“I decided to live as a dandelion seed,” IU explains in a new video on her YouTube channel. She’s discussing the concept behind her new mini-album ‘The Winning’, but also a decision she’s made about how she wants to approach life now she’s in her thirties. Rather than allow herself to be limited by practicalities or what other people think of her choices, she wants to push forward freely.
It’s fitting she’s likening herself to a dandelion seed, then, given the plant’s place as a symbol of dreams and wishes. Dreaming big is a core part of ‘The Winning’, with IU both explicitly urging us to follow our own path and more subtly celebrating what we can achieve together in life throughout.
‘Shopper’ – a crisp piece of aspirational synth-pop – and the fresh, cool ‘Holssi’ represent the former, with IU using them as vessels to encourage us to chase after our desires, no matter how impossible they seem. “Let’s go haul,” she exclaims excitedly on ‘Shopper’, inviting us into an imaginary store where the shelves are stacked with wants and goals, both material and intangible. “Fill it up to make it burst.” ‘Holssi’, meanwhile, finds her beckoning us to join her “on a different road” in order to “fly high to the top”.
Marching to the beat of your own drum isn’t always straightforward, though, as IU acknowledges. “The road won’t be easy / But I won’t fuss about it,” she declares defiantly. “This was my choice; it always has been.” That idea of struggle crops up again in ‘Love Wins All’, the stunning ballad that previewed this mini-album. Here, she uses romance as a vehicle for escape from the horrors of the world – or to crash headlong into disaster: “Destroy me slowly and chilly, ruiner / I want to get sad with you, my lover.” Plunging into darkness still feels like a victory here, as long as she’s with her love.
Like most IU records, ‘The Winning’ is an eclectic but cohesive rush of sounds, veering from ‘Holssi’’s lowkey groove to the bluesy grit of ‘Shh..’. The latter features pioneering female singers from across Korean music history, connecting the dots from the 1950s until now. Patti Kim was the first Korean singer to perform in Japan and Las Vegas, while former Roller Coaster frontwoman Joe Won Sun made advancements in the country’s rock scene. NewJeans’ Hyein also appears, representing the current crop of musicians moving K-pop forward. “Lips holding stories / Connecting each other,” the latter sings in a seeming nod to their contributions. “Special, we are.”
‘I Stan U’, the closing track on ‘The Winning’, dabbles in chugging rock – one of the only missteps on an otherwise gorgeous mini-album. The revving guitars are only sporadic, but when they crop up, they hack at the bright, airy joy in the song. Still, they can’t hold back the giddy message of encouragement IU shares in her vocals. “I believe in my you,” she tells us. “You’re stunning, so stunning.” Minor stylistic faults aside – and with a gigantic year ahead for one of Korea’s foremost talents – on her first document of a new decade, IU soars high and free and stays winning.
