Watch SHINee’s ONEW in Dreamy and Whimsical Music Video for ‘Dice’

South Korean singer-songwriter and SHINee’s leader ONEW makes a fanciful comeback with “Dice.” Leading the singer’s sophomore EP of the same title, the mini-album comes three years after the release of the singer’s first EP, Voice. 

Seeped in 2000s synth and rhythmic guitar plucks, “Dice” feels like that quintessential summer single that came early. The predominantly pop single sees ONEW employ his signature dulcet vocalizations to narrate a grand story about love and chances. Breezy, chill and mellifluous, “Dice” dials up the tempo and synth in the chorus, bringing in the right amount of kick and crunch.

Written by Griffith Clawson, Jesse Fink, Kang Eun Jeong and Will Lobban-Bean, the track draws a parallel between love and a board game. Just like the nail-biting feeling a board game brings, “Dice” expresses rolling the dice and taking a chance on love, no matter how slim the chances of winning the affection of your love interest may be. 

“Start rolling dice/ Thrown at you, all my heart (all my heart),” ONEW sings. “Forget about winning and losing (forget it)/ I fall deeper/ Wherever the end is/ I could never let go.”

The music video sequence amps up the drama and romance quotient with an edgy plotline involving abduction and interdimensional travel. The video opens with a wide-eyed ONEW staring at a beautiful woman behind a hotel glass window. Smitten, an instant connection is immediately formed; that is until a masked individual walks up to the woman, pulling her away. Determined to save her, ONEW enters the hotel only to find himself in a perplexing situation involving interdimensional creatures and drinks. Rolling the dice in his hand, ONEW makes his way through different rooms and settings within the hotel, in the hope of finding and saving his love interest.

After a long and eventful journey, his path finally crosses that of his love interest. However, contrary to the textbook fairytale ending, the woman took care of the goons alone, saving herself without any external support.

ONEW’s sophomore EP Dice is a promising addition to his expansive discography. The six-track EP comprises tracks titled “Sunshine, “On the way,” “Love Phobia,” “Yeowoobi,” “In the whale”(co-written by the singer) and the title track “Dice.” Spanning genres, the record sees ONEW work alongside celebrated producers such as Cha Cha Malone and Hitchhiker, amongst others.