Seventeen FINALLY Debuts With "Adore You"

FINALLY. It's only been like three years or so. No biggie. Seriously though, when I got into K-pop back in 2012 I heard about these guys. They've literally been on everyone's radar for years and years and we've seen trainees come and go like the wind, but finally the 13 (!!) members of Seventeen are here, and it's a glorious time indeed.



The group recently had a pre-debut show air to showcase the group quickly before their big debut, and on that show we got to hear some of the songs that would be featured on their debut mini. "Shining Diamond" was one of those, and I thought that if they debuted with a track like that they'd be off to a great start. What I didn't expect though, was that they'd debut with an even better song.

"Adore You" is great, like honestly it's one of the better debut songs I've heard in a while. There are funky guitars, drums and a ridiculously catchy melody. The song manages to effortlessly blend vocals and rap without it sounding awkward, in fact it's one of its main strengths. The team has quite a good mix of both rappers, vocalists and dancers and although the number of members is quite overwhelming I've seen more uneven line distribution with groups with fewer members.

As for the video I'm not sure where I stand quite yet. It's not really a video you'd want to watch for great and logical plot development or beautiful scenery or cinematography, let's just say that. In fact, there isn't much in the video that makes sense at all, but I kind of like that. The song is a love song but the video doesn't really play on that theme in any way at all, instead its purpose seems to be to showcase the members, but even that I'm not sure about.

There's an awful lot of scenery changes taking place as the video progresses, from the desert to space and all the way up to heaven. None of the progressions from one scene to another really adds any more information as to what's going on, and I cannot for my life figure out why Wonwoo and Mingyu are in a boxnig ring or who's birthday it is they're celebrating. This video is a mystery indeed, and a low-budget one too. I get it, Pledis, money is tight right now, but I would have liked something more grand for their debut. Yet I can't complain too much because I actually enjoy the randomness of this video.

People ought to disagree with me but I think it's a bit funny, and it's definitely silly and playful and I love those kind of concepts. Idols not taking themselves too seriously is a definite way for me to gain interest, and it's nice to see that change when most concepts are that quite serious. Sure, it's not the best video I've seen by a rookie group this year and certainly not Pledis' best rookie MV, but it works. The members are charming and cute and talented, and I'm not ashamed to admit I already know all of their names.

Another highlight is the choreography, which I suggest you check out more in detail because it's not fully captured in the video. The bits you do see however are great, and it makes me happy to know that member Hoshi had a big part in choreographing it. The advantage of having many members is that there are endless possibility to play around with choreography and formations, which Seventeen has fully utilized with "Adore You".



To round up this review; yes the video is bit B, but I still genuinely enjoyed it. I'm intrigued with the group and with the members, and I've already found some cuties that I've got my eye on. I feel like if Pledis play their cards right they might experience a huge success with this group, which I'm hoping for, but on the other hand their track record isn't very promising at all. Where is After School? NU'est who?

Still I am hopeful and optimistic, and with such a debut I can only expect more great things from them. I think I'm going to check out their mini album and see how I feel about it, and then you might have another review coming soon. What can I say, pretty and talented boys have me hooked.

Song: 4,5/5
Video: 3/5