HIGH4 and IU Hold Onto Winter in "Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms

Signs that spring is here are the warm weather, blooming flowers, and HIGH4’s debut song with IU, “Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms” climbing back up the music charts.

Songstress IU lent her production, writing, and vocal talents to the newly debuting boy group HIGH4 to give them their first single “Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms” on April 7, 2014. With HIGH4’s leader Kim Sunggu and IU being close friends since their trainee days at LOEN Entertainment, as well as the group’s producer Choi Kapwon helping to introduce IU to her first agency, it was fitting for this to be her first writing credit for an idol group’s song.

The melody for the track matches the warmth of spring with the sounds of acoustic guitars and keyboards blended with a mid-tempo beat that's easy to sway along to. But, despite the song’s warm feeling, the lyrics reflect a kind of bitterness of not being able to find love as the season changes and missing the solitude of winter. While many spring-themed K-Pop songs tell stories of budding romances, "Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms" is an anti-romantic single that comforts those struggling to find love. 

Seeming to further embrace winter, the music video for “Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms” takes place on a snowy white set, resembling that of a snowglobe town. While IU and HIGH4 voice loneliness over not having someone to make new memories with, they're surrounded by falling white “cherry blossoms,” and viewers watch as they try to fight the changing season by holding onto their winter coats and shielding themselves with umbrellas. As the sun sets in the town, IU and HIGH4 seem to have reluctantly accepted change and close in for a short dance scene.

Days after the release of “Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms,” South Korea came to a halt to mourn victims of the Sewol Ferry disaster, a capsized boat tragedy on April 16 that killed more than 300 people, including about 250 high school students. Music shows and events were canceled out of respect for the victims and some didn’t resume until mid-May. HIGH4 and IU never performed “Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms” live, and IU focused her efforts on holding a fundraising concert for the surviving victims. 

In a surprising feat for a debuting group of a small agency, “Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms” shot to No. 2 on the Gaon Digital Song Chart during its week of release. After a battle with Akdong Musician’s “200%,” and despite never being promoted on music and variety shows, “Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms” broke through to No. 1 on six Korean music charts three weeks after release. On May 11, 2014, HIGH4 took home their first music show win, and IU her 29th win, on Inkigayo, and Melon ranked the song at No. 7 on the 2010s End-of-Decade Chart.

Last spring, the single peaked at No. 76 on the Gaon Digital Song Chart, and in 2020, the music video hit more than 100,000,000 views on YouTube, making it IU’s third song to do so. HIGH4 and IU unknowingly created a seasonal classic, and similar to years old Christmas songs that dominate the charts every December, “Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms” climbs its way back up the Korean music charts every March and April.

Edited by Kelly Sipko