The song that says 'cry behind me' ends on 'stay in front of me': Roy Kim's 'CRY OUT LOUD'

Today's NONOL PICK is 'CRY OUT LOUD', the single Roy Kim released on October 6. Roy Kim wrote both the words and the music alone, and Park Yong-hyun (박용현) arranged it. In the album notes, Roy Kim wrote that this is a day when the tears wiped away in secret for the sake of staying strong only make you sadder, so just for today, cry with confidence. As the same note puts it, '한 바다가 되어도 같이 차오를 테니' (even if it becomes a whole sea, I'll rise along with you): the sound fills up one layer at a time from the very start, empties out once, then fills up again, and that's why we picked it. Times follow the official music video, and the backing in the video is the same recording as the track, so the times are almost identical.

0:01 · The voice first, with no intro

The song starts right away at 0:01 with '혹시 네가 힘들세라' (in case it's hard on you), no intro, and the guitar follows 1.5 seconds later. From there it builds one layer at a time. The bass comes in at 0:26, during '행여 네 맘 다칠세라' (in case your heart gets hurt); the strings at 0:37, as '꾹 눌러 감춰 둔 내 눈물도' (my tears, pressed down and hidden, too) begins; and the drums at 0:51, as the first chorus, '크게 울어라 내 사랑아' (cry out loud, my love), begins. For the first 12 seconds the picture glides low across a gym floor lit by a few lights, then cuts at 0:13 to two hands gripping a mop handle.

0:40 · Chairs set in a circle in a gym

In the video, Roy Kim sits on red bleachers dressed as the gym's cleaner, holding a mop. At 0:40 a middle-aged man unfolds folding chairs on the gym floor, and at 0:52, as the first chorus begins, several people are sitting on those chairs in a circle. Between the choruses, the silhouette of someone holding a guitar in front of a tree cuts in.

1:14 · The loudest 'woah'

When the first chorus ends, a wordless 'woah' (워어어어) goes on for almost 30 seconds (1:14–1:44). It's the loudest passage in the whole song. Meanwhile, the people in the circle raise their voices at one another, and at 1:34 one person cries with a hand pressed to the forehead. At 1:40 the person sitting next to them leans in for a hug.

2:34 · The bridge empties out again

At 2:34, as the bridge line '네 슬픔 다 마를 때까지' (until all your sorrow dries up) draws to a close, the bass drops out and the drums fade, leaving only the guitar and the voice from 2:37. A piano quietly joins at 2:40, and the bass comes back first, at 2:46. The drums return at 2:58, on '걱정하지 마 내 사랑아' (don't worry, my love). In between, at 2:55, a person sitting on the gym floor wipes away tears with a sleeve.

3:15 · From 'behind me' to 'in front of me'

The lyrics change places, too. In the chorus, the song says '크게 울어라 내 뒤에서 / 아랑곳하지 말고 내 안에 숨어서' (cry out loud behind me / never mind anything, hide inside me), telling you to hide behind it and cry. Through the bridge lines '네 앞에 내가 보일 때까지' (until you can see me in front of you) and '뒤에서 나도 꼭 안아 주라' (then hold me tight from behind, too), it ends at 3:15 on '이렇게 내 앞에 있어 주라' (stay in front of me like this).

3:21 · One at a time in front of a white backdrop

From 3:21 to 3:50, while the last 'woah' goes on, the people from the circle stand one at a time, every three seconds or so, in front of a white backdrop set up in the gym. The drums drop out at 3:46, and the song ends at 3:54. At the end of the video, at 3:57, the words '작중설정 (作中設定)' (a fictional setting) appear with a notice that all characters, groups and events are made up. Apple Music

The credits list Park Yong-hyun (박용현) on arrangement, drums and piano, Jung Jae-hoon (정재훈) on bass, Lee Byung-hoon (이병훈) on guitar, Yoong String (융스트링) on strings, arranged and conducted by Park Hyun-joong (박현중), and Roy Kim and Park Do-won (박도원) on backing vocals. The arrangement, bass, guitar and strings share the same names as the credits on yesterday's NONOL PICK, KIM JAE HWAN's 'Call It Love'. The single also includes an 'Inst.' version with only the backing.