A College Girl’s Guide to BOYNEXTDOOR

If there is one thing that anyone knows about me, it is that I am not shy about my love for k-pop. With that being said, I wanted to give a guide to one of my favorite groups for anyone who is wanting to get to know the group or is just interested in getting into k-pop to begin with. And the group in question is…. BOYNEXTDOOR!

Overview

BOYNEXTDOOR (BND) is a 6 member group that debuted under KOZ, a sub label of Hybe, on May 30th, 2023. The group consists of Jaehyun, Sungho, Riwoo, Taesan, Leehan, and Woonhak. Like the friendly nature of their group name, the members aim to release music that a lot of people can enjoy and relate to. They are a super energetic and fun group that has a lot of personality both on and off the stage. 

Members

1. Jaehyun – Leader
2. Sungho – Main Vocal
3. Riwoo – Main Dancer
4. Taesan
5. Leehan
6. Woonhak – Youngest

• Fun Fact: Jaehyun, Taesan, and Woonhak are credited as writers and producers on a lot of BOYNEXTDOOR’s songs!

Music

As of today, BND has released 4 EPs and a single. 

Order of release:

1. Who!
2. Why..
3. How?
4. And,
5. 19.99

Their first EPs Who!, Why.., and How? follow the “first love trilogy.” The chronological order of the albums is Who!, How?, and Why… This trilogy consists of all the thoughts and feelings that you experience as you fall in love, date, and eventually break up for the first time. And, is the single that was released for the group’s Japanese debut. The story of this single follows in the aftermath of the first love trilogy. With the most recent release, 19.99, is no longer following a storyline. It is an EP that just honestly expresses the emotions that come with turning 20 and getting older.

• Who!
  • As the first EP in the first love trilogy, the EP starts with “But I Like You” that expresses all the feelings at the beginning stages of liking someone; when you sometimes like someone so much that you feel like you’re going crazy.
  • “One and Only” is a great song to help boost your confidence. With lyrics such as “Listen I’m the one and only, One and only, The rest is just so boring,” you’ll be able to walk through life with extra energy and confidence.
  • “Serenade” ends the first installment of the first love trilogy with the act of confessing to that special someone. “I love you baby, baby, baby, I’ve been screaming the whole neighborhood knows it”. There is something just so classic about this song and no matter how many times you listen to it, you can never get tired of it
• How?
  • Their third EP and second installment of the first love trilogy opens with OUR. This song follows the protagonist of the first love trilogy as they get ready for their first date with the girl they confessed to in Serenade. OUR is a catchy song that you can’t help but dance along to.
  • Next follows with Amnesia. Relationships aren’t always sunshine and rainbows. What happens when you start fighting with the person you were so in love with? The theme of having amnesia and kind of forgetting why you fell in love with this person in the first place. 
  • So let’s go see the stars is I think my absolute favorite song that BND has put out, so I might be a little bit biased on this one. I believe that they truly encapsulated everything that anyone in a relationship wants to hear.
    • “Without you, late nights don’t mean a thing, yeah, Sunsets don’t mean a thing, yeah, Shining stars don’t mean a thing too, With you, late nights are full of starlight, Sunsets are full of dreams, yeah, So let’s go see the stars right now”. 
  • So what if you were fighting? Let’s just live in the moment and enjoy our time together. 
  • Earth, Wind, and Fire is the title track of the How? EP. Things had gotten better, right? This song encapsulates the feelings of thinking that you like someone more than they like you. It’s confusing when they are your whole world, and it feels like they don’t feel the same. This unfortunately leads to the breakup…
  • I just want to be very clear. The song l i f e i s c o o l is not a love song. When your life has been so consumed by this other person, when they are no longer there you can enjoy your youth and hang out with friends. 
  • Dear. My Darling is written as a letter. It’s a farewell letter to your first love. Even though you will never love them again, they made you feel happy and you still wish them the best.
• Why..
  • This is the third installment of the first love trilogy and the EP opens with Crying just following the breakup at the end of How? Even though we wished them the best in Dear. My Darling there are still going to be feelings of hurt and sadness after a breakup. 
  • It wouldn’t be a breakup without feelings of anger would it? But Sometimes., the title track, is just the song for that. “Everything sucks, How you look so sweet in photos”. The person that you loved looks the same but you know the truth of how they are inside. 
  • The third love trilogy comes to an end with ABCDLOVE. This song is about learning how to love again and how to move on from your first heartbreak. It’s a hopeful sounding song with deep lyrics about starting with a clean slate. 
• And,
  • The Japanese single GOOD DAY follows in the aftermath of the first love trilogy. This song talks about how it’s okay to be alone and do things on your own. Because each new morning can be a good day. “Surprisingly, even days spent alone, Can be romantic”. Take it from them and go out there and romanticize your life!
• 19.99
  • As stated above, the EP 19.99 is about the feelings of growing up and turning 20. Dangerous opens the album with a little bit of a rebellious streak. Growing up comes with wanting to go out and do things on your own. But at the age of 20, your parents might still be overprotective and worried about you. 
  • Gonna Be A Rock is a quirky song that I have grown to love. It’s looking back on a past relationship with regret and almost wanting some kind of payback for how the other person left you feeling. “Oh, I’m gonna be a rock and break your window now, Like my heart was shattered”. 
  • Nice Guy is the title track of this EP and is so catchy you will have it stuck in your head for hours. It’s a song about flirting and how you know that you’re cool and that everyone wants to be flirting with you. If you want a song to help you strut your stuff, then this is definitely the song for you.
  • 20 is a retrospective song about looking back on your childhood now that you are technically an adult. Looking back on how much you didn’t know back then and how much you know now. It’s a somber song that has vague undertones of frustrations but that ends with the proclamation that “My youth is free”. 
  • Call Me ends the 19.99 EP on a mellow note. “Please call me, call me, call me, If you’re lonely, lonely, lonely”. It’s a song about how you don’t always have to go through life on your own. You can take it slow and lean on others when you need to. 

If you have made it through this whole article, then you deserve an award. I hope that BOYNEXTDOOR’s music will appeal to you just like it does for me and so many others. They put in a lot of effort to always put their best foot forward and I hope this gives you a chance to experience their talent and the gift to this world that is BOYNEXTDOOR!

• boygroups
• entertainment
• kpop
• kpopboygroup
• music