Listening to Jungkook's debut solo single, 'Seven', it's hard not to react physically - nodding your head to the rhythm or tapping your fingers. The song is a potent earworm that everyone can easily enjoy, courtesy of BTS' Jungkook.
Jungkook unveiled 'Seven' on the 14th, an English track in the UK Garage style (a genre of electronic music originating from the UK in the early 1990s). The song merges a lyrical narrative of wanting to spend every day of the week with a loved one, with Jungkook's emotionally resonant vocals.
The addictive melody, easily memorable even after a single listen, is one of the song's signature traits. The lyrics are striking, with the English words nestling comfortably in your ears, enhancing Jungkook's soft, dreamy vocal aesthetics. Phrases like 'Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Seven days a week' and 'Every hour every minute every second' make the song even more impressive.
'Seven' is significant not only as Jungkook's first solo track but also for the host of talent brought together for its creation. American rapper Latto brought her unique color to the track, enhancing its charm, while actress Han So-hee captured attention with her passionate performance in the music video. Scooter Braun, the CEO of HYBE America, known for discovering pop star Justin Bieber, actively contributed to the overall solo project.
Thanks to Jungkook's talent, hard work, and the support from these contributors, 'Seven' swept the top of music charts both domestically and internationally upon release. Jungkook set a new record on Melon, a domestic music site, as the fastest male solo artist to achieve No. 1 on the 'Top 100'. He also made history as the first Korean solo artist to debut at No. 1 on Spotify's Global Chart. On iTunes, he broke the record for achieving No. 1 on the Top Songs chart in 113 countries, remaining at No. 1 on the Worldwide and European iTunes Top Songs charts for seven consecutive days. Jungkook is truly writing a new chapter in K-pop history.
The high-quality music video deserves special mention. Filmed in the United States, it featured impressive performances by Jungkook and Han So-hee and raised anticipations ahead of its release. The reactions were explosive, with fans swooning over the couple's chemistry, which perfectly embodied the song's lyrics of wanting to spend every day of the week with a loved one. The 'Seven' music video, released on YouTube simultaneously with the single, is about to surpass 86 million views.
Despite the smooth sailing, there was a hiccup concerning Billboard charting. Fans were hopeful that the hotly anticipated 'Seven' would hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Main Single Chart 'Hot 100', but allegations arose on the 16th that the YouTube score for the 'Hot 100' had been omitted.
Some fans claimed there might be an issue with the 'Hot 100' chart tallying due to Jungkook's name not being properly credited on the 'Seven' music video artist credits. If the artist's name is not registered, the YouTube score could be recorded as '0' during Billboard's tallying period. Although the music video credit was corrected within 10 hours, it was feared that the corrected version might take some time to be reflected due to YouTube's system. Fans expressed their disappointment, as YouTube scores affect the 'Hot 100' ranking.
In response, BigHit Music stated that "All of 'Seven' music and performance videos on YouTube are correctly registered under Jungkook." They further added, "The YouTube data tallying also has no issues."
Despite the brief tallying issue, Jungkook's 'Seven' continues to show formidable strength on music charts and YouTube. Moreover, Jungkook is stoking the fire by releasing a remix version of 'Seven' and performing live on the popular UK talk show 'The One Show'. As Jungkook has skillfully buttoned up the first step of his solo activities with 'Seven', the anticipation is building for his upcoming solo projects.
