upheaval, and I figured out a fun way to (not) deal with it was to review the solo and side projects of current and former boy band members. I would get a little tipsier than usual, open up Spotify and Genius lyrics, and start live-tweeting my reactions. Lately, I’ve been missing doing these little one-person listening parties, but not enough to get a new Twitter account (er, X account, I guess).

And here we are. I’ve retrieved my Boy Band Music Critic hat from the back of my closet. Before I can wear it again, however, I need to readjust it to make sure it fits. So before this year is over, I’ll be going over my old tweets and consolidating them here so I don’t have to do repeat reviews.

In this post, I’ll be tackling the rest of the boy band solo projects that I reviewed on Twitter, song by song. So buckle up, it’s gonna be a long trip through the (mostly) unedited thoughts of 2022 Ryn.

Agust D by Agust D (reviewed September 5, 2022)

I was going to try to finish the 5SOS solo projects first, but I’m fully in my K-pop era, so I’m going to listen to BTS Suga’s first solo album as Agust D. Gonna listen and read a translation at the same time. Let’s do it! I’m going to use translations from doolset lyrics, as they’re the best ones I’ve found so far!

“Intro: DT sugA (Feat. DJ Friz)”: Omg, this got me HYPED. I can see why this is first! It’s kinda like how AJR do their “Overture” tracks that sample songs from the album and make an exciting mashup.

“Agust D”: There’s something next level about someone spelling their name and then basically saying, “you should be glad I’m in the K-pop industry because I’m a better rapper than you.” DAMN. And the mocking “I’m sorry” before describing how cool he is: NEXT LEVEL. SAVAGE. I LOVE IT. A note from 2023 Ryn here: This song samples “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown.

“give it to me”: Okay, this is the badass “I worked hard for my success, fuck the haters” song I needed right now. “아직은 성공의 비법은 몰라도 망하는 비법 잘 알 것 같어.” (“Though I don’t know the recipe of success yet, I feel like I know the recipe of failure well.”)

Suga’s fight for his dreams is super inspirational. Sometimes it feels like the world doesn’t work the way I’d like it to, and seeing people like Suga succeed helps me see that there’s always a path I can carve for myself.

“skit”: I don’t have much to say about the “Skit” but that I love a good sibling relationship. I’m not a huge fan of the whole “skit” thing in mixtapes, but people must like them because they pop up in a lot of rap albums. Also in a few BTS albums, which makes a lot of sense when you consider the first three members to join are all rappers.

“724148”: “724148” tells the story of Suga’s foray into the music world and moving to Seoul as a kid from Daegu without much money. Suga’s story of giving up a lot—comforts, family support, etc.—and seeing the injustice of the world while trying to reach his dream = inspiring.

“140503 새벽에 (At Dawn)”: Omg, the various “uuuugggghhhh” noises are already the most relatable thing I’ve ever heard in an album.

OOF so many of these lyrics hit me hard. Basically he’s describing his social anxiety and how he hides behind a wall, pushing people away, pretending everything’s fine even though he wants connection. The anxiety noises at the beginning of the track make more sense now that I know the lyrics. Admitting that you feel lonely, despite acting strong and pretending you need no one, is hard. Anyone would hesitate. Loneliness when you feel like you shouldn’t be lonely is tough. #relatable

“마지막 (The Last)”: Creepy breathing and noises from the start: let’s get into our emotions!

WOW this song touches on so many of the dark thoughts I’ve had (and still sometimes have, tbh) that I’m almost crying… This is the kind of sentiment I hope I can say one day: That the suffering was bad and maybe not necessary and maybe not worth it, but I survived. Here I am, living a dream, because I persevered. I tried to give up, life didn’t let me, so here I am, making the best of it. Trying hard. Damn, 2022 Ryn… That’s kinda dark and hopeful at the same time.

“Tony Montana (Feat. Yankie)”: So… I’ve never seen Scarface and had to look up who Tony Montana is. Apparently he’s an Al Capone-inspired character played by Al Pacino. The “say hello to my little friend” guy. Alright, let’s get into the song.

Again, I have concluded that Suga is a BADASS. Admitting that he feels like he’s succeeded but sometimes also like he stepped on some toes to get there. Hopes that his dreams aren’t at the detriment of others. A “fuck the haters, but I’m not the only one who can/should succeed.” There’s also a version of this song with Jimin of BTS.

“Interlude: Dream, Reality”: Okay, piano. We love a dramatic piano moment. An intense piano/choir ballad moment just saying “dream” is extremely powerful and I don’t know how to explain why.

“so far away (Feat. SURAN)”: OOOOOFFFFFF. It’s hard for me to comment on this song without revealing too much of my inner life. Let’s just say that a lot of this song resonates with me.

It’s a somewhat hopeless-sounding song that really tells the listener to dream, hope for more. Life is hard, especially when you live with mental illness and/or other obstacles, but you’re allowed to hope for more. You should hope for more. Even if it seems far-fetched, there’s still hope.

Final Thoughts: I’ve concluded that Suga a.k.a. Agust D has a “fuck you, but I’m actually vulnerable” vibe. He embodies the idea that trying hard and chasing your dreams isn’t all roses and daisies. It can be rough, disheartening, soul-sucking. But worth it if you succeed.

A++ for the Agust D mixtape. Rap music is something that either hits me hard or completely misses, and almost this entire mixtape penetrated my soul. Weird way to put it, 2022 Ryn, but true, I guess. The fact that it could do this even in a language I’m not fluent in is amazing.

This whole mixtape gives me that feeling of relating to the artist while also feeling inspired by him, which is really all you can ask for from media you consume. Anyway, I’m done stanning Agust D for now. Who knew I could ever be so into rap in a language I don’t know (yet)? I know a little more now, but still not much.

Bonus Thought: Not to spoil whenever I listen to RM’s solo stuff, but YouTube just auto-played “forever rain” and it’s making me cry. Can’t tell if I’m emotional today or the BTS rappers make great music or both but my emotions are out of control right now. Why is music so freakin’ powerful?

“Bigger Than Me” by Louis Tomlinson (reviewed September 8, 2022)

This is a song from Tomlinson’s album Faith In The Future. Tomlinson released it as a single, and I deleted Twitter before the whole album came out, so this is the only song I reviewed from it.

“Bigger Than Me”: Ooh, this is a stadium song. I can see this being performed in front of a crowd of people waving their phone lights. If this is what the whole album is like, it’s going to be an introspective journey of maturing. This song has epic ballad vibes, and it seems to be about change: that changing doesn’t mean you lied, and that you need to adapt to the world in your own way to survive.

“Bigger Than Me” feels like a natural sequel to the album Walls, especially songs like “Fearless” and “Defenceless.” I can see that it’s a similar message but broader scope, an exploration of the self in the context of the world around that self. Excited for more!

Conclusion

Well, that does it for pre-2023 Ryn! I’ve finally adjusted my Boy Band Music Critic hat to the perfect size and can start reviewing some more music. This new era of Boy Band Music Critiques will be just as casual as this old one, but hopefully better researched. I’m also hoping to get into some 1990s and early 2000s boy band solo projects rather than just the more current ones. There’s so much more boy band fun out there to be had!

-Ryn PB