Watch NCT’s Jaehyun Yearn for Eternal Love in ‘Forever Only’

There are two things you must know about NCT’s vocalist Jaehyun – one, he adores R&B and two, he has unshakable belief in the power of honest storytelling. Melding these favorites on his latest solo release “Forever Only,” Jaehyun takes the opportunity to show his fans how he’s grown as a vocalist since his 2017 solo release “Try Again.”

Released under NCT’s musical archiving project SM Station: NCT Lab, “Forever Only” is the fourth single to be released under the NCT Lab banner. Previous singles include Mark’s “Child,” NCT U’s (Doyoung, Mark and Haechan) “Conextion,” and NCT U’s (Taeil, Kun and YangYang) “Rain Day.” 

Co-written by Jaehyun along with Dewain Whitmore Jr., Ellie Suh, Micah Premnath and Tido Nguyen (who has also produced the track), “Forever One” is a soothing R&B number brimming with warm, recurring guitar riffs and a crisp percussion arrangement, deepening the sonic appeal of the track. Jaehyun’s alluring deep, lush vocal performance further enhances the track’s emotive soundscape, adding a touch of luxury and richness. The single also houses a wealth of ad-libs and a dreamy falsetto performance, tying the sonic elements together beautifully whilst simultaneously adding depth and dimension to the track. Soothing, comforting and easy to listen to, “Forever Only” is a single that grows on you almost instantaneously. 

While things remain in a constant state of flux, Jaehyun sings about an ardent romance where love lasts forever: “The goodbye and a final kiss/ Now I see you walking away/ Be my forever only, only.” Though the melody is bright and warm, there’s a lingering, chilling sense of loneliness that lurks throughout the song: “The empty space you left behind/ Fills me with deeper longing for you/ Bit belated this irony/ Heart is lost and lonely, lonely.” With additional lines such as “Memories of you/ All that I have now that you’re gone/ These traces cherished only by me/ Uh, be my forever only” and “The colors deepen/ Two gazes ebb and flow,” the lyrics also paint the linguistic canvas with hues of romance and passion, which befits Jaehyun’s title of being the resident ‘valentine boy.’

Employing a somber color palette and hazy filters, the music video creates a gloomy atmosphere with Jaehyun being the sole character of the visual tapestry. From lounging alone in a room, surrounded by memories captured in photographs, to playing the guitar at the beach and cruising on a sleek motorcycle at dusk, the video embodies loneliness and emptiness that stems from the sudden loss of love.

During an Instagram Live session held earlier, Jaehyun spoke about the recording process and expectation from the release. “It’s been quite a long time since I’ve wanted to release a song filled with my voice and feelings, and I’ve always wanted to share the true, honest part of myself,” the vocalist revealed. “Besides all the challenging concepts, I’m really thankful to have this opportunity to finally release a song and share it with you all. I hope you all like it too and I really wanted to say thank you for waiting such a long time!” According to the singer, a tremendous amount of work went into releasing his second solo single. In fact, the music video was shot in just a day.

In other news, NCT 127 is all set to release their fourth album next month, pre-orders of which will commence tomorrow (August 19th). According to the SM A&R team unit’s head, NCT 127’s new album is “witty.” “Your attitude needs to show you’re witty,” NCT’s A&R head revealed during the YouTube show N Quiz on the Kwangya. She continued, “When you perform the song, you need to show that you’re witty and relaxed. From the lyrics, you can tell this person is witty”.