MINZY's 'Calling': at 1:58 the voice spreads to the edges of both ears

Today's NONOL PICK is MINZY's 'Calling'. MINZY's first solo single in about four years and nine months, since '기깔나' in December 2021, it came out on September 28 at 6 PM KST. We picked it because it tells a story of getting back up on your own through the width of a voice.

The label describes it as an R&B song about "facing the self you lost in the darkness and rising again by following the call from within". A rich choir is woven in, MINZY took part in producing, writing and composing, and the guitar is played by DNCE guitarist JinJoo Lee.

We pulled the vocals out on their own and measured how far they spread from left to right. In the first verse, from 0:14, the voice sits in a single line in the middle; on earphones it rings right in the center of your head. From 0:42 harmonies join and it widens a little, and by 1:58 the voices spread all the way to the edges of both ears. That's the choir section, where the sound coming from the sides is as strong as the sound in the middle, with many voices laid out wide. At 2:22 it narrows back to one line, then from 3:08 to the end it opens wide once more. A song that starts alone ends in many voices.

The music video's signature move turns the meaning "I can hear it" into sign language. The label says the message is that music can be felt not only through the ears but through the eyes and the heart. The single carries Korean and English versions of 'Calling' plus 'We Almost Were', an R&B song with a rock edge, for three tracks in all. Around the two-minute mark, put both earphones in.