K-Song Review: DO or NOT by Pentagon

Kaamaakshi Bhat, Zirakpur, Punjab

Do or Not (stylised as DO or NOT) is the title track of Pentagon’s 11th mini album LOVE OR TAKE. The song is composed by the leader of the group Hui, the rapper Wooseok and songwriter Nathan. It is written by Hui, and Wooseok and arranged by Nathan.

Do or Not is a bubbly song with elements of cuteness. It is full of fresh charm. The song starts with Hui leading the verse, and other members harmonizing in the back. It makes you pay attention to the seamless vocals of the song. You can hear whistling in between the vocals which perfectly adds to the chirpy vibe of the song.

The lyrics of the song portray the members of the Pentagon being relaxed as they don’t care whether their partner loves them or not but ultimately they are in love with her and end up chasing her. This accurately represents the psychology of someone who is head over heels for a person who, unfortunately, doesn’t look back at them. They pretend not to think too much and look cool on the outside but on the inside, they are impatient to know what the other person feels.

In the music video, we can see the Pentagon members and the girl sitting on the couch but suddenly she gets a text message and rushes to reply to it away from the members which show that her priority might be someone other than them. This way the song starts with them running after her but pretending not to care so that their demeanor in front of the girl remains that of a laid-back person.

The chorus starts as:

좋다고하든가아니면말든가

딱지금정해 do or not

So what? I don’t care

네맘대로해 do or not

나랑살든가아니면말든가

So what? I don’t care

This translates to:

Say you like me or not

Just make up your mind now Do or Not

So what? I don’t care

Just stick with me or not

Do whatever you feel like Do or Not

So what? I don’t care.

They want to rush her to decide whether she likes them or not but at the same time they want her to think that even if she doesn’t like them they don’t care. In this way, the song gives a relatable feeling to those who are desperate for someone but do not want to let their guard down and show their vulnerabilities.

In the second verse, you can feel the charm of rock in Hui’s vocals as the song leads into a more energetic and head-banging phase. At this point, the members can be seen playing different instruments with Hui singing into the microphone completely immersed in the feel of the song which makes the song bend towards a stronger feeling of unrequited love. There is a pretension of adding strength in this part but internally, they are emotionally drained. At the bridge, Yuto raps about how the girl won’t be alright after leaving him but he would still try to forget about her.

As for the choreography of this song, some parts express the lyrics directly. The initial vibe of choreography comes off as strong and sharp but it changes into a jumpy vibe very smoothly as the song progresses. The moves become softer and less sharp with a slight easy-going feel to match the tempo of the song and portray the message that the song is trying to convey in a better way.

At the end of the music video, we can see the members sitting on the couch like the beginning of the music video except the girl is missing and they all look sad and disappointed. The song ends with Pentagon members repeating “So what? I don’t care” which has quite a different tone from the energy level of the other times the same phrase had been repeated in the song, as this time it feels way more emotional. It is the feeling of finally giving up on something or someone that you have been trying to pursue for a long time and the feeling of realization of having given up on something you once longed to move on. The harmonization heard in between the lyrics this time feels different than that from the beginning.

In general, I would say that this song is really cute and refreshing and it has some catchy and addictive vibe to it with quite an emotional backdrop and story if you come to think of it, which is the reason why I like this song. If you haven’t listened to the song yet; go grab your headphones!