P1Harmony Shoot for the Mainstream with ‘EX’
On a high-energy English-language debut, P1Harmony aims for international success with music that has a surprisingly progressive message.
P1Harmony, FNC Entertainment
Perhaps the most surprising thing about P1Harmony’s English language debut EP EX is that it took so long to release.
Since their inception under FNC Entertainment in 2020, P1Harmony has seemed laser-focused on Western success. The group is led by KEEHO, an outspoken Toronto, Canada native, who is heavily influenced by Western pop culture. He’s funny, brutally honest, and, as the group has gained experience, has been given more creative control over the group’s image and music. For DUH!, their latest Korean release, KEEHO, had a say in nearly everything from styling to lyrical content. Younger members of the group, including INTAK, JIUNG, and YONGSEOB, have also been given more creative leeway: contributing to the band’s lyrics and compositions on nearly every album over the past two years.
The group debuted with a highly ambitious feature film, P1Harmony: A New World Begins, where each member was introduced as if they were Marvel characters discovering their superpowers. Importantly, the movie underscored something that became clear in subsequent years: P1Harmony is built differently. Their scrappy personalities and genuine sense of humor displayed in the film was, in fact, real. They’re looser in performance and far more genuine than a generic idol. Perhaps as a result of this, they’ve flown under the radar for the past five years. But they’re a group with real potential, both because of their creative direction and their authenticity.
Over the past few years, this authenticity has found it’s way into the music. On the b-side “Pretty Boy” from their latest Korean release, KEEHO (who co-wrote the track) asked, what’s wrong just being a pretty boy? On another title track, “SAD SONG”, the boys admit that a girl makes them feel like a sad song, but they try to dance through the pain. On these tracks, the members push back on expectations on masculinity and even idolhood.
Unlike many K-pop groups, P1Harmony has never relied on a core concept. The concept is simply them. Maybe that is why EX works so well. Like MONSTA X’s debut English language album All about Luv, P1Harmony’s English language debut is made for the bops, the vibes, and, importantly, to promote their new arena tour. Perhaps unintentionally similar to MONSTA X’s debut, EX also has no rap verses, even if INTAK and JONGSEOB are both talented rappers.
EX, which is produced and distributed by hello82, is essentially a billboard for P1Harmony’s ambitions. The EP is heavy on high-energy dance songs that will easily translate well to arena shows. It’s compact and tight, running just four songs with the fifth being the Spanish version of “Ex”. The EP is fast-moving and, above all, mindless fun.
FNC Entertainment
Title track “EX” is a surprisingly progressive song for a K-pop boy band to release. “Every girl deserves to have a little exploration/ Have some fun without explanation,” JIUNG advocates for what could be read as sex-positive messaging. “Ditch him next/ Left him with a text,” INTAK reminds a girl. Tracks like “EX” reinforce why P1Harmony is so unique: few boy bands are willing to center a girl’s desires or complexities.
Elsewhere, “Dancing Queen” sounds like it came from another era. On first listen, I was reminded of early 2010s One Direction’s vocal harmonies and stacked melodies. Like One Direction, too, “Dancing Queen” isn’t about the members; instead, it focuses on a girl of their dreams. “Just keep on dancing, queen,” KEEHO sings in a chorus that FNC likely imagines blasting from DJ booths at proms across America. (I’d wager that “Night Of My Life”, the EP’s EDM banger, is a close second.)
Despite a massive team undertaking the songwriting process, INTAK, JIUNG, and YONGSEOB contributed to every track on the EP. "Stupid Brain" is one track where I hear the members’ songwriting best, an excellent B-side about overthinking. “I wish I could just shut my stupid brain sometimes,” KEEHO laments. Here, the members sound like their personas: relatable in their anxieties, open about their flaws. Authenticity might be the antithesis of a K-pop group, but for P1Harmony, it could be what eventually sets them apart.
