REVIEW | Golden Child’s Bomin is “Singing In The Rain” for his secret love with Joochan

Through Golden Child’s MV Competition project, every unit song from their latest studio album Game Changer will be getting a music video that is self-produced by the members themselves… and of course I will review them all because why not? By the review of the last MV, I’ll reveal my top 5 ranking as well.

The first Golden Child unit to get their music video released is Team Rain, comprised of main vocalist Joochan and visual/lead dancer Bomin, with the song called “Singing In The Rain”. Out of all units, Team Rain got the best camera, biggest budget, and a considerably long filming time. Because of their deep pockets, they were even able to hire an actress for the shoot. Unfortunately, Team Rain didn’t make it into the top 3 for the MV competition.

SONG REVIEW:

“Singing In The Rain” is one among the three ballad songs from Game Changer and while I think it’s the weakest among the three ballads, it’s still a very good song on its own.

It’s a typical cafe-esque ballad that has a jazzy touch onto it. I liked that there are parts where raindrops can be heard, albeit almost mutely. Quite honestly, the song itself isn’t anything impressive nor disappointing, it’s just a normal song with nothing new to bring.

However, what brings forth the charm of “Singing In The Rain” is the amazing performance of its singers. Joochan and Bomin are the two youngest members of the group with contrasting responsibilities within Golden Child. Joochan is in charge of the main vocals while Bomin is everything but a main vocal as a rapper, dancer, and visual. Nevertheless, the harmony these two bring is out of this world and their combination really brings color to the song.

Joochan’s voice is thin and has a cider-like quality to it whereas Bomin’s voice is known to be very deep and thick. Together, Joochan’s higher register and Bomin’s lower register creates a compelling harmony that I believe only Joochan and Bomin can create.

While it’s not a song that can squeeze out their strengths as vocalists as “A Song For Me” is to Joochan and “Go Together” is to Bomin, what shined the most here is their vocal tones. Though Joochan did an impeccable delivery of emotion in his singing, he surely did not overpower Bomin who also resonated his vocal color and singing no one else in Golden Child can do.

Overall, the song is a beautiful track that showcases the colorful vocals of the two vocalists which can bring warmth to a rainy day.

MV REVIEW:

In the MV review, I wouldn’t explore much on the aspects where the members didn’t have much control in such as the filming quality and expensiveness of the video. That being said, Team Rain was really lucky that they have Golden Child’s “brain” on their team, letting them score the biggest budget and best camera.

I’ll make this clear before reviewing, this MV is NOT straight.

Potentially paying homage to the ever famed “Please Don’t” music video by singer K.Will, “Singing In The Rain” has an ending that is not as shocking, but definitely understood the assignment.

Aside from the twist by the end, the music video actually did not have much going on with it. The exposition goes showing the three characters, Joochan, Bomin, and the female lead. Throughout the music video, moments of the three hanging out and having fun were shown but mostly depicted Joochan and the female lead in love while Bomin is at the side just watching them.

Joochan and the female lead seemed to have something special by their sweet actions but from the MV, I realized that Joochan may have been keeping the relationship from Bomin as all their sweet moments either don’t have Bomin in the frame and when he is, all the sweet actions are initiated by the female lead instead. It may have been affirmative how when Joochan was going to touch the face of the female lead, upon noticing Bomin is there, he hastily hid his hand as if trying to hide something.

The MV was made to mislead the viewers into thinking that Bomin is interested in the female lead because of his repeated stares and smiles that the camera angled in the way that it’ll appear as Bomin looking at her instead for a more powerful twist. However, of course, in the end, a big reversal happened where it was revealed that Joochan was the apple of Bomin’s eye all along.

Actually, many tried to debunk the Joochan being Bomin’s romantic interest ending, saying that Bomin was just being a good friend who supports the relationship of his friends. Understandable, but there are signs many may have missed in the music video which supports that Bomin indeed has feelings for Joochan.

It doesn’t have to be explicitly explained; the symbolism and body language is enough. Right from the beginning, the three characters are seen having a nap and Bomin waking up. He did not have any particular expression when gazing towards the right side where the female lead is sleeping; but when he did gaze towards Joochan’s direction…

A lovely smile is what you’ll get.

Next is in the scene where Joochan and the female lead were having a private moment that Bomin deliberately inserted himself into. Bomin smiled to both of them, a silly-looking expression towards the female lead, but an expression of love and longing towards Joochan. When Joochan turned his back, Bomin’s gaze didn’t get detached. Bomin’s skilled at acting enough to convey the pain of unrequited love beneath that smile of his.

Lastly, I found this random at first but then realized that I’m dumb its significance the second time I watched it: the rainbow-colored umbrella. As we all know, rainbow is a symbolism for the LGBT+ community. It’s a pretty definitive symbolism and an impactful inclusion to bring more depth and definition.

Then the end happened, showing the plot twist of Bomin having his eyes for Joochan and Joochan only.

I really like that they went totally “Please Don’t” with the music video. Society isn’t very much still open to same-sex relationships, much more to idols and public figures like Joochan and Bomin, so a change like this is appreciated.

I’d like to commend their acting specially Bomin, who didn’t have to use any words to tell his story and resonate the music video with his love for someone who has his eyes on another person. We still don’t know the name of the female lead, who by the way is very pretty, but she has really great chemistry with the boys. And lastly, Joochan did a very well job and the staff who said his gaze is unsettling needs a reality check!

I find myself liking the more mellow end of the spectrum when it comes to k-pop music and with Bomin and Joochan singing the song, I’m all sorts of in love with it. It’s sad that Team Rain failed to reach the top 3 but it really makes me more excited to see the other MVs if such a great MV as “Singing In The Rain” didn’t do as well.