Woosung, lead vocalist and electric guitarist of the South Korean rock band The Rose, gained solo recognition back in 2019 with the debut mini-album, Wolf, featuring the upbeat, title track “Face.” Following the mini-album, he also contributed his vocals to the song “You Make Me Back” from the original soundtrack of the 2020 hit Korean drama Itaewon Class.
After a year and a half since his previous release, Woosung made his anticipated return with the solo, indie-pop track “Lazy.” In the short span of just three days, “Lazy” reached an impressive one million views, clinching the artist a spot on the cover of Spotify’s “K-Pop Rising” playlist.
Emphasizing the importance of taking a break to balance a life of working hard and being lazy, “Lazy” embodies this message through the use of light, rhythmic melodies and charismatic visuals. Explaining the inspiration behind the track, “I have always been lazy in some ways, pushing things off that didn’t interest me as much. The only thing I wasn’t lazy for was music, so I wrote a song about it,” Woosung said in a press release. “I think we can all relate to our inner laziness and appreciate both when we are being lazy and being proactive. Balance is key.”
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Accompanying the summer single, a vibrant music video compliments the feel-good bassline and compelling chorus to perfectly display the artist rushing through the motions of his daily life, trying to make time to simply do nothing. The beginning of the music video shows the dressed down artist lounging around his room with his dog, Woolfy, while scrolling through his phone as part of his lazy routine. His distinct, smooth vocals flow alongside the beat leading up to the chorus. Once the first chorus drops, the point of view changes, exhibiting Woosung in the middle of his bedroom doing a lackadaisical dance as seen in a TikTok style format.
Throughout the song’s progression, Woosung is seen slowly making his way through his house, building up the energy to start his day. The lyric “It’s annoying so I do everything quickie quickie / I eat and why do I drink coffee after that? / Let’s just please go home now,” explains his desire to go home before he even steps foot out of the door.
Screenshot from Woosung’s “Lazy” music video Screenshot from Woosung’s “Lazy” music video
The setting transitions to a practice room full of Woosung and his dancers. Sitting on the ground, he goes through the motions of the choreography as the dancers mirror his moves. Featuring rapper, Reddy, makes his appearance in the third verse through the viewpoint of variously edited TikToks on Woosung’s “For You” page.
The bridge presents itself with Woosung singing at a piano. Explaining his disinterest in what people think about him and what he’s doing, the pressure builds to the lyric “I’m so sick of shaving” resulting in Woosung letting out an aggravated scream. The scream embodies his frustration with doing extra tasks that are necessary. In an interview with Eric Nam, he explained the real life moment that inclined the scream. “I washed my face, put all the lotions on. I was about to leave, checked myself in the mirror, and I didn’t shave. I was shaving, and I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t because my members were sleeping.”
Following the scream, the audio fades creating a build up of anticipation. Feeling the pressure to be productive, the vibe change displays Woosung’s decision to flip his internal switch and make the most out of the day. Clips of Woosung completing productive tasks quickly flicker from one to the next until it lands on an up close view of him tying his boots.
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The final scenes showcase a dressed up Woosung ready to let loose. Completely put together with hair and makeup, he and those around him have a dance break to the choreography practiced earlier in the video. For the first time in his career, Woosung showcased his dancing skills, giving his fans a pleasant surprise. A gathering of people wanting to carelessly have fun, the ending scene plays out as a message to his haters, explaining in a light hearted manner that they need to mind their own business.
Especially in today’s current climate, it can be easy to fall into the habit of getting involved in unenjoyable activities for the sake of feeling productive or creative. Embodying the very realistic and human emotion of feeling lazy, Woosung created an empathetic, retro-pop track that anyone can relate to.
Stream “Lazy” on all streaming platforms and check out the music video below!