Woozi: The soul of SEVENTEEN's music
“The thing I put all of my heart into the most is, indeed, music.” — Woozi, SEVENTEEN’s Lead Vocalist and Producer for DAZED Korea.
Image: PLEDIS Entertainment.
While today most K-pop companies seek idol trainees who can not only perform well but also have a talent for music production, this was not the trend back in the day. Although some 1st and 2nd generation idols actively participated in songwriting and composing for their comebacks, most songs were curated by their companies.
SEVENTEEN, the original self-producing idol group, however, debuted under PLEDIS Entertainment, which at the time did not have enough money to buy them in-ears, let alone hire multiple songwriters and composers. As a result, the task of SEVENTEEN's music composition fell on the shoulders of Woozi, and it was soul-crushing.
In the group's debut project documentary ‘SEVENTEEN Project,’ a then 19-year-old Woozi said: "I feel like I am the one who will determine all 13 members' future. I feel so tired, but I couldn't tell that to the other members.
“Everything feels like it's my fault. I thought if things don't work out for us, what will I do?"
As idols of an almost-bankrupt company, all odds were against them, but SEVENTEEN made it. They debuted with their first mini-album "17 CARAT" on May 29, 2015.
Their debut album included five songs, each co-written by Woozi, his mentor-turned-co-producer Bumzu, and multiple other members — S.Coups, Mingyu, Vernon, and Dino.
Woozi also co-composed the music and arranged the title track. The then-rookie group's debut album ended up ranking ninth on Billboard, and by June 5, 2015, just one week after its release, the "ADORE U" music video had reached 900,000 views.
The Woozi who was once afraid of letting down the group ended up being their strongest support. Through Woozi's songwriting, composing, and passion for music, each new SEVENTEEN album achieved more success than the previous one.
By 2019, Woozi had officially become a member of KOMCA (Korea Music Copyright Association). In 2021, at the age of 25, he became the youngest recipient of the Producer of the Year award at the Asia Artist Awards, contributing to 279 nominations and 120 awards his group has won with his genius music production. Woozi currently has around 165 song credits for songwriting, composing, and music production, along with almost 500 unreleased songs in his vault.
The current rise of generative AI is no secret, and multiple K-pop and global music labels have already started using it, while some are even ready to replace real artists with AI.
However, Woozi has made his stance clear with SEVENTEEN's "17 Is Right Here" album’s title track "MAESTRO," which he co-produced with Bumzu. The entire theme of the song revolves around the idea that generative AI cannot compare with the artistry of human beings.
In the SEVENTEEN Is Right Here Global Press Conference, he said: "The 'MAESTRO' music video is based in a world where everything can be made with AI or new technology. In that world, SEVENTEEN becomes the conductors and ask what it truly means to create something.
“We tried to show how SEVENTEEN brings everyone together to lead the world toward a better future together."
To show the ugliness of generative AI, the group used a generative AI visual scene only in the teaser of the MV, which looked unnatural and grotesque compared to the rest of the teaser and the cinematic MV that was created by the hard work of tens of human artists.
On July 14, 2024, to make his stance even clearer and leave no one speculating, he posted an Instagram story saying: "All of SEVENTEEN's music is written and composed by human creators."
From a 19-year-old who was overwhelmed by the responsibility of his entire group's fate to the producer of the best-selling K-pop group of 2023, Woozi is a source of inspiration. And his strong stance against generative AI is a beacon of hope for hundreds of thousands of artists who are fighting to save the sacred process of art creation from being commodified by the AI industry.
Edited by Chelsea Cheetham.