With the rise of different marketing strategies, concepts, and fresh ideas in the music industry, several acts are doing their best to stand out from the rest. Of course, the industry is a battlefield after all. Some groups release a song with distinction, but these projects believe that three bullets are better than one — the power of three! Here are some remarkable trilogy projects by some of our favorite boy groups.
GOT7 – Flight Log Trilogy
GOT7 heated things up in 2016 with the announcement of their fifth extended play, Flight Log: Departure. Back then, it was not known to be part of a trilogy until the other releases happened. This trilogy focused on a storyline that was characterized by a tragic accident that affected the lives of a group of seven friends.
The first part of GOT7’s Flight Log trilogy is Flight Log: Departure. The title song is Fly, a song that highlighted GOT7’s energy and growing identity in music. As the title suggests, the members can be seen in the music video as “flying”, symbolizing the possible outcome of the dreadful event.
Following the release of “Fly” is the second title track, Hard Carry, as part of Flight Log: Turbulence. Compared to “Fly”, “Hard Carry” is more focused on hip-hop and elements of the like, which may have reminded the listeners of GOT7’s early days. The members are seen saving Jinyoung from drowning in this part of the trilogy, possibly hinting that he is left alive.
The final release of GOT7’s trilogy is Flight Log: Arrival, with the title track Never Ever. Unlike the earlier releases, “Never Ever” was rather experimental as the group tried a different type of music. Following the storyline, Jinyoung, who was hinted to be the only one left, was seen overcoming a life-or-death situation, thus, ending the story.
BTS – Skool Trilogy
Ever since debut, BTS has always tried to do things differently. Their debut was already part of a trilogy in the making. And just like the fresh and youthful boys they are, they chose a totally fitting concept for their debut trilogy.
Contrary to the titles of their albums, which suggested a light and warm type of music, BTS delivered dark hip-hop sounds that caught the attention of many. The first part of their trilogy is 2 Kool 4 Skool along with the title track No More Dream.
Months later, they released their first mini-album titled O!RUL8,2? (read as Oh! Are you late, too?) with the title track N.O. This song and music video highlighted the boys’ talents, as well as a choreography that showed the fruits of their struggles.
The last part of BTS’ trilogy, Skool Luv Affair, did far better than the two first releases. Its title track Boy In Luv managed to garner a huge amount of interest, opening gates of opportunities for them. “Boy In Luv” signalled not only the end of the trilogy but also the beginning of the rise of a legendary boy group.
VIXX – Conception Trilogy
It’s not a post about trilogies if we didn’t mention possibly the most remarkable of them all. In 2016, VIXX shook up the industry with the announcement of their year-long project, the Conception Trilogy. This project attracted and amazed more than just fans for its unique and distinct Greek Mythology concept.
Opening up Conception is Zelos, the god of jealousy in Greek Mythology. Representing the single album is the lead single called Dynamite. This song had funky, party vibes — probably a first for VIXX — as well as an eye-pleasing music video. The members were seen gatecrashing Leo’s wedding in the music video, basically wreaking havoc all over the place. This opened the door for thousands of theories about the storyline of the Conception project.
Unlike its predecessor, Fantasy, the title track of the second part, highlighted a darker VIXX. It’s the title track of Hades, which, in Greek mythology, is the God of the underworld. The song is driven by an orchestral instrumental and a powerful chorus, while its music video shows some of the members being held captive, leading fans to theorize about them being brought into the underworld.
Wrapping up Conception is the final part of the trilogy, Kratos. In Greek mythology, Kratos is a God of strength and power. VIXX members are seen in oozingly hot and sexy military outfits as the lead track The Closer plays on. This should have been the concluding act of the trilogy, but instead of clarifying, it only made it vaguer. The members, however, said that the ending was open to interpretation.
And as a final blow for the Conception trilogy, VIXX released Ker, a compilation album of all the tracks which were featured in the year-long project. Released as a special gift to the fans, it came along with Milky Way, a track especially made for the people who support them. The music video is entirely different and has nothing to do with the unresolved story but instead, shows the members having fun with Starlights.
BONUS: DAY6 – Sungjin x Wonpil Trilogy
Though not really an official trilogy unlike those mentioned above, the three single albums from DAY6‘s EveryDAY6 project highlighted three music videos of an interconnected love story. Friendly love. Unrequited love. Rainbow-colored love. But of course, all with DAY6’s high-quality music.
EveryDAY6 August‘s What Can I Do was initially just a simple music video in a school setting but it winds up shocking fans with its totally unexpected ending. #LoveWins
The next music video, EveryDAY6 September‘s I Loved You, continued the story with a not-so-light change of ambience. As the title suggests, it’s a song that may hurt a bit in the chest with its fast and subtly heartbreaking story progression.
Lastly, EveryDAY6 October‘s When You Love Someone, closed the story with a neat and cute ending. Although it doesn’t show any signs of spark between our two main characters, it paved way for a different, unexpected, and cute couple instead.
In K-Pop, a trilogy is not just releasing three songs in a row — it’s more of conveying a story that a single release cannot write. That’s the power of three! What’s your favorite among the mentioned above? Comment them below!
i would have always assumed BTS’ HYYH Trilogy to be more significant in their careers to their School Trilogy