RAERAE REACTS · K-POP

JEON SOMI borrowed a melody people already knew, turned it toward a woman admiring her own reflection, and then made the mirror start breathing. I like the song. The video is where things get gloriously uncomfortable.

What “CLOSER” means

The lyrics are direct. Somi wants the attraction, the music, the hands at her waist, and one more kiss. She is not waiting to be selected from across the room. She asks to be called beautiful and behaves as if the answer has already arrived.

That sounds simple until you hear what the production is doing. “CLOSER” pulls the recognizable “Beautiful Girls” melody into a stuttering club beat. The sweetness is still there, but it keeps catching on the rhythm. It feels flirtatious and slightly unstable. Perfect. The romance is happening. So is the self-performance.

Somi told Korean press that she wanted the sampled song to carry a more confident, woman-centered message. She also called it a chance to go deeper into the dance-performance side fans already associate with her. That makes sense. The song is less about surrendering to another person than enjoying how powerful you look while getting closer to them.

Does the sample earn its place?

Mostly, yes. The melody is doing more than handing us a nostalgia coupon. “Beautiful Girls” is remembered as a male heartbreak song. Somi flips the camera. Here, the beautiful girl speaks, moves, chooses, and enjoys being looked at.

The weak point is length. At 2:38, the track gets to its hook, proves the idea, and leaves before the relationship can cause any actual trouble. A bridge could have made the sweet-and-bitter line land harder. I wanted one moment where the confidence cracked or became too much. Instead, the song stays gorgeous and controlled. That is fun. It is also a little safe for an EP called Chaotic & Confused.

The official music video

Narcissism, but make it date night

Somi described the video’s center as narcissism. That is why mirrors, doubles, close-ups, and warped beauty imagery keep interrupting the romance. The love object may be another person. The visual obsession is Somi herself.

The camera gets too close on purpose. Faces bloom, stretch, duplicate, and stop following the rules of flattering idol cinematography. Somi said she wanted viewers to make an “oh!” sound and physically pull back. Honestly, mission accomplished. One second she is polished enough to sell perfume. The next second the perfume has become sentient and is growing out of her cheek.

There is a good argument that the AI effects look sloppy. Some fans hated them, and I understand why. K-pop already has enormous visual budgets and talented VFX artists. Generated distortion can feel like a shortcut. Somi’s explanation is more specific than “AI is trendy,” though. She wanted an ugliness and wrongness that conventional CG did not give her. I still judge the result frame by frame. A concept can be smart and an image can still look cheap.

The dance practice matters

The moving-version practice proves the song is not being carried by editing. Somi uses her height well, stretches the lines, and keeps the groove loose enough that the choreography feels sensual instead of counted to death. The dancers frame her, then peel away, which turns “closer” into a physical instruction. Bodies gather. Space disappears. The hook lands.

I also like that the practice gives us a clean answer to the MV debate. If the AI flowers annoy you, the performance still works without them. The song has bones.

Easter eggs and things worth clocking

• The “Beautiful Girls” DNA: the credited writers include Kisean Anderson, J. R. Rotem, Sly Jordan, Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller because the sample’s family tree reaches through Sean Kingston’s hit to “Stand by Me.”
• The mirror logic: Somi is often framed as both subject and spectator. The video keeps asking whether she wants a lover or an audience.
• Flowers on the face: beauty literally grows until it becomes grotesque. Very subtle? No. Effective? Absolutely.
• Unflattering angles: these were deliberate. Somi said she wanted to abandon the usual idol tricks and show angles that felt strange rather than merely pretty.
• The album connection: Chaotic & Confused is about the gap between being a ten-year industry veteran and a 24-year-old still learning herself. The video turns that split into multiple versions of one woman.

Credits worth knowing

Writers and composers: Jesse Bluu, Olufeyikemi Osuntokun, Zikai, TEDDY, Kisean Anderson, Jonathan Rotem, Sly Jordan, Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber, and Michael Stoller. Jesse Bluu is also credited as arranger. Josh Gudwin handled mixing.

Somi did not receive a writing credit on “CLOSER,” unlike several other tracks on the EP. Her authorship shows up more clearly in interpretation, performance, and the visual concept. That distinction matters. Being the face of an idea is not the same as writing the song, and both jobs can still be creative.

Final verdict

“CLOSER” is sleek, catchy, and smarter than its short runtime initially suggests. The sample gives it instant familiarity. Somi gives it posture. The video then smears the lipstick on purpose.

I wanted a bridge and one sharper emotional turn. I did not need another chorus pretending to be depth. Still, this is one of those releases where the song gets better after the visual argument clicks into place.

RaeRae rating: 8.2/10. Beautiful, strange, and one bridge away from becoming dangerous.

Featured image uses the official JEON SOMI and THEBLACKLABEL YouTube thumbnail. Read the full JEON SOMI profile or browse more RaeRae Reacts.