penomeco and “COCO BOTTLE”
On June 15, 2018, penomeco released his single “COCO BOTTLE.” The first time penomeco performed the track was on the Mnet survival show BREAKERS, where artists competed against each other with their own original songs written and produced for each theme. Two months after the release of the single, the music video for “COCO BOTTLE” was released.
The Music Video
Using his well-known love of soda, penomeco creates his own world where he and the object of his affection can be together and enjoy what life has to offer. This is seen in the music video, which was directed by Studio Pivote, where a character resembling penomeco traverses a virtual world. The music video is almost as refreshing as the soda penomeco loves so much, using bright colors and a fun animation style to world build. Throughout the video, we see penomeco following a beautiful animated girl to different worlds, before the illusion is shattered and we see him reaching out for her, only for an error warning to come across the screen. His animated character then removes the virtual reality headset and sets it down, and the video ends with him walking away from his messy room. Using the virtual reality headset as a way to escape from what could be signs of depression is an unexpected way to end the video, especially for a track as beautiful and upbeat as “COCO BOTTLE,” but it’s also a reminder that what’s on the surface isn’t always what lies beneath.
The Performances
Before releasing “COCO BOTTLE,” penomeco performed the track on the May 11, 2018 episode of BREAKERS. penomeco performed on a raised stand with ramps going up the sides and stairs coming from the front. He switched between two microphones, one where his voice came across normally and another with an autotuned effect to it. The rapper strutted across his graffitied platform, performing for fans and judges for the chance to be the BREAKERS winner.
He also performed “COCO BOTTLE” on a 2019 episode of I’m Live, a live concert program for Arirang TV/Radio. The added bonus for this performance over his BREAKERS performance was the live band that joined penomeco onstage, giving the song a bit of a jazzy feel to it that worked beautifully with the poppy, fizzy feeling that the track originally had.
The Legacy
“COCO BOTTLE” peaked at No. 99 on the Gaon Weekly Digital Chart, but sadly the track did not chart anywhere else. However, the music video was nominated and won the “Best Animated Video” award at the 2019 L.A. Music Video Awards.
While this may not seem like much of a legacy compared to other comebacks and singles that have been highlighted through this weekly article, “COCO BOTTLE” is special because it helped penomeco to stand apart from the rest of his FANXY CHILD crew, giving him a nudge into the spotlight that he so rightly deserved. His first performance of “COCO BOTTLE” was for a survival show that he went on to win, beating out PENTAGON’s Hui, and then he went on to release the track.
And, if you look at the view counts for his music videos on YouTube, you’ll notice that “COCO BOTTLE” has the most. However, his next most viewed music videos are for “L.I.E,” produced by ZICO, and “No. 5,” which features Crush. While not all of these views are because of the other FANXY CHILD members involved in the creation of the tracks, it can’t be completely ruled out that the power of their names alone didn’t intrigue people into finding more about penomeco. “COCO BOTTLE” is penomeco alone, shining and showing the world what he has to offer and who he is as an artist, which is legacy enough.