[Review] Don’t Say You Love Me – JIN (BTS)

It has been just over half a year since JIN returned to the music scene with his first solo album, Happy. That album was led by the pre-release single I’ll Be There and the title track Running Wild. Today, JIN has returned with his second solo mini-album Echo, which is led by the title track Don’t Say You Love Me.

Don’t Say You Love Me is an all-English pop ballad that is easy to listen to. It is all effortlessly soothing and pleasant, from the instrumental to the melodies to JIN’s vocals. I enjoyed the falsettos he hits in the choruses, which make the song feel and sound very pretty. The only thing stopping me from liking the song completely is the lack of emotion. The lyrics of Don’t Say You Love Me are emotionally loaded, as they express the complex feelings of a relationship that is falling apart. However, I don’t register much emotional appeal in JIN’s vocals. I am not expecting a complete outpouring of sadness or grief, but Don’t Say You Love Me needed some degree of emotion to make it a more riveting piece. There is merit in keeping the pleasantness and soothing nature of the pop-ballad to frame up a more positive message, such as encouraging the best for both sides of the broken relationship. As mentioned, his vocals are fine. I just needed more from JIN, feeling-wise, to make Don’t Say You Love Me even better.

His acting definitely doesn’t have that same problem — his acting opposite Shin Se Kyung (the actress who plays the female lead) was superb. We see the moment the pair fall in love in that gallery and make a life for themselves (by running away together). But as the story progresses, the pair grow distant and their relationship falls apart. But to understand what the video is trying to tell us, we need to go back to the start and end of the video. At the beginning, we see Shin Se Kyung alone in the car, leaving JIN behind in the car park. This is what they want the break-up to look like. But the end of the video shows the pair together post-fight, glancing at one another, indicating that both are afraid to break up. This directly references the complicated feelings they are experiencing with their relationship falling apart that are expressed in the lyrics.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.4/10