After placing first place on Produce X 101 and being a part of the short-lived X1, Kim Yohan is the next of the former X1 members to make his solo debut. Following being announced as a member of a new boy group, WEi, whose debut date is yet to be determined and following teasers on their official social media accounts, Yohan dropped his first solo single, “No More”. The MV for “No More” is by no means groundbreaking and instead chooses to showcase Yohan as the adorable boy-next-door.
In “No More”, Yohan is fed up with waiting around for a proper response from his crush about how they feel about him. The song, produced by Zion. T is a short affair that also features snippets of his distinct voice alongside Yohan’s softer vocals and rap. The narrative of the MV is simple and follows the lyrics closely; Yohan at first hangs around, wondering if his crush reciprocates his feelings. However, he eventually decides that he has had enough and takes matters into his own hands.
In the beginning, Yohan deals with the annoying symptoms of having a crush. These symptoms include being restless: he lounges around at home trying to distract himself but ultimately fails as he is too preoccupied with thinking about his crush. He also feels trapped, which is represented by Yohan being surrounded by tons of teddy bears. Having a crush is harmless, much like the stuffed bears, but still, he feels burdened by how strongly he feels for his crush:
I feel like trapped in a sauna
How long can I wait for you
Without a correct answer?
He also deals with never-ending curiosity about how his crush feels about him; in a room full of radios, he fiddles with different ones trying to find a signal. However, it cannot be any signal, as it has to be a certain one that will help him connect with his crush and learn how they feel about him. He is waiting on one person only, and the curiosity drives him crazy. Yohan also inspects a huge scroll that has the lyrics of the song with a magnifying glass, suggesting that Yohan is quite literally trying to read between the lines of his interactions with his crush for any hints of what they are thinking.
Despite all of his uncertainty in his crush’s feelings, however, Yohan is confident that he is a great candidate. He surveys mannequins that represent his competition against him in winning his crush over. Mannequins are perfect, but in an artificial way, and Yohan says that they are not as great as him after all:
Around you
There will be many like me
But not as good as me
With his newfound confidence, Yohan reaches his breaking point eventually. Instead of waiting around for an answer, Yohan takes the matter into his own hands. As the title of the song and the chorus suggests, he decides that he can “take it no more”, and he explodes. He pops balloons, oranges come tumbling out of the fridge, and he bursts out from under his pile of teddy bears. He will no longer be passive, and he takes decisive action in winning over his crush by setting off on his mini motorcycle.
As someone debating how they can win their crush over, Yohan plays the perfect, but relatable boy-next-door. The colourful styling and sets, especially the pops of yellow, red, and orange, can be spotted throughout and enhance his image as warm and welcoming. This effect is also heightened as the audience plays the role of Yohan’s crush; the MV is full of shots of him making sometimes shy eye contact with the camera, which makes sense when he holds out the bouquet of flowers he was holding towards the screen. The childish props, such as the magnifying glasses, teddy bears, and even the mini-motorcycle are all clever props in boosting the cute factor throughout the MV. Though the concept is a conventional one, Yohan pulls it off with charm.
What “No More” lacks in originality, it makes up for by showcasing Yohan as a likeable and approachable new artist. The straightforward narrative of the MV nicely complements the lyrics, and Yohan shines as the boy-next-door grappling with how to deal with his crush. With the release of “No More”, Yohan builds momentum ahead of his group’s debut, which is sure to be a much-anticipated one.
