SEVENTEEN has achieved love, money, and fame in their decade-long career but their 12th EP SPILL THE FEELS is all about emotions. Released on October 14, the six-track EP highlights the title track “LOVE, MONEY, FAME (feat. DJ Khaled),” which features composition credits by the prolific artist.  SPILL THE FEELS also marks SEVENTEEN’s last 13-member release for a while: most group members will eventually go on hiatus to serve their mandatory military enlistment. Jeonghan, one of the eldest members, enlisted in the military on September 26. Jun will also be absent from promotional activities for the rest of the year to focus on his career in China. However, both members previously recorded some content for the comeback. 

TRACKLIST:

1. “Eyes on you” 

2. “LOVE, MONEY, FAME (feat. DJ Khaled)”

3. “1 TO 13” 

4. “Candy”

5. “Rain” 

6. “Water” 

The Unexpected Collaboration: “LOVE, MONEY, FAME (feat. DJ Khaled)”

Instead of boasting about love, money, and fame, SEVENTEEN focuses solely on their feelings in this title track. The song delivers an easy listening experience with a chill hip-hop instrumental and comforting lyrics. The lyrics penned by Woozi, BUMZU, and Robb Roy describe how SEVENTEEN only needs love to carry on; that itself is “more than enough” to fuel their drive.* 

This song is definitely low key, though I admittedly need to adjust to the sandwiching of DJ Khaled’s producer tags “We The Best” and “another one.” It’s not an inherently bad quality as these tags give a signature flair to producers’ works (many K-Pop fans are familiar with Dem Jointz’s “Incoming!” tag, for example), but SEVENTEEN’s songs usually lack producer tags. Woozi, who produces much of SEVENTEEN’s discography, sometimes uses a signature “Ow!” tag in songs. DJ Khaled worked on the composition with Woozi, BUMZU, Rudi Daouk, Jakob Mihoubi, Carlyle Fernandes, Charlie Taft, Daniel “Obi” Klein, and Park Kitae (박기태). He also makes a cameo appearance in the track’s music video, appearing digitally on screens and then in-person giving Woozi a fist bump.  

 The EP title of SPILL THE FEELS also works as an anagram of “I FELT HELPLESS,” which becomes more apparent in the title track’s music video. SEVENTEEN find themselves in what people normally consider as horrible situations—driving a car into the ocean, witnessing a robbery, and experiencing a plane crash—but remain unfazed in spite of these happenings. They keep positive mentalities and carry on with life. The music video also involves nods to Jun’s acting career and Jeonghan’s hiatus from the idol life. Suffice to say, especially as someone whose bias is Jeonghan and bias wrecker is Jun, that did not go unnoticed. Production studios SL8GHT VISUAL LAB, U.S.-based DÜROO Productions, and Thailand-based UMOON Productions blended the shooting locations and storyline well. 

The B-Sides: Not Their Best Showing

The B-sides on SPILL THE FEELS fluctuate between the environments of a dance party and a relaxing moment to oneself. SEVENTEEN’s performance unit’s song “Rain” ( by Jun, Hoshi, The8, and Dino) and the first B-Side “Eyes on you” both have disco vibes that listeners can bust a move to. S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu, and Vernon deliver another hype-inducing song—in typical hip-hop unit fashion—through “Water.” The EDM instrumental composed by BUMZU, Vernon, and Mingyu will have you chanting “water!” as they do in the song. 

The other hip-hop B-side “1 TO 13” gets sentimental with its chorus, which references a few SEVENTEEN EP titles: “You always make my heart beat / YOU MAKE MY DAY / YOU MADE MY DAWN.” “Candy,” by SEVENTEEN’s vocal unit of Jeonghan, Joshua, Woozi, DK, and Seungkwan, slows down the rhythm with its piano instrumental. It sounds like something played in a cruise ship lounge, a place that wants serenity with an air of sophistication. Overall, while I do enjoy these B-sides, nothing blows me out of the water—though I did like “Water” the most. Unfortunately, SPILL THE FEELS’s lineup, including the title track, falls a bit short of expectations. 

*Note: lyrics taken from English captions in the official music videos. 

“LOVE, MONEY, FAME (feat. DJ Khaled)” TITLE TRACK SCORE: 7.5/10

“LOVE, MONEY, FAME (feat. DJ Khaled)” MUSIC VIDEO SCORE: 8.5/10 

SPILL THE FEELS ALBUM SCORE: 7.5/10

Overall Score: 7.8/10

Edited by Bryn Claybourne