Battle of the B-Sides:: BTOB: The Feeling

 Happy anniversary, BTOB! I'm doubly excited about this because it's the first time we get all six of you since you left Cube. Not going to lie. Y'all scared me a little because I specifically picked y'all to be my emotional support group with one of the criteria being that my emotional support group was unlikely to be disbanded any time soon. And then after a couple of days of panicking, I was reminded to trust Eunkwang because the members do, and I try to follow the lead of the group where I am able to. Which is why I'm not going to pretend Ilhoon was not there for this song. I almost cried when he said he was BTOB's Ilhoon and that he spent Peniel's birthday with him last week. He's not supposed to do that, and the rest of them aren't supposed to mention him at all, let alone hang out with him. So, he gets to stay with the group here. I'd be inclined to leave him in the group anyway, but it's nice how things are currently going right now. I'm currently trying not to hope and just enjoy the crumbs. And yes, I know that I did post a regular review for their fourteenth anniversary song literally today, but I'd planned to do a BTOB post before they announced their song. And I did think about switching this song to Insane because both Eunkwang and Ilhoon sang it on their anniversary lives that they (separately) did, but I'd already emotionally committed to this one.

So BTOB debuted as a seven-member group under Cube Entertainment in 2012, which they left in 2023. They're well-known for having some of the best voices in the industry, especially once they shifted from being a dance idol group to a ballad idol group, although some people aren't sure if they're a comedy group or a ballad group. The answer is yes. 

The Feeling is the seventh track on, and pre-release for, their eleventh mini album, released in 2018 and their last full group album pre-enlistment. For lyricists, we have only BTOB members (all three of which write their own raps and two of which regularly compose): Minhyuk (M.O.N.T, TAN, CherryB, saevom, and Kim Na Young), Peniel (Tzuyu, Amber Liu, and Woosung), and Ilhoon (Samuel, Pentagon, Lee Hong Gi, CLC, HyunA, 2Yoon, Jenyer, Yu Sungeun, Babylon, G.NA, Melody Day, and Dal Shabet). Ilhoon was also one of the composers for this song, along with Fuxxy (Chung Ha, GFRIEND, i-dle, ARTMS, BVNDIT, tripleS, The Boyz, Max Changmin, Victon, WJSN, Weeekly, 8TURN, Golden Child, Highlight, DreamNote, Lovelyz, ONF, Rocky, BoA, Girl's Day, BerryGood, Babylon, and Shinhwa), Any Masingga (Chungha, GFRIEND, i-dle, CLC, ARTMS, BVNDIT, tripleS, ITZY, DreamNote, Victon, WJSN, Weeekly, Golden Child, Highlight, Lovelyz, APRIL,ONF, Rocky, NeonPunch, Babylon, and Yoon Dujun), and VINCENZO (ILLIT, Chung Ha, &TEAM, GFRIEND, Enhypen, i-dle, Jun, CLC, Suzy, BVNDIT, ALL(H)OURS, ATEEZ, KAVE, Max Changmin, Victon, WJSN, Weeekly, Golden Child, Super Junior, Highlight, DreamNote, and Block B). 

We have performances, everyone! But no music video even though this was a pre-release! Baffling.

What I wouldn't give to be able to hear this group perform live with my own two ear holes. This is such a pretty song, and that artwork is gorgeous. Nothing like a blue and purple nebula to settle you into a soft, peaceful state of mind.

Peniel actually sings in this one, you guys. He's less likely to do that than either of the other two rappers, and he actually sings at the beginning right after Changsub and Hyunsik. It's not that he can't. It's just that he doesn't normally, which makes this such a special gift, especially since he then gets to rap later in the song, but in both instances, Peniel, despite the fact that he's pulling for both jobs, manages to maintain a consistent soft warmth. It's so well matched that until I started actually writing this, I didn't notice that he was actually singing. I thought he was just doing the melodic rapping that BTOB does so well.

I also find it a teeny bit amusing that Changsub and Hyunsik have such high parts in the beginning. Not that they can't, it's just that you don't often hear them having to go up into their falsettos like that because that range is normally handed to Sungjae and Eunkwang. Especially Hyunsik. He's got such a lovely lower register that gets used well and often, but here he gets to flex his falsetto stability. And since this is a BTOB ballad (and also not a title track), the odds that there is any kind of set choreography drops dramatically. But I also feel like this may be a standard Ilhoon SOP: make the vocalists suffer (which reminds me of SCoups and Kidult so that's obviously a universal thing, and speaking as an Alto who for years managed to fake being a first soprano because of an over-developed falsetto, sometimes you do just want them to suffer). They can do it. He knows very well that they can do just about anything he throws at them because he's said he believes in them. But I've seen the clip from back during the Movie era where he basically was like "I don't have to sing it, so it's not my problem. Let them figure it out."

In case anyone cares, BTOB also has a problem with having a demon maknae trio.

But this song. This is a song to have your first dance together as a married couple at your wedding. It's love and devotion in its purest form, and it's a testament to how loved this song is by the number of color coded lyrics available. "A good feeling/Past the point of fluttering, a hot feeling/Farther and higher than space/My feelings have grown, I don’t hate it/Because it’s you". This isn't cute, first puppy love. This is a mature love that has settled and expanded to fill the container it was poured into, like water. This love is a liquid. "Goodbye to all the lonely days of the past/From now on, I’ll split all of me into two/Go wherever you wanna go, go wherever you wanna go/On this map with no explanation/We’re not afraid even without a compass, it’s a new start". I absolutely love the line "From now on, I'll split all of me into two." You're not diminishing what you have or who you are. You're not shaving pieces off to make yourself smaller and make yourself fit the other person's ideal. You're offering a shared partnership. That's such a good line. 

I'm holding off on talking about the final bit because nothing will do but a live performance. I'm so excited. But also, this song is great as is, but I want the live performances. I'm sure you want the live performances. So let's get to the live performances.

This is so obviously live. I love them so much for that. Just let me coo over that for a moment.

Oh, my boys.

And take a look at their ears. That could have been difficult but the beginning of the video does a very good job of showing them before they start singing. Notice what not a single member is wearing? Not an in-ear to be seen. They sound like that, they're harmonizing like that, with no help other than the background music that everyone can hear. It also explains why Changsub and Hyunsik are a little wobbly at the very beginning. They lock in quickly, but that falsetto is really high. Hyunsik even has to pop up into falsetto for a note during one of his parts, which tells you how much of a struggle this song is, but they handle it so well. (I also found the behind the scenes for this performance, and I started it with Peniel and Sungjae doing a friendship test in the waiting room while Eunkwang sings somewhere else and Ilhoon is concerned. If the link doesn't go, you're looking for 3:13-5:46).

And then there's Minhyuk who starts off rapping in a rumble. And then you get the famed Minhyuk neck veins. But speaking of Minhyuk, he really likes this song. You know how you can tell? Because he spends a lot of the song singing along, even when it's not his part. There's a really clear part of him doing that during Eunkwang's entire part at 1:43. 

Also, the styling? Hello? They're in white and soft mauve with warm skintones on display. They're so gorgeous they make me want to cry a little. We have everything ranging from soft, fluffy college student to business CEO. However, the stretch from 0:16-0:23? Wow. Granted I think those three were the ones bickering over which one of them was the visual in their very first interview, but just...wow. Absolutely stunning. 

And I'm not even going to bother talking about their vibratos because we'll be here all night if I start talking about it. However. I would have to slap myself if I did not talk Sungjae's voice from 3:00-3:09. His vibrato there is so unrestrained that it's almost a constant vibration through every single note.

And notice that when we get to the end chorus, we get all of them singing, some of them not into their mics, but the ones that are singing into their mics are five out of the seven: the vocal line and Ilhoon. So he does make himself suffer a little bit too.

I'd also like to point out Changsub starting at 0:35. He's snapping along with the instrumental during Hyunsik's part. It's cute.

I really kind of love that they've got them in age order from left to right. No reason. I just really like that. It's orderly.

And here we get to see them without any fancy camera angles or cuts. That also means that I got to watch it seven times on my phone so I could zoom in on each of them. Here's what I noticed.

Eunkwang is adorable with his rapping along with Minhyuk and Ilhoon, more Ilhoon than Minhyuk, but he likes the rapping. Also, it's a good thing this man does not have a headset, because while he doesn't sing along to the entire thing and he probably could prevent himself from singing along, why should we diminish his enjoyment of the song, you know?

Minhyuk starts the song singing along with Changsub, so it's a good thing this man does not have a headset, part two. He's also the one doing the most fanservice when it's not his part, smiling and just generally in his feelings. Pun partially intended.

I find it funny that Changsub is the other vocalist that raps with Ilhoon and Minhyuk, which means it's a good thing this man does not have a headset, part three. But he cannot stand still. He's snapping and tapping and playing instruments and just generally vibing with the music. You can tell when his part is coming up, because that's about the only time he stops moving. 

Hyunsik is the consummate professional here, although I did notice something very interesting, and that's that he tends to look off to his left. I'm not sure if he's watching the younger three or if he just tends to watch the stage left fans.

Peniel, true to his personality, is just vibing. He's there. He's enjoying it. He shows up for his part. Occasionally he'll sing a line that's not his when his mic is far away from his mouth. And during the last chorus, he's singing along with the mic pointed at the Melodies in a wonderfully chill way. 

For Ilhoon, it's a good thing this man does not have a headset, part four. He sings his way through almost the entire song, and he is feeling this song so obviously. I'm glad to see he's enjoying the entire thing still even though he wrote it and had to go through all of the practices with the group. I do also fully appreciate the crowd audibly stirring shortly after he begins rapping. He's got a couple of moments during the choruses where it looks like he almost starts clapping. I love that he sings during the first half of the last chorus with Sungjae, Hyunsik, and Eunkwang. Good for him.

Sungjae is incredibly serious and focused. His life depends on this performance. No tomfoolery to be found. It's adorable that he spends almost the entire time tapping his foot though.

This was from their 2018 BTOB TIME CONCERT, and I absolutely love how it opened with Hyunsik singing part of the chorus.

Half the members are only wearing one in-ear for this as well, which is delightful.

But you want to know what really surprised me? Eunkwang's ad-libs at 3:52.

We also get a gorgeous shot of Hyunsik's neck veins while he's doing ad-libs at 4:31.

And Ilhoon's part at 2:36? The little eyebrow twitches while he smiles down at the audience is just precious.

This is why I wanted to wait until we got to live performances to talk about that final chorus because I think for the last half of the one here, we may have all of them singing. Peniel likely has his mic away from his mouth per usual, and that's such a cute thing from him, but it still counts. For the Show Champion performance, it was about half and half. For this one, Minhyuk and Ilhoon are clearly both singing at the same time, which means there are good odds that the whole group is singing, and it's just a choral chorus and I'm in love.

Also, holy crap. Shout-out to Changsub for that held note at 4:50. My cat chose well for his bias.

This is from their fanmeeting in 2018.

It looks like Hyunsik may have been having a tiny bit of issue with his in-ear, but he also doesn't have the other one in either. 

It's also really cool that they got one of the rotating stages for this. It makes that ending chorus just a little bit more special. And I know I haven't said anything about Sungjae's finale yet, but there's something very arresting about the way he's staring as the stage rotates him.

And this one is from the 2018 LOTTE Family Concert (which I think would have been right in the middle of promotions for the title track). You'd have thought this was their own personal concert from the way everyone in the audience is screaming and carrying on. And with how loud they were with singing with BTOB at the end in that magnificent chorus.

We once again have Ilhoon singing with everyone else, and it's adorable. But you want to know the best part of this concert? Sungjae forgot a line. You've likely heard it enough at this point that you'll be able to hear the missing line at 3:52. He's in the cluster in the middle at the back, but also you'll know which one he is because he covered himself in the streamers, which is probably why he forgot to finish the song.

Remember V Live? That thing that literally everyone used? They performed this on there and Sungjae was absent because he was filming Master of the House.

I'm doing this one last because it's got Vietnamese subs to it (good job translating and uploading this, even if your battery dropped to 10%!), but also this one was not performed by all seven members. Sungjae wasn't there. Eunkwang got his parts. We also having Peniel giving Changsub the beat at 2:14, because it looks like he's having issues with his pack, and it's very subtle, but then you also have Peniel patting Changsub's head at the very end of his part, being the emotional support dongsaeng for Changsub that he regularly is. They've got a precious bond, those two.

I'd like everyone to know that when any of the videos stopped playing, because I don't have auto play on, T'Challa would come over to me and start screaming at me until I hit play again. And then he'd wander off again. And it doesn't look like they've performed it since the summer of 2018 when they had all of the members pre-military. Hopefully we'll get it again in the future because it's a gorgeous song. And happy fourteenth anniversary, BTOB! May you remain together as long as you want to!

If you've got a song you'd like for me to cover, drop a comment or you can fill out The Form! I'd love to see what you've got for me!

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