An American Review: Album Edition ‘Going Seventeen’

Sarah Smith

December 11, 2016

Seventeen never fails to impress. On December 4th their 3rd mini album was released. Titled ‘Going Seventeen‘ this album has a mix of many styles, showing each talent of the group individually. There are songs with just single teams, as well as a mix of everyone. This is said to be Seventeen’s best album to date, and with my review I’m here to show you why.

1.Starting off the review is the first track on the album titled ‘Beautiful‘. This song takes me back to their debut, giving me an ‘Adore U‘ vibe. It has a very big production sound, which is perfect for a big group like Seventeen. This was a fun track to start off the new album with. It’s very fresh and ear pleasing.

2. The second song on their album is their comeback single ‘BOOMBOOM‘. Not only was the music video fun for this single, but the dance was fun as well. Lyrically, this is a very cute song, with lyrics like, “You’re so beautiful, When I’m looking at you“. Of course, this is a song for the performance team so they can show off their mad dance skills.

3. Coming in with a different sound on the third track, ‘Highlight‘ is a mix between SHINee and BTS. The mixing is spectacular, and gives one a “free falling” feeling when it’s listened to. This would be a fun song to do different stages for, maybe to even make an acoustic version of it. It is easy to understand why this song has a SHINee vibe to it, for SHINee’s number one fan Hoshi and the rest of the performance team, sang this song exclusively. They did a great job, and I want to hear more performance team exclusive songs.

4. ‘Lean on Me‘ is the fourth track on the album, slowing things down a bit. This is the hip hop unit’s solo, and it is amazing. Not only do they all shine with solo raps, but they also sing on the track as well! Wonwoo being the break out singer on this track, soothes listeners with his milky voice, showing a different side to the respected rapper. The brass in the background ties this song together so nicely, which adds a very personal feel to the song.

5. ‘Fast Pace‘ is my favorite song on the album. Each time I hear it, I fall more in love with it for different reasons. The first time I listened to it, all I could focus on was DK‘s sharp and beautiful vocals. The second time I listened to it, all I could picture was the music video to this song. The group has already performed this song live, and as expected, had a tango style dance to go with it. This would be a great song to do a mature music video to. The song has such a mature sound, and the possibilities are endless. Seeing all of Seventeen do the tango with some female actresses would be a great music video idea.

6. Next is the vocal team’s song ‘Don’t Listen In Secret‘ which is a ballad. This song is why I hold Seventeen as top of their class on the K-Pop scene. This song is beautifully mixed, giving each member of the vocal team opportunity to show off their amazing talent. This is also another very mature sound for the group, and they pull it off so well. While the vocal team has done solo work in the past, this song makes me want more.

7. This track is easily my second favorite off the album. Titled ‘I Don’t Know‘ this song is also another slow one, but with everyone as a mix unit. The rapping is strong, the singing is strong, the emotion is strong. Vernon even raps in English, giving him even more dimension as a rapper. When I first heard this song, I immediately thought of Epik High’s album ‘Shoebox‘. If I didn’t know this was Seventeen, I would have thought Tablo himself produced it. I hope this is a sign that Seventeen will venture into more of this sound, because it fits them so well.

8. Ending the album is a song titled ‘Smile Flower/Laughter‘. I love this song so much, even though its not on my favorites list. The acoustic guitar is gorgeous, playing along with the voices of Seventeen. Everyone sings, showing that even dancers and rappers have beautiful voices, breaking the position mold. This group managed to break their position titles, and come together to sing such a beautiful song. I hope more songs like this come to fans in the future.

Having been a major fan since debut, I’m so proud of Seventeen in their newest masterpiece. This song shows how much they’ve grown, not just as musicians, but also as men. While fans and even members of the group claim this is their best album so far, I have to agree. Not because it’s their newest, but because it’s their most mature. Just by listening to this album, I can tell so much time and passion went into this. I give this album an easy 10 out of 10.

What did you think of Seventeen’s album ‘Going Seventeen‘? Let us know in the comments below!

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Source: Youtube

Edited By: Sarah Smith

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