[FEATURE] A Trip Back To 2014 S/S: The ‘Winning’ Album That Started It All

Let’s look back at the album which started the journey of a group of boys gifted with so much musicality.

K-Pop Chameleons — that was what music streaming platform Apple Music called WINNER when they released their second studio album [EVERYD4Y] in 2018. True enough, the group wouldn’t have gained and deserved the phrase “Trust and Listen” from the general public if not for their versatility in music.

Whatever the song is, if it is from WINNER, then you should just trust that it will be good and will have to listen to it.

As Yoon, Mino, Hoony, and Jinu approach their sixth year creating music that brings either extreme pain or overflowing joy (if you know what we mean) to their Inner Circles, let us have a trip down memory lane and look back on the album which started WINNER’s journey: 2014 S/S.

Known for their lyricism and ability to pull off any genre, WINNER crafted this album to perfectly reflect music’s infinite possibilities. The varied pairings of melody and lyrics — an upbeat song, almost a dance song, narrating a painful breakup and a person’s longing, really? — definitely offered a fresh way of presenting the same old heartbroken theme in songs these days.

For InCles who have been with WINNER for a long time, this might hit you with a wave of nostalgia and a sudden urge to listen to the album. For the new InCles, however, it will prove to you how flexible WINNER’s musicality is, right from the very start. The bottomline: 2014 S/S definitely assures all InCles that stanning WINNER is one of the best decisions you have ever made.

*The list includes group songs only.

1. Empty (공허해)

One of WINNER’s double title tracks for their debut, “Empty (공허해)” was a huge hit among the Korean general public. The song helped the group to immediately acquire the nickname “monster rookies” in 2014. “Empty” also won the group their first music show win on M! Countdown just five days after their debut, making WINNER one of the fastest K-pop groups to snatch a music show trophy after debuting.

The song portrays the feeling of suddenly losing something — someone — so familiar, that even though other things are still the way they have been before, everything feels different just because of one single factor that was lost. Delivering the pain of longing so well, the title alone perfectly carries the essence of the whole song: the devastating feeling of emptiness after feeling full and complete for so long.

Lyrics-pick: (Lyrics translation from colorcodedlyrics.com)

“I don’t regret it, I’m just a bit sad”

“As I face the morning, I realize once again: what wakes me up is not you but an alarm bell. Why is this damn bed so big?”

“After waking up from the dream that was you, this morning of reality feels so empty.”

2. Color Ring

“Color Ring” is another of WINNER’s title tracks from their debut album. It plays around the two uses of the word “ring” in the song. One pertains to a color ring — or a mood ring — an accessory which color believes to change based on the mood of the person wearing it. The other refers to the ring of a phone call made by the person talking in the song.

The ring tears him because as much it reminds him of the person he is calling and their beautiful memories together, the mere fact that said person won’t pick up the phone tells him they’re already over.

In the song, the persona talking tells how a color ring shows his feelings of sadness over missing someone who, despite after a lot of phone calls, won’t care to answer him.

Lyrics-pick: (Lyrics translation from colorcodedlyrics.com)

“The melody flowing out of the phone is sweet, but why does it sound painful to my ears? It sounds like the melody is mocking my longing for you.”

“As the time passes, I can’t remember your voice. The color ring that resembles me, even a single word is fine… Please say good bye.”

3. Don’t Flirt

Who would have thought that an upbeat song could be full of ranting over an unfaithful lover? WINNER’s “Don’t Flirt”, especially for people who are not so familiar with the Korean language, would appear to be one of the happy tracks of 2014 S/S. But don’t be fooled by the way it sounds: the whole track is a complaint against a cheating partner.

The lyrics portray a love that is so desperate, one is willing to act blind, deaf, and dumb over the things he has been hearing about his lover. As the song approaches its end, it appears that the person talking in the song is finally done with what his lover is doing, but he eventually gives her a last chance — finishing the song in a hopeful (or hopeless?) note.

The happy and dancy tune of the track gives irony to the angst of the lyrics — something that you don’t encounter often in music. “Don’t Flirt” would definitely get you caught in an LSS over an upbeat song of pain over an uncertain relationship.

Lyrics-pick: (Lyrics translation from Genius.com)

“Just when I’m starting to forget you, you come back and betray me. Rumors have already gone around the whole town, where were you last night? I’d rather have you lie to me”

4. Love is a Lie

“Love is a Lie” tells the story of the person talking in the song and how he has been lying — to his friends, and to himself. Mirroring how the rather bitter song is disguised behind a cheery beat, the lyrics are all about pretending; the persona pretending his relationship with his lover is still okay despite them already being over.

While it starts with the persona trying to convince his friends that all is well between him and his lover, we see in the song’s lines later on that what he’s doing is more of convincing himself into believing that he is okay and that he is not longing for his ex-lover. Which is clearly not the case.

Lyrics-pick: (Lyrics translation from colorcodedlyrics.com)

“I’m committing a crime to you even today.
I say “I miss you” when no one is around.”

“I’m just going to live in my delusion”

5. But

“But” is about selfish love — a theme many of us can relate to. The persona talking in the song is reflecting on how he has been nothing but mean to his lover. However, at the same time, he clings onto her and begs her not to leave him.

The song perfectly portrays a toxic relationship; thankfully, the persona’s lover ends up leaving him, as he continues to beg her to come back.

The feel of this song is tricky: it is not entirely mellow, as it has a fast beat but the bitterness and hopelessness of its message is able to reach its listener somehow.

Lyrics-pick: (Lyrics translation from colorcodedlyrics.com)

“Don’t love if it’s not me, it doesn’t suit you. Though it’s selfish of me, don’t go far away: I’m not there.”

“I was always bad; did you fall for a different love? I was always bad; I’m still standing here. Don’t run away anymore. Stay within my reach, as if you’ve been waiting. Come back, please, come back to my heart.”

6. Different

Starting off with an acoustic guitar, “Different” gives its listeners the melancholic feel yet again, as if the persona talking in the song has been unfairly hurt by his lover — not until we get to its lyrics.

Similar to the previous track “But”, “Different” also tells of the story of a selfish person who excuses himself as “different” to justify his being cruel to his lover. He tells her he isn’t what she thinks he is, that he is bad, that he can’t give what she expects of him, and that he would only end up hurting her.

But he still begs the person to stay, as he doesn’t want to end their relationship.

Lyrics-pick: (Lyrics translation from Genius.com)

“I shot a gun at your heart, I’m selfish. That’s right, I’m a bad guy. Even if you try to place a period in our future, there’s only a comma because of me.”

7. Tonight

“Tonight” is about spending a night with another girl, only to miss someone who he already broke up with. He tries to forget his ex-lover, but to no avail. He only ends up getting lonelier, not at all comforted by the presence of another person.

The lyrics of the song brings to mind Katy Perry’s “Thinking of You”.

Lyrics-pick: (Lyrics translation from colorcodedlyrics.com)

“(I don’t like this feeling) I thought it’d be easy
back then but how am I crying?
(I don’t like this feeling) The girl asleep next to me
is looking like you”

“Hey, I didn’t know a night
without you could be so lonely
I hold her in my arms as I long for you”

8. Smile Again

WINNER decided to end their debut album on a hopeful note with “Smile Again” as the last track of 2014 S/S.

An upbeat electronic dance music track, “Smile Again” is about a person wanting to see a smile on the face of someone he treasures. WINNER croon comforting words to the listeners as they convince them to “smile again.”

The track is brimming with encouragement and optimism, making it more of a cheering and reassuring song than a romantic love song. The persona says that even if getting back a lost smile — a lost sense of happiness — would not be an easy thing, he would stay by their side, persisting, until he finally sees their genuine smile back.

Lyrics-pick: (Lyrics translation from colorcodedlyrics.com)

“I repeatedly ask you to smile,
but you just blankly stare at the sky.
What robbed you of your smile?
I want to rewind it all back. Your smile is like heaven.”

“I can no longer remember your smiling face
I feel like I’m losing my own smile.”

“I’ll laugh crazily until you laugh with me.
I won’t stop, it shines your smile
I’ll run and play crazily until you get up
and scream of happiness, ye.”

WINNER’s lyricism, combined with their inarguable genius in producing their own music, makes them one of the true gems of K-Pop today. InCle’s really did a great job in choosing to fall in love and to stay beside WINNER all this time.

Filipino Inner Circles, it is your chance to hear the boys of WINNER in person, as they will be returning back to Manila for their WINNER CROSS TOUR! Catch Yoon, Mino, Hoony, and Jinu perform LIVE on January 25, 2020 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena!