Right now Jeong Sewoon is one of the new batch of K-pop idols who embodies the ‘boy next door’ image the best. There is nothing too fancy or luxurious in his latest single “Baby It’s U”, and simplicity becomes its main strength point. This upbeat track is extremely fresh and the music video projects us in several aesthetically pleasant scenarios, where Sewoon is the unquestioned main character.
When thinking about Jeong Sewoon, one immediately thinks of his guitar, so it’s surprising to see him step out of his comfort zone and take a challenge with more upbeat dance music. After going through several challenges and trials on Produce 101, it’s well known that his skills are not limited to singing and playing instruments, but in the music video of “Baby It’s U” we don’t get to see him dancing. Actually, there is not much going on in this music video — Sewoon explores several beautiful scenarios with the help of a tool that can form words in english.
These beautiful locations are probably the strongest point of “Baby It’s U”. We see Sewoon walking through beautiful green fields, sitting down in mysterious rooms with dim lights, walking down a pier in the midst of a clear blue ocean and even walking in the rain under a yellow umbrella. Blues and greens are prominent in the whole music video — as it often happens when a K-pop music video is shot by the sea. There are several aerial shootings, meant to further emphasise the beautiful landscapes.
As previously stated, Sewoon is the unquestioned protagonist of “Baby It’s U”. His charm is his simplicity: he becomes an heartthrob by reminding younger school girls of their classmates and older ones of their first loves. His neat image is achieved also through clever wardrobe choices: the first outfit he’s seen wearing is all in pastel tones, then he wears suspenders over a white shirt, loose shirts over t-shirts and pink Converse shoes. Even when he’s wearing half-buttoned loose shirts, he still looks neat and tidy. One wouldn’t be surprised if he smelled like fresh laundry.
If anything, a bad note to this music video might be the fact that it is indeed too simple. There is no storyline: the viewer doesn’t get to know where Sewoon got his tool from and what’s his actual purpose. Does he fly through time and space thanks to it? What is the message that Sewoon unlocks by entering the letters to the word ‘sound’ into it? It would have been nice to give the plot a little bit more context, creating a storyline.
Since the lyrics of the song are a serenade to a romantic interest, it could have been nice to see Sewoon interact with another female lead. Or at the very least go through something only to be reunited with her at the end of the music video. Instead all the viewers get to see is Sewoon staring outside his room’s window with a pensive look, running around and getting lost in his own thoughts as he walks surrounded by nature. All he does he does it in complete solitude.
With Sewoon being the only subject of the music video, of course viewers are going to focus on him the most, but as a result the music video ends up lacking dynamism. The beautiful aerial shots and the rapid change of locations partially manage to make-up for it, but a storyline would have helped more.
Overall “Baby It’s U” is a lovely release and manages to emphasise Sewoon’s best qualities, while he’s trying out a genre he’s not completely familiar with. With this bright and sweet track and his ‘nice guy’ image he manages to appeal on a wide spectrum of fans. It’s true that the music video of “Baby It’s U” lacks a storyline, but one can turn a blind eye when there are such beautiful landscapes and such a nice usage of colours.
(Images via Starship Entertainment, Youtube)
