track by track: ONF: MY NAME
Please offer a warm round of applause for our new column, Idol Talk with Elaine Nguyen. Here’s Elaine, fresh off of defeating Aoba Johsai with the power of friendship.
We need to talk about ONF’s latest album.
Or rather, I need to talk about ONF’s latest album before I vibrate out of my skin with the force of my love for it, and I’m hoping you’ll indulge me.
For those unaware, ONF (pronounced “on and off”) is a six-piece Kpop boy group that debuted under WM Entertainment with title track On/Off in 2017. Despite their laudable ambition in terms of both music and the interconnected universe of their visually delightful music videos, ONF flew mostly under the radar until they placed second on Mnet’s 2020 performance competition Road to Kingdom. Since then, their status has grown considerably: their first post-RTK release, Spin Off, sold over 3 times as many copies in the first week as their 2019 EP Go Live. In late February 2021, their first full-length album, ONF: My Name, doubled their record again.
I’ve had my eye on ONF for a while — I looped the surreal, compulsively catchy “Sukhumvit Swimming” for months in 2020, and “We Must Love” ranks among my favorite Kpop songs of all time — but ONF: My Name was the first release that made me really sit down and pay ONF the attention they so richly deserve. For two weeks, I’ve been deep-diving all things ONF, but today I’m narrowing my focus to ONF: My Name. Let’s get into it.
With 9 songs (omitting the English version of title track “Beautiful Beautiful” and the CD exclusive “Lights On” remake), ONF: My Name clocks in at just over 30 minutes — slim, but typical in an industry where releases generally lean on the shorter side. Nonetheless, ONF pack a punch in the time they’re given, starting with:
1. BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL (title track)
“What I wanna become isn’t ‘number one’ but the only one.”
Uplifting and infectiously adorable, this song is ONF at their best. They open with an explosive, onomatopoeic “prrrum pum pum” refrain, and follow it up with defiantly cheerful assertions like “All the things we do together become art / I’m wonderful, sing it la la la / We’ll blossom so big for all to see as we sing.”
It serves as an instant mood booster and breath of fresh air. While “Beautiful Beautiful” is reminiscent of other upbeat ONF tracks such as 2018’s autotune-and-brass-infused “Complete”, there’s an edge of maturity here compared to the more straightforward peppiness of their early material. This is particularly true lyrically: while “Complete” tackles devotion to someone you feel incomplete without, the speaker of “Beautiful Beautiful” boldly claims autonomy and self-love.
And can we talk about that a cappella section in the bridge? Absolutely divine.
2. MY NAME IS
“I will be the light of your youth. Don’t be alone.”
You know those “UNHELPFUL GUIDE TO __” videos on YouTube offering to give you the run-down on various Kpop groups? ONF just put them out of business.
In “My Name Is,” each member takes a verse to introduce himself to the listener. With their own unique melodies, the boys offer a mix of practical and just-for-fun information: J-US tells us that he’s the Off team’s leader and that he doesn’t like cucumber in his kimbap, U clarifies that “I might look grown up but I’m actually the youngest member,” and MK remarks that “nobody can beat me except Father Hwang when it comes to music” — a reference to Monotree’s Hwang Hyun, who’s produced for ONF their entire career.
This song is genuinely helpful for new fans (I know it was for me!), and it’s super endearing to see the members show off their voices and personalities. In both “Beautiful Beautiful” and “My Name Is,” ONF live up to the album’s title by claiming their identity with pride and sheer fun.
3. THERMOMETER
“When our temperatures become the same, I’ll tell you how I’m feeling.”
Sung by the On team (a vocal-based subunit with Hyojin, E-tion, and MK), “Thermometer” compares a mismatch in attachment to a mismatch in temperature, likening unrequited love to a fever. The speaker expresses his wish to “match [the] difference,” eventually throwing aside the veil of metaphor to say “I’ll always be there when you’re alone / To match our difference with happiness” in the final lines.
It’s an earnest but understated declaration of love. “Thermometer” is musically sparse and lacks the epic high notes and melt-your-face-off belting that you might expect from a vocal subunit. Nonetheless, the On team’s singing ability shines through in their lovely harmonies and vocal runs. While this song didn’t grab my attention at first, it’s sweet and perfectly performed.
“It isn’t so hard to be a bad person, but I don’t want to share my burden with you.”
Conversely sung by the Off team (a performance-based subunit with J-US, Wyatt, and U), “Secret Triangle” is a fast-paced electronic song featuring a speaker who finds himself in an illicit love triangle, hiding his love for someone he can’t — or, at least, shouldn’t — have. The synth ascending and descending in the chorus seems to shadow his indecision, and the outro memorably features Wyatt repeatedly shouting “We’re screwed!” over the shred of an electric guitar. (Same here, bestie!) “Secret Triangle” is a danceable track elevated by its pretty vocal melodies and surprisingly heartfelt lyrics — the love itself pierces through all the angst that stems from it. The ending refrain of “Secret, secret, can you keep it?” followed by a whispered “yes” suggests that the torrid affair will continue.
5. THE REALIST
“Wake me up with bright light, call me to the end of my dream.”
God, I’ve been waiting to talk about this one. 80’s-esque and dreamy with a synth and electric guitar that seem to float, “The Realist” is grounded by a relentless thumping beat that reinforces the opening lines’ sentiment of “a familiar anxiety” and “running as if I’m carried away.” The few times this beat vanishes, the resulting feeling is uncanny and unmoored. The delicate sonic balance “The Realist” strikes between atmospheric and urgent is like sprinting underwater in a dream.
The lyrics are just as strong as the sound. “Realist”’s chorus says “I imagined there was light beyond darkness in this nightmare / I dreamed a dream, I caught hold of reality inside my dream, I won’t let it go / Baby, I’m the realist.” It’s a fascinating subversion wherein reality is a source of hope and dreams are the thing to escape.
After the final chorus, Wyatt urges the listener to “get up, get up,” before we’re thrown a key and melody change, launching us into a disjointed and nearly unrecognizable outro. The effect is as disorienting as waking from a nightmare — and stepping from darkness into the light.
6–7. ON-YOU (INTERLUDE) and TRIP ADVISOR
“I feel you’re next to me when you’re not, what’s this?”
“Let’s go inside the world, turn on the map. Today, my room will be first class.”
These songs are paired up because they’re clearly best friends. Both are cute, optimistic takes on the year most have spent trapped indoors. “On-You (Interlude)” is addressed to ONF’s fans (fandom name: Fuse) and discusses online concerts and fan events. The members tell Fuses “I deliver my heart to you like a bullet” and invite them to “Come and make a video call / And we don’t have to dress nicely, hurry up!” Woven throughout the relentless cheer are moments of relatability (“Click, the news is obvious, every day’s the same”) and tenderness (“Can we measure the distance between our hearts? … At a time like this, I still loved you”).
“Trip Advisor,” meanwhile, is a rambunctious bop filled with shouty group vocals and falsetto adlibs, all about exploring the world from the safety of your bed via the Internet. Both songs are aptly named, because they honestly feel like taking an interlude from the rest of the album — and this overwhelming world as a whole — and going on a quick trip. It’s a feeling that’s sorely missed these days.
8. FEEDBACK
“I don’t want to become a fish in a big sea inside you.”
Airy and bouncy, “Feedback” is a solid bridge in energy level between the hyper “Trip Advisor” and our next track, the poignant “I.T.I.L.U.” The speaker anxiously awaits an answer, or feedback, from a love interest who’s sending him mixed signals. In similar fashion to “Thermometer,” the deep emotions and troubling doubts of this song are belied by its light, upbeat melody. There are some delightful little details, like the faint sound of a bubble popping as the chorus begins. This is another song that I frankly didn’t pay much attention to until I began work on this piece, but it’s lovely and more than listenable.
9. I.T.I.L.U
“When winter passes, spring will come. The frozen world will melt down.”
Grab your tissue box for this one. Ballad “I.T.I.L.U” (short for “I think I love you”) is perfectly placed as this album’s closer, because it definitely sounds like something that would play as the credits roll after a tearjerker romance film. The instrumental begins with just piano, later joined by a gradually growing string section that swells to devastating effect in the soaring bridge.
ONF is a group of highly skilled vocalists, and they really get to flex it on I.T.I.L.U. There’s not much to say about their singing here except that it’s stellar — clear, controlled, resonant, and emotive. The vulnerability that creeps into MK’s voice when he plainly sings “I love you” is heartbreaking. And they just had to go and end it all with each of the six members saying, rather than singing, “forever” in turn, because they love making us cry like that.
As I’ve made clear in my track descriptions, I definitely enjoyed some songs on ONF: My Name more than others. My admiration for this album as a complete body of work, however, is immense. ONF both literally and figuratively stamped their name on this one. It’s a triumph of a full-length debut, a perfect showcase of their artistic versatility and unique group identity. I can’t imagine how proud and elated long-term fans must feel, but I’m glad to have joined them, albeit belatedly.
The future for ONF is bright. I strongly suggest you meet them on the path they’re forging to get there.
(Note: With the exception of “Beautiful Beautiful”, for which I referenced colorcodedlyrics, all lyric translations are taken from Genius.)
