Ex-Wonder Girls member and now solo kpop star Sunmi’s latest comeback ended up being another great/hit song titled “Noir”. This new bop stands out from her previous ones because it’s a far darker song. Plus, the song also has a deeper meaning. With lyrics like “We are in noir / There’s nothing more with you / We are in noir / Now let go of me”, it’s easy to think that she’s talking about a toxic relationship. Even though she misses this relationship, she knows very well how a relationship like that works. But it’s not until we reach the colorful and low key disturbing music video that we realize that it’s not about some toxic relationship with a partner, but with social media.
As the video starts, we get to see Sunmi eating some heart shaped candy, which is constant action throughout the video. If we’re to look at it as criticism towards social media, this heart symbolism that repeats through the video could be seen as an addiction to getting likes. This could even be seen to symbolize a pill, which alludes to addiction.
Things get even more interesting when the song begins and she appears sitting in a chair with a bored and stoic look on her face. It’s not until the birthday cake on the table in front of her erupts into flames that her expression changes. She turns around and starts an Instagram Live while smiling. The meaning of the song starts to become clearer as her demeanor completely changes once she’s online. With this, it’s clear that she’s showing us the truth behind social media and how people can be one thing on-screen and another thing off-screen.
In other scenes, we’re able to see Sunmi staging Instagram content. She fakes an entire vacation. Sunmi also fakes a hospital visit. She gives us a clear idea of just how far people are able to go in order to get some attention or to appear to be something that they’re not. That’s not all.
There’s another scene in which she shoots herself with a finger gun. The thing is, she actually ends up shooting herself. She ends up on the floor staring blankly at the camera (while it’s rolling for an Instagram Live, of course). There’s spilled red wine on the floor that looks like blood. It’s jarring. This scene specifically was kind of shocking the first time I saw: it looks incredibly real and it’s super messed up. But, it’s a great way to project the idea that social media has a dark power. In real life, there are correlations between social media use and mental health issues like anxiety and depression. It’s driven people to commit rash decisions because of the pressure social media can cause.
The last scene that I’d like to highlight is the one where she appears smiling for a second with two hair buns and wearing a sparkly cape. Why? Because right after that we see her flying through the air and about to land in a bunch of spikes. Besides the shiny colors on this scene, what really caught my attention were the spikes. I mean, the first time you watch the scene you may even miss them or just don’t get the possible meaning behind them, but once you connect it to the previous scene and manage to read into it, you end up realizing it’s just another great trick. It shows us how social media has blinded us and how we’re not able to perceive the danger and the damage we’re putting ourselves through anymore with this addiction.
In the end, Sunmi’s “Noir” ended up being a short and catchy song that surely had (and still has) an impact on its audience. It doesn’t matter if it came out one or two months ago or that you find it way later, it can’t be denied that Sunmi succeeded at exposing the ugly truth and side effects of social media through a colorful and creative music video that might leave you a little worried at the end. I personally loved the way she worked this concept and the worries she brought into the spotlight and can’t wait to see what else she has in stores for her next comeback after her first world tour [WARNING] is over!
After her US stop for her first world tour [WARNING] Sunmi will be heading to Europe from May 30 to June 7. Watch out for her European takeover and, in case you’re interested, you can check the stops, venues, and prices on KpopMe.