I have been a Super Junior-D&E fan for nearly five years now. I fell in love with the serenity of “Still You,” chuckled at the outlandishness of “Oppa Oppa,” and gabbed about how good of a song “Growing Pains” is.
Their first Korean comeback following their mandatory military enlistment was “‘Bout You,” a safe tropical house summer song stripped of all traces of
D&E as artists—literally, due to its use of auto-tune. ‘Their second comeback, “Danger”, is not worse but neither is it better.
Rock guitar combine with synths and rhythmic clapping as tatted up versions of Donghae and Eunhyuk smolder at the camera and announce “danger.”
“Danger” features a soft synth instrumental with clapping trap beats that builds up to a ringing EDM beat drop akin to a distorted siren. This is in line with the lyrics that revolve around the concept of, well, danger.
Rather than taking the traditional route and singing about being in danger of falling in love, or informing their partner of a potential dangerous seduction, however D&E interpret danger to be all the obstacles life throws at them and instruct the listener to clear their head of worry and “burn” everything life throws at them.
I’m ready for even the obvious things, that’s all
Just follow your heart
Remove the stupid shit, clear your anxious mind
Burn everything you throw at me
Danger
While I appreciate D&E’s fresh interpretation of Danger, the same cannot be said of its MV which uses overused and unimaginative tropes to show D&E’s dangerous side.
Leather pants? Check. Neon lights? Check. Revving motorcycles in empty warehouses? Check. Darts, a spinning Russian roulette tables, and the protagonists playing cards in a shady gambling den surrounded by tough looking men? Check, check, and check.
The “rebel” and “bad boy” concepts are predictable at this point. I know this is a new look for D&E and, face tattoos aside, they look suave and sexy. The aesthetics of the MV are beautiful—I am a sucker for neon lights —but I think as K-Pop veterans, D&E could have afforded to experiment with its formula.
Perhaps they could have featured an “expectation vs. reality theme” and played cards in a gambling den by night, then have shown up to their corporate job hungover and been scolded by their supervisor. Or D&E could have subverted the concept entirely by having the MV cast the two of them as corporate employees who, after enduring workplace drudgery all day, come home only to be faced with a stack of bills, their cell-phone not working, and their dog having puked all over their house—now that’s what’s truly dangerous.
I did enjoy the dancing shots, however. Featuring fire in the back as well as superbly dressed backup dancers, the dance moves were smooth and sexy. I especially enjoyed the female dancers—Super Junior as a whole has been featuring more and more female artists and backup dancers in their MVs and I am here for it. Now if only they could feature members with spouses.
I also enjoyed the little hints D&E provided for Super Junior’s future activities. The number 010-0710-0424 called Eunhyuk, which fans interpreted to mean July 7, Heechul‘s bithday, and April 24, the release date for Heechul’s new single, “Old Movie.” The number 9 also received much attention: perhaps it signals a group comeback in September or 9 members in the near future.
Ultimately, however, though D&E try go to a new route for “Danger,” it falls flat because of its predictable MV. D&E’s personalities—which is what drew me to them in the first place—their identities as artists, none of it is anywhere to be found in this MV aside from the dancing shots, which is a shame.
I have three existing songs named “Danger” in my music library —one that marks Taemin‘s solo debut, another that comprises f(x) begging Pinocchio to remember them, and one that features BTS‘ Suga complaining about being a “love loser”. Though I will put this fourth in that list, I will do so while longing for better execution of this concept.
(Images via SM Entertainment, Lyrics viaLyricsTranslate, YouTube)
