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Moonbyul, main rapper from the 4-member power vocal girl group Mamamoo, has always captivated fans with her talented raps and head turning charisma. However, following the release of her solo song ‘Shutdown’ ft. Seori (or ‘From Head To Toe’ in Korean) she’s taken the whole kpop fan community by storm and netizens can not stop singing her praises.
At first listen, ‘Shutdown’ may sound like just another R&B song sung by two talented female vocalists, however when you look closer at the daring lyrics and MV, you start to notice a much more nuanced message, one that is rarely shared so explicitly in the Kpop industry.
Link↓
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brPMIpDb9F0“She said, you can ruin me,
She said, tonight um, ah
From head to toe
From head to toe
Hold my waist then stop there
Touch down, touch down
From head to toe
From head to toe
From your knees 'till morning
Shutdown, shutdown
Hug me unstoppingly
Fill the moment we met, love it
Our tempering relationship
Won't cool unstoppingly
You and I tonight
Tell me, be the sea
I keep swimming deep every day baby
Baby, baby slow down, down, down”
The lyrics tell of the romantic and sexual relationship between two parties, which is often left up to interpretation by the listener as Korean is a language that normally doesn’t use gendered pronouns. However in ‘Shutdown’ Moonbyul intentionally uses the pronoun ‘she’ in English to specify that this is actually an encounter happening between two women. This came as a shock to many listeners, fans and non-fans, Koreans and non-Koreans alike.
It is extremely rare for Kpop songs to talk about ‘sensitive’ issue like same-sex relationships so openly, and there are very few Kpop artists who tackle this controversial topic or who are openly ‘out’. Korea is still an extremely conservative country where same-sex relationships are stilled looked at in a negative light and same-sex marriage is still not recognised, and thought there are openly gay celebrities in Korea such as ‘Hong Seok Cheon’ and ‘Holland’, generally LGBTQ+ issues are not discussed very publicly, especially within the public eye.
What’s more, Moonbyul was even more daring as her song didn’t just showcase the romantic parts of the relationship but also touched on more erotic elements too. Many were surprised as though the lyrics are somewhat explicit, Moonbyul managed to write them in a poetic way to match the R&B vibe of the song. Despite the content of the lyrics, they don’t sound vulgar or overly sexual, and many listeners commended her for portraying a female same-sex relationship just as naturally as a male-female relationship. For those who related to the characters in the song, they expressed their thanks for the positive representation.
Furthermore, the impact of the lyrics was only added to by the music video. The music video was far more tame, and it is not unheard of for MVs to showcase same-sex couples (such as in K-Will’s ‘Please Don’t’ and Oh Kevin’s ‘Good Person.’) However, Moonbyul’s music video with Seori stands out because the two artists showed very good chemistry in a comfortable yet sensual way without the need to do anything explicitly romantic or sexual to show they were in a relationship. The two hardly interacted physically in the music video but the watcher could still feel their longing and desire for each other. (Though it is important to point out the two artists are only acting - this song is not necessarily a coming out song for either artist, and assumptions should not be made unless they themselves state otherwise.)
Another reason the music video is so highly regarded is because it is more often than not male-male relationships that are featured in music videos, so for many it was a refreshing change to see a female-female relationship portrayed instead. Moonbyul provided some much lacking lesbian representation, and it was very brave of her as there was no way to predict how well or badly the song and MV would be received. Fortunately it seemed that it was received positively, which may show something about a changing mindset within the Kpop community, so it will be interesting to see if more artists decide to follow in her footsteps in future and speak out on these important humanitarian and social issues.
What is your opinion on Moonbyul’s ‘Shutdown’ ft. Seori and the positive, powerful representation it provides for the LGBTQ+ community? Do you relate to the story it told, or did it open up your mind to something different from what you know? And which other artists do you know who’ve also shown their support for those marginalised in everyday society?
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