BTOB pray ‘I’ll Be Your Man’ in new album

by Kay Kim, editor in chief

After two years and two months, BTOB returns with a choreographed title track, “I’ll Be Your Man”, in new mini album, NEW MEN. The Album was released on November 7th at 12 AM KST.

Hyunsik, one of the vocalists of the group, has greatly contributed to this album as the composer and lyricist. Other notable contributors include Kairos, who is Peniel’s brother in law, Peniel, and Ilhoon, who is the rapper of the group.

Over the past two years, BTOB released ballad songs with minimal amounts of choreography. However, they have shown transformation in the new album.

“I was looking forward to the new dance song because for the previous three albums, they promoted a ballad song. They satisfied my expectations because the song was really catchy and the lines were equally distributed between rap and vocal,” Brooklyn Latin High School senior HeeJu Park said.

There are seven tracks in total. The first track is “NEW MEN”, which is composed of heavy electric guitar riffs and drum beats. It acts a musical introduction to the album.

“I’ll Be Your Man”, the second track, is a dance song that is combined with trap sound elements. The members’ strong vocal and rap talents are highlighted throughout the song. The lyrics illustrate a man who desperately prays for the return of his girlfriend, who has left him. He promises he will be a better man.

The accompanying music video of this song features the seven members of the group and Elkie of the girl group, CLC. The plot is as follows: the seven members are held captive after a war. They must rely on each other for survival. In the midst of the struggles, the members rely on Elkie to help them escape. However, Elkie turns out to be a spy, who betrays them and turns them over. The settings shift between a church, a confession room, and a warehouse.

Following the title track is “Love Drunk” (or “Intoxicated”), a ballad song filled with string sounds and drums. In this track, a man reminisces over a girl he broke up with. Therefore, he continually gets drunk in his former girlfriend and his crushed emotions.

As one of the faster songs, “I’m Bored” is a midtempo song with staccato electronic riffs. BTOB members request a poke on their social media networks because they have nothing to do.

Contrasting from the previous track, “Yes I Am” is a mellow song composed of an acoustic guitar riff and members’ harmonizing that is heard throughout the entire song. In this track, the members dream of romance as they confess their transformations.

Unlike all the other tracks of the album, “Come on Over” (or “Come to Play”) refrains from the theme of love, but rather focuses on enjoying life. According to the song, sometimes it is necessary to forget the worries and dance. It is the fastest song of the album, which makes it an appropriate fit for the message that the song portrays.

The final track is “Melody Song” (or “I Love You Forever”). This song is dedicated to the group’s fanbase, Melody. All of the members contributed in creating the lyrics to express their love and gratitude for their fans.

BTOB’s first live performance was held on Thursday, November 10th on M Countdown. Within that week, they also appeared on other live shows, such as Music Bank, Show! Music Core, and Inkigayo. They will continue to promote their album through more live shows.