Premiering on May 29, 2023, at 9 PM KST or 5:30 PM IST, the Don’t Ever Say Love Me MV dropped on the South Korean singer-songwriter, Colde’s (Kim Hee-soo) YouTube channel. Featuring RM of BTS, this song is included in the aforementioned artist’s second EP titled Love Part 2.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Colde has collaborated with the Kpop septet’s leader. The soloist also joined hands with the BTS rapper for the song Hectic featured on his solo debut album Indigo. RM aka Kim Namjoon has often expressed his support for the solo artist and in the blink of an eye, here we are with their second collaboration.
The overall tone of the video is rather dark and melancholic, which also translates into its haunting monochromatic colour palette. Initially, Colde delivers his sombre lines on love, or rather the end of it and how its finality and conclusion leads him to believe that whatever he and his beloved shared before was but a lie. His underlying feelings of resentment and bitterness for them soon takes over and is equally represented in the lyrics that completely dissolves the idea of “us”.
The same sentiments of tragic indignation are carried forth into the next verse spelled out by Namjoon, who begins by stating that “Love is a violence”, considering how the end of this relationship has wrecked and battered the singer’s existence. Holding a strong grudge against the beloved’s figure, the lyrics become more and more direct and almost tilt towards a spiteful tone. The strong and passionate lyrics reflect in the flickering visions of the video which make it harder to see what lies ahead, much like the fallen apart once-loved relationship spoken of in the song.
Both Namjoon and Colde stand apart on two opposite ends of the room as a pool of water (almost appearing as a blackhole) separates them. The video’s vision and woeful appearance equally supports the story of what comes across as unfaithfulness on the part of the beloved, which ultimately drove them apart, and goes well to weigh in the lyrics powerfully delivered by the artists.
Don’t Ever Say Love Me particularly provides us with a dark and emotional melody that illustrates a vivid picture of relationships that eventually fade out despite strong feelings holding them together initially. Not all connections and bonds stay with us till the end, and this track empathises with that theme and explores it further, while delving into the immediate rush of emotions felt by the one having cut off these ties.
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Watch the Don’t Ever Say Love Me MV
As a follow-up album to his 2019 release, Love Part 1, Colde put out his latest record and the second instalment to his Love series on May 4, 2023. His song with RM is listed as the second track on the album and is also one of the three title tracks fronting the EP. The other two are I’m Still Here and Heartbreak Club (feat AKMU’s Lee Chanhyuk). Additionally, Love Part 2 also celebrates the solo artist’s another collaboration, featured as the sixth addition on the tracklist When Dawn Comes Again, which marks him coming together with EXO’s Baekhyun, also making his third collaborative single on the star-studded album.
Colde is also a member of the Korean indie duo Off on Off and is a music producer who’s running three labels – Wavy, Layered Island and Pyrat.
Love Part 2 is now streaming on Spotify. All eight songs included in the EP are Island, Don’t ever say love me (feat RM), I’m Still Here, Heartbreak Club (feat Lee Chanhyuk), After Everything, When Dawn Comes Again (feat Baekhyun), Settle and Even Though You Said So Easily.
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