Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
BTS just released the music video for “I Need U“, and it probably would’ve been better off had they just dropped the catchy song as a standalone.
Seriously though, the music video was like a quest to put as many emo-over-a-girl boy group music video cliches into one video. Dudes crying, dudes depressed in bed, dudes walking dramatically as a group, dudes doing homoerotic things, dudes burning things, etc.
It was almost to the point where it took away from my enjoyment of the song. Almost.
The song isn’t perfect, as the initial minute was quite slow and tedious. But at least it was building to something, because after that point, the track hits its stride and it begins to sonically fit right into my wheelhouse. The chorus is catchy and it just sounds great, with both chanting lows and a falsetto that really stands out and helps make the track. Following that, the ramped up instrumental gets its own time to shine before Rap Monster adds much needed gravity for what is a dark and serious concept. Truth be told, this probably would’ve been an even better track if it was just Rap Monster rapping (more) and the vocalists doing their thing.
So while I wouldn’t describe the song as anything out of the box or necessarily original, the execution was there and it’s a track I can see myself listening to for a while before it wears me out, just for the chorus if nothing else. Unfortunately, the music video only detracts from the song, and “I Need U” really deserved a better effort than the director trying to stuff as many “serious” boy group tropes into one music video as possible.
