Earphones first, or the pause button? A test of how you watch music videos

When you first press play on a music video, what catches your ears and eyes first? For each of the eight questions below, pick the answer closest to you, then count which of A, B, C and D came up most. There's no score. This isn't a test of who watches better, either. People watching the same three-minute video simply grab onto different things first.

Each result comes with three songs. The NONOL editorial team rewatched them over the past three weeks, splitting the sound by instrument or pausing frame by frame, and we've noted the exact times of the moments each type will catch right away.

Eight questions

1. A new music video notification pops up. What do you do before pressing play?

• A Find my earphones. Low sounds get buried on a phone speaker
• B Pull up the lyrics first
• C Turn the video quality all the way up
• D Skim through the previous music video first

2. Right before the chorus, the screen flashes white. What crosses your mind?

• A Did the backing just drop out all at once?
• B Wait, that line was one word off from the first verse
• C What was written on the back wall right before the flash?
• D I think the opening scene blurred into white like this too

3. What do you add when you send the link to a friend?

• A "Listen for the gap in the sound around the one-minute mark. Use earphones"
• B "Did you catch the lyric change in the second chorus?"
• C "Pause at two minutes and read the sign"
• D "That thing from the beginning shows up again at the end"

4. Why do you hit replay?

• A To hear that one second where the beat drops back in, one more time
• B To check whether I misheard a lyric
• C There has to be a prop I missed the first time
• D Now that I know the ending, the opening looks different

5. What stays with you longest after the video ends?

• A The moment the music stopped and only breathing was left
• B A line that's stuck in my head
• C A strange object sitting in a corner of the background
• D A scene where the beginning and the end lock together

6. What if the song runs over five minutes?

• A Great. I wait to hear what sound is left in the last minute
• B That must be a lot of lyrics, so I open the lyrics first
• C That means a lot of scenes too. Finger on the pause button
• D There's a reason it's that long. I watch to the end and go back to the start

7. Which nickname from your fan friends fits you best?

• A The one with sharp ears
• B The walking lyric book
• C The screenshot master
• D The one who files every clue

8. A comeback teaser drops. What do you check first?

• A The few seconds of music in the background. Could it be a piece of the new song?
• B The hidden meaning in a single line of teaser copy
• C The backgrounds and props in the photos
• D Colors or numbers that overlap with past releases

Results

Find the letter that came up most and read that result. If two letters tied, read both.

Mostly A · The Sound Detective

Your ears move before your eyes. When the drums or bass step away for a moment in the middle of a song, you sense that something just dropped out, even before you know what it was. Put on earphones for these three and wait for the gap.

• Xdinary Heroes 'Obsessed with Youth' — Every time the chorus ends on 'youth', the band steps aside together for about half a second. The first of the three comes at 1:05.8. Hidden Details · Music video · Apple Music
• ALLDAY PROJECT 'CRASH' — Right after the water column shoots up at 1:43, the sound nearly cuts out for a little over 0.4 seconds, then comes back at 1:44. Hidden Details · Music video · Apple Music
• Parc Jae Jung '계절의 끝' ('Epilogue') — At 3:40 the whole song steps up a half step, and from 4:51 the voice closes things out over keys and strings, with no drums or bass. NONOL Pick · Music video · Apple Music

Mostly B · The Lyric Collector

When different words land on the same melody, you stop right there. You're the type who enjoys setting the first and second verses side by side and matching them word by word.

• YENA 'Dime Girl' — In Block B's 2014 original, the chorus went '예쁜 건 넌데' ("you're the pretty one"); here it becomes '예쁜 건 나니까' ("because I'm the pretty one"). "You are" turns into "I am" as well. NONOL Pick · Music video · Apple Music
• Cloud koh '우리는 왜' ('The Back of the Moon') — The song opens with its own title, '우리는 왜' ("why do we"), but the second verse (1:34) starts with '서로는 왜' ("why did we, to each other"). Where the first verse talked about summer, white snow falls. NONOL Pick · Official audio · Apple Music
• BIGBANG 'BiiiG' — The first verse's '살바도르 달리' (Salvador Dalí) and '붉은 노을' (red sunset) trade places in the second verse with '무하마드 알리' (Muhammad Ali) and '푸른 노을' (blue sunset). Hidden Details · Music video · Apple Music

Mostly C · The Screenshot Master

Your pause button works hardest. The writing on the back wall, the props on the table, even the tiny window in the corner all have to be read before you move on to the next scene.

• EVAN 'Death of Me' — In the first scene, take a close look at the guests seated at the tables under the chandelier. Every one of them is a white, faceless mannequin. Hidden Details · Music video · Apple Music
• NiziU 'Sour Grapes' — At 2:02, the price tags on a drink stall's wall carry '元', a unit of Taiwanese money. The fox from the fable in the title doesn't pass by until around 1:48. Hidden Details · Music video · Apple Music
• NCT WISH 'I SPY' — Pause on the messenger window at 1:08.8 and you'll see NCTzen answer RYO's question marks 20 minutes later with a single yellow star. Hidden Details · Music video · Apple Music

Mostly D · The Foreshadowing Tracker

You wait for the thing that flickered past early on to show up again later. You're the type who watches to the end, then goes back to the start to check the opening scene again.

• IU 'Dear my crazy soulmate' — Remember the pink stone wedged under a table leg at 0:20. That stone sets the story rolling, and it flies one more time in the last chorus. Hidden Details · Music video · Apple Music
• HWANG MIN HYUN 'OUR' — The line '잠시만 눈 감으면 넌' ("if I close my eyes for just a moment, you") comes twice. At 0:37 it's sung with eyes open; at 1:35 the eyes really close. The three notes from the very beginning ring out again at the end, too. Hidden Details · Music video · Apple Music
• YUQI 'Stay' — The video opens on two sunflowers at 0:03, and in the bridge at 2:38 it leaves the bass out for the 17 seconds YUQI sings '像向日葵一样' ("like a sunflower"). NONOL Pick · Music video · Apple Music

The four types are four ways of watching the same video. Pick a song from a result that isn't yours and watch it once more that way, and at least one moment you skipped the first time will catch you.