SEVENTEEN Talk “Home Run” Music Video, “Semicolon” Album

Four months after the release of their seventh mini-album Heng:garae, South Korean group SEVENTEEN – made up of members S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino – is back with a new special album, titled ; [Semicolon].

Leading the comeback is the music video for lead single “HOME;RUN,” a swing-inspired song that mixes “strong brass sounds, a cheerful beat, jazzy piano sounds, and Asian instruments in the bridge” – as Woozi himself put it in his commentary for the album.

Through baseball metaphors galore, the song’s lyrics are SEVENTEEN’s take on the “work hard, play hard” leitmotif. “There may be no end to our journey of dreams,” Jeonghan sings, “so let’s take a break for today,” DK continues. “Today, tomorrow, the day after, every day… Let’s party on. My life is a home run,” DK sings in the song’s finishing line, per YouTube’s English subtitles. 

Matching the song’s old-timey cadence is the retro-inspired music video. A Murder on the Orient Express meets Beyoncé’s Pink Panther crossover, the music video feels like a mini-movie riddled with drama, suspense, roaring ‘20s-inspired suits, and, as is expected from SEVENTEEN, great choreography. “Even if you are wearing the same clothes, it feels different depending on who’s wearing them,” Seungkwan said in a press conference when asked about other retro concepts released recently. “This is our understanding of the retro theme and our interpretation of it. That’s what sets it apart from other retro motifs.”

In the 3 minutes and 34 seconds, we see the 13 members embark on a heist through underground poker clubs and smoky pool bars for a highly-coveted diamond (a not-so-subtle reference to their fans, dubbed CARATs.) “The missing diamond,” newspaper headlines read throughout the video. “Who has the diamond now?” posters also state as we witness a thrilling train chase featuring accomplices Mingyu and Jeonghan.

The visuals for “HOME;RUN” also seem to include subtle callbacks to SEVENTEEN’s five-year journey. The suits and poker scenes instantly remind us of the music video for the group’s Japanese debut “CALL CALL CALL!” – if that was set in the ‘20s. The video opens up with leader S.Coups crashing the same grey Volvo from the “Left & Right” music video into a brick wall, an element also reminiscent of the latter’s setting. The sign outside the theater that serves as home to the stupendous dance break reads “Since May 26, 2015,” a reference to the group’s debut. 

But the video also serves as an ode to the future that includes references to the group’s new chapter. When we see The8 and Joshua cruising in a cabriolet, the titles for the remaining five tracks of ; [Semicolon] are displayed in the background as Broadway-esque marquees.

Aside from title track “HOME;RUN,” the group’s new special album, which was released at the same time as the music video, includes age-based subunit songs “AH! LOVE,” “Light a Flame,” “HEY BUDDY,” and “Do Re Mi” as well as “All My Love,” featuring all 13 members. The songs go from retro-funk bops to Bossa Nova-led ballads and straight-up melodic pop. “We wanted to show SEVENTEEN’s variety [with these never-before-done subunits],” Jun said during the press conference. “All 13 of us have our unique charms and personalities so we wanted to show that no matter how we group ourselves, we have new things to show you,” Dino added.