Original Content

[Song & MV Review] iKON – 'New Kids Repackage – The New Kids'

AKP STAFF

Posted by eric_r_wirsing Thursday, January 10, 2019

iKON – 'NEW KIDS REPACKAGE – THE NEW KIDS'

Track List:

1. I’M OK

2. BLING BLING

3. LOVE SCENARIO

4. KILLING ME

5. FREEDOM

6. B-DAY

7. Rubber Band

8. BEAUTIFUL

9. COCKTAIL

10. ONLY YOU

11. EVERYTHING

12. LOVE ME

13. DON`T LET ME KNOW

14. GOODBYE ROAD

15. LONG TIME NO SEE

16. BEST FRIEND

17. JUST GO

18. ADORE YOU

19. DON’T FORGET

20. JERK

21. PERFECT

22. HUG ME

23. JUST FOR YOU

iKON is telling you they're okay on their new title track, but don't believe 'em. iKON has just released their newest repackage album. This has the entire 'New Kids' series on there from 2017-2018, 23 songs from 'New Kids: Begins,' 'New Kids: Return,' 'New Kids: Continue,' and 'New Kids: The Final.' It's fronted by the new title track, "I'm OK." B.I co-composed and co-produced the track, and Bobby, B.I, and Kim Jong Won provided the lyrics.

I've already covered the other 22 tunes in the previous reviews, so I'll just focus on "I'm OK" here. The song is supposed to depict the aftermath of a breakup and the forlorn feelings that go right along with it. B.I said that the message has to do with wanting to cry more when told not to, and feeling even worse when asked 'are you okay?'

The song is a downbeat one, a more mellow offering from these boys. It features the mainstream sound they adopted for the New Kids line (don't believe me? Go listen to songs like "Born Hater" and "Dumb and Dumber" and get back to me). They don't want you to be happy while listening to it.

The lyrics are a testament to pain as well, shrugging off help and hiding how bad they feel -- badly. Lyrics like "If you see my tears/Please act like you didn’t," "Cause I’m used to/Being alone anyway," "Don’t comfort me, don’t pity me/You don’t need to be by my side/Cause I’m OK." reflect their melancholy. They're words that talk of pain and depression, and just wanting everyone to go away so they can wallow.

And it pretty well describes the aftermath of a breakup, at least what's going on internally. I think it could be better, though, as I've been through a few breakups; you ask yourself what went wrong, and you see things and remember better times. I think they could have gone deeper with it. Still, if you liked the other albums in this sequence, then this would just be icing on the cake since you get all four albums plus this tune as well. A worthwhile purchase, especially if you missed any of them previously.

MV REVIEW

The MV starts out dynamically, with a raging fire surrounding a car. I guess they wanted to hook you with a bang first.

Not like the rest of it is bad, though. Quite the contrary. The MV features all seven boys in a blue mood. They all seem quite sad, with glum looks and downcast faces, as they sing the tune.

The locations are quite interesting, as one sings atop chairs, Bobby is surrounded by TV sets, one in a claustrophobic hallway, another sitting atop a ladder, the boys surrounding a car and then inside of it, driving. The imagery seems to center around fire, as they want to burn all the depressive feelings away. Holding a bouquet of burning roses, a flaming wheel rolling right through the center of a different scene, a car spontaneously exploding, etc. I'm not sure what the point of the banged-up car is, unless they're likening the relationship to something that crashed and burned.

This video has a number of electro-charged scenes. Even if the song might be a little depressing, what I just watched was far from it. You wanna pack an MV chock-full of fire and explosions? Fine. You've got my attention. I can definitely say this is one of the best videos I've seen in 2019.