Take a Page from DreamNote and Relax with “Lemonade”
September is here, but there’s still time to keep summer playlists going. This week’s Ladies Corner covers an underrated song fit for summer: DreamNote’s “Lemonade.” Originally released on April 12, 2023, “Lemonade” from DreamNote’s fifth single album Secondary Page is this spring’s hidden summer gem.
Drawing from the English captions of DreamNote’s “GAP CRUSH” video, the lyrics compare oneself to a glass of lemonade. They want to provide an exciting energy boost. The song’s writers, Chakun and Ellui of producing studio VILLAINX, made lines that provide the refreshing and sweet effects of lemonade. Together with Ludwig Lindell, Laurell Barker, and Josefin Glenmark, Chakun and Ellui managed to compose a nice summer tune ahead of the season.
The music video’s situation represents one that listeners could find themselves in. DreamNote directs this song towards people “tired of their ordinary lives.” “Lemonade” changes an otherwise quiet and boring night into an exciting party. It brings relief to the mundane nature of a long work shift, like literal lemonade does for hot days.
DreamNote members YOUI, BoNi, Lara, MISO, Sumin, and Eunjo help express this brightness through the song’s point choreography, dubbed the “Sour Power Dance” by iME Indonesia (the Indonesian counterpart to DreamNote’s company, iME KOREA). The chorus brings a “sunny vibe” with the super catchy “la la la la la lemonade lemonade.” According to Eunjo, the chorus’s raised arms move tosses around imaginary lemons. Doing so creates a freshness when it transitions to the hands forming a heart.
“Lemonade (Eng Ver.)”
On June 22, 2023, DreamNote released an English version of “Lemonade.” The English version still maintains a similar theme to its Korean counterpart, by comparing oneself with the refreshingness of lemonade. The English version, however, intensifies the romantic aspect of this feeling not as present in the original.
The two versions give different takes on what it means to feel invigorated at the sight of someone. While the Korean version presents this lemonade comparison as an energizing pick-me-up, the English version highlights irresistibility in another way. Each taste of the “lemonade” — the presence of the speaker — will leave people “wanting more.” It wants to create a need only quenched by the love provided by the speaker. Both discuss romance, but the message evolves more overtly and more seductively in English.
Regardless of the language, “Lemonade” will satisfy many people’s desire for summer fun. Say goodbye to summers rife with sour endings; instead, let them stay ripe with sweet tunes. Summer may not last forever, but summer songs like “Lemonade” have a place all year round.