Till now, I have yet to review a single boy group title track. It's not that I don't like any boy group releases it's just that I tend not to listen to them as much and those that I've listened to, I don't feel like reviewing. That said, I firmly believe that the return of this group more than deserves to be my first boy group title review. Once considered one of the 2nd generation kings of K-Pop, JYP Entertainment's 2PM has finally made their comeback after 5 long years. With each member becoming successful in their own right, whether as soloists or actors, Hottest (fandom name) could be forgiven for thinking that they would never make a return as the full sextet. Even after main rapper Taecyeon left JYP and most members had to serve their military service less Thai member Nichkhun, 2PM's brotherly bond stayed strong and they've put out their 7th album "MUST". Without further ado, let's dive into my review of title track Make it.
Meaning: Make it is a very smooth love song with a very sensual vibe, utilising a jazz-pop sound. The song has been described as a more mature version of 2PM's debut title 10 Out of 10, and was partially written by main dancer and lead vocal Wooyoung, with a similar message about falling in love with a woman at first sight. The MV starts with Wooyoung seeing the MV's leading lady and having a vision of an apocalypse, complete with crashing meteors, crumbling buildings and shattering glass. The members' level of infatuation is so great though that despite all the disaster, their only goal is to get together with said woman. They sing about being inexplicably attracted to her despite not "[having] a type" and the entire song is basically about them wanting to confess their newfound feelings to this woman who they've literally just seen. From there we get the name of the song because 2PM wants to "Make it" ("it" being this love) happen. Even after Wooyoung snaps out of his vision, he still heads out to talk to the woman, even though he knows there'll be an apocalypse right after.
MV: What I'm about to say might sound contradictory but Make it's MV clearly had a high production budget with a lot of big movie-like special effects while at the same time feeling somewhat minimalist. Like I mentioned earlier, the MV is set in an apocalyptic situation, with most of the production value definitely having gone towards the VFX for the meteors and explosions, among other things. Most of the MV has these kinds of high stakes situations, things are crashing down, people are running helter-skelter and through it all, 2PM's members are courting the woman they've set their eyes on. Each man interacts with her in different scenarios, including maknae Chansung meeting her on a rooftop as meteors rain down in the background or Taecyeon doing a typical K-drama wall slam whilst shielding her from a stampede of people. The latter is also my favourite shot in the MV but I'll get to that later. I think it's also quite interesting that none of the members interact with one another in the storyline shots and they're chasing this woman separately.
Everything is shot beautifully and with style, which is really the most important thing here, style. All of 2PM's members are in their 30s and their maturity is reflected in the way the MV is shot, stylishly. Let's talk about their choreography, which we of course see in their dance shots. In no way am I undermining their talent as idols but Make it's dance is definitely simpler and less intensive than their older titles like I'll Be Back or Hands Up. In this MV, their dance sequences take place in 3 set pieces, an office, a shophouse corridor (which you might recognise from DREAMCATCHER's BOCA MV), and a plaza with destruction and burning cars in the background. The last set piece of course has a lot more flair since it links back to the MV's apocalypse storyline while the others are far more muted. The office and corridor set are actually featured in the storyline shots as well, as we see Junho saving the woman from falling out a hole in the office wall and the aforementioned Taecyeon wall slam was in that corridor.
Everything about this MV just screams sensuality and that is after all the main idea behind this song. Make it is very chill and smooth, with the individual members' actions going along with that as they woo the leading lady while braving the dangers around them. I absolutely love the concept they went with this MV as it really demonstrates the maturity of the group and the growth in their sound. It's definitely not as dynamic as other MVs in terms of dancing but it still manages to keep viewers excited and interested.
Styling: Gone are their days of ridiculous eyeliner or crazy party outfits because Make it sees the members dressed very simply in a combination of long-sleeved dress shirts and suit pants, all of which are generally one solid colour. With the exception of their final dance outfit, which is far more informal and chill, the rest of their outfits are quite formal, looking like stylish office wear which befits the song's smooth concept. Interestingly, the clothing we see the men decked out in in storyline shots are all fairly similar to what they wear in dance sequences since the dance itself isn't very strenuous, allowing 2PM to look their best even when dancing. I also really liked how the main point of their chorus dance sequence was the "sleeve rolling" motion, where the members literally roll up their sleeves and as far as I know, we don't often see K-Pop dances where the idols' clothing becomes part of their dance so this was really unique and cool.
I definitely have to make special mention to Taecyeon for this MV. I said earlier that his wall slam scene is my favourite shot in the MV and I can't wax lyrical enough about it. Many people will probably recognise the idol from his most recent performance as main villain Jang Han-seok from Vincenzo and he killed that role. He was totally evil but yet super cool, by far and away his most iconic drama role yet. Why am I mentioning this? Well because Make it's wall slam scene brought back all my memories of that role because Taecyeon had the same intense stare and super cool vibe to him. From one man to another, Taecyeon has to be one of the manliest and most handsome male idols out there now, and this MV just cemented that fact.
Song: As I mentioned earlier, Make it is a jazz-pop song, generally quite slow and smooth. My House, one of 2PM's previous titles, has recently seen a resurgence in popularity and in many ways, Make it is quite similar in sound (albeit a little faster). Both songs revolve around the members charming a woman and as such, they adopt a very seductive sound. Make it is honestly quite an addictive song and the members' smooth vocals blend very well. What I find really interesting is that the chorus is quite minimalist, having very quiet instrumentals with the members' breathy vocals over it and of course, I can't forget to mention the absolute perfection that is Taecyeon's lines in the final chorus, with the almost acoustic instrumental merging with his deep honey vocals to give my personal favourite part of the song. This song definitely encapsulates the maturity and growth of 2PM as one of the industry's veterans.
Line distribution: I think many people have the misconception that a fair line distribution entails each member of a group getting more or less an equal amount of lines in a song (in the case of a sextet like 2PM that would mean around 16.7% for everyone). The truth is, fairness comes from whether a member gets an amount of lines that befits them, regardless of the disparity between members with the most and least lines. With that in mind, Make it has a super fair line distribution, with each guy getting a good amount of lines. Main vocal Jun. K comes out on top with a well-deserved (around) 29.8% and as main vocal, getting the high notes in the final chorus as well as lines peppered throughout the pre-choruses, post-choruses and the bridge. This is a fairly big difference from runners-up Junho, who comes in at a little under 16.1%. As the group's second main vocal, he's all over the song, having lines in all three of Make it's choruses and also the entire second refrain to himself. His place in the acting industry has also boosted his popularity so it makes sense for him to get 2nd place in the line distribution.
In 3rd place we have Chansung at just under 15% and what's interesting is that despite being lead rapper, he doesn't have a single rap line. Now I haven't followed 2PM religiously but from what I've heard from them, Chansung doesn't actually rap all that much. In fact, in Make it his lines all have him hitting almost a falsetto of sorts as he croons in both pre-choruses and the bridge. Chansung is one of the more popular members of the group, having made his name in the acting industry so his popularity definitely begets more lines. Close behind is sub-vocal and sub-rapper Nichkhun at a little over 14.3%. He actually gets quite a lot of lines here, having parts in all three choruses as well as taking the entire first refrain so it might be a little bit of a surprise considering he's a sub-vocal but let's not forget, he's considered the group's visual so even though he's the sole foreigner, he'll surely get more lines.
Moving on to our last two members, we have lead vocal Wooyoung at just over 14%. While it doesn't seem like he has that many lines, his parts in the song are very impactful seeing as how he opens the song and shares the pre-chorus (which some consider the best part of Make it) with Jun. K. He also has lines in the bridge and let's not forget, Wooyoung could very well be considered the MV's main character since he's the first one to see the female lead. In last place is Taecyeon at around 10.9%. It sounds bad right off the bat since he only has around a third of Jun. K's lines but his charisma are more than enough. As main rapper, he also gets the only rap lines in the song befitting his deep voice and also has my personal favourite part of the song (which I talked about in the previous segment, see Song).
At first glance, this line distribution doesn't really seem very fair since Jun. K has almost three times the amount of lines that Taecyeon has but if you take a closer look, it makes total sense and considering 2PM's veteran status, they're probably beyond worrying about line distributions.
Final thoughts: It's seriously been too long since we've seen 2PM and I'm really happy that the 2nd generation K-Pop kings are back in action. Taking a look at their recent live performances, you can really tell that they really enjoy being back on stage and are having a ball of a time, and honestly that's a huge part of what makes them so appealing as a group. With a definite maturity around their latest release, I'm certain that Hottest and casual listeners alike will find a lot to like from Make it. Thanks for reading.
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