Not long after the release of their anthology album 17 Right Here, Seventeen is back to spill heavy yet comforting feels with their aptly named 12th mini album, Spill the Feels.

Released nearly a year after their historic win at the 2023 MAMA Awards for best album with FML, Spill the Feels is another reinvention of Seventeen’s sound. It feels more like a sister version of the former, both acknowledging life’s struggles while maintaining a positive, uplifting outlook.

Over its six tracks spanning a variety of genres, the 13-piece boy group gaze back at their growth since their rookie days, reinforcing reflections about their commitment to one another. With two of their members—Jeonghan and Jun— announcing their bittersweet absence from the group's promotional activities and ongoing world tour, Spill the Feels is the comfort every Carat needs on days they feel helpless, lost, and yearning for love (and also for the group’s comeback as 13 complete members).

From blue to orange

(Photo from Pledis Entertainment/Facebook)

Seventeen always has a way to put us on an emotional rollercoaster.

The teaser starts in a gloomy subway station, with the phrase “I felt helpless,” only to transform into “spill the feels” as sunlight pours in. Akin to FML’s message, a fan theorized that each member’s underwater photo teaser symbolizes emotions of fear, anxiety, and doubt. Everyone is drowning, and they just feel helpless. Yet, this eventually makes them want to learn how to swim and reach the surface.

In another teaser, every member has a line of what they want to speak up about. Bearing the album title, they urge everyone to do the same thing: What is it that you want to spill out? Most of us feel blue and have our own baggage and even dirty laundry. But once unleashed, everything gradually turns sunny and bright.

From then on, we’re in for a kaleidoscope of different love paradigms.

Love’s universality and versatility

(Screenshot from HYBE LABELS/YouTube)

"Choosing love over money and fame is easy to say, but hard to do. Without deep, genuine love, it can feel nearly impossible. So how to love… and how do you express it?”

The title track, Love, Money, Fame, featuring DJ Khaled, offers a hard-hitting message. The music video begins with a baffled and downhearted Jeonghan, the main character who does not know what love is. While the title seems to be bragging about fame and money, the song represents a quintessential Seventeen track—light and buoyant, while highlighting the significance of love among the three, thus captivating our heartstrings.

The line, “That’s where my heart is, with you always,” references both Seventeen’s Carats and the brotherhood built among the members. Another noticeable detail from the music video is the written letters from Joshua and Jeonghan. A part from Joshua’s letter reads, “No matter what, I’ll always be here for you. Because to me, love is about expressing,” while Jeonghan’s says, “It’s hard to piece my emotions into words, and I worry that what I say might not fully capture how I feel. But I still think it’s important…”

(Screenshot from HYBE LABELS/YouTube)

The letters seem to be in fragments, but they urge everyone to toss all considerations and send it even though they can’t figure out how and what to express fully. This exemplifies Seventeen’s desire to form deeper connections that outweigh everything else.

The performance unit’s sultry EDM bop, Rain, explores another aspect of love: the one that emerges after separation, hoping for the cold rain to erase fond memories. It tries to elucidate the yearning for one’s own person amid a forest of people, questioning their broken hearts and the meaning of their existence.

Meanwhile, vocal team members Jeonghan, Joshua, Woozi, DK, and Seungkwan serenade us with a jazzy ballad in Candy. The track brings us to another dimension with its piano instrumental, akin to what we hear from a coming-of-age anime or first-love-never-dies trope from K-dramas. The track juxtaposes the sourness of adulting (As much as becoming an adult / Love is tough, too) with the resolve to love as sweet as candy, so that even with a little word, we can make each other feel better.

Three of the six tracks represent different kinds of love, likely resonating with most of us. But then, it all leads back to having someone who hears us whenever we speak up.

‘Give me your first scar’

(Screenshot from HYBE LABELS/YouTube)

Arguably, the album’s more fitting title track is a bouncy EDM mix titled Eyes on You. It shows how each member keeps an eye out for one another through thick and thin, mirroring various real-life, helpless scenarios seen in its music video.

Hoshi is an introvert trying to fit in at a social event. Despite wanting to sleep throughout the night, he eventually finds Joshua, who holds his hand in a sea of people. The8, on the other hand, sees a scarred Jeonghan and helps him escape. Meanwhile, Vernon portrays what it’s like to go through a failed relationship because of missed opportunities to discuss problems. The camera then pans to Dino, which shows that someone’s presence is a much-needed comfort during a breakup. S.Coups is the actual embodiment of the track’s title, as he instantly knows about Mingyu’s accident since he has his eyes on him.

(Screenshot from HYBE LABELS/YouTube)

Personally, Eyes on You is the best representation of the whole mini album due to its striking line: “Tell me more about yourself / Give me your first scar.” But considering that this would be the group’s last OT13 album for a while, 1 to 13 easily sways us with its heartwarming lyrics that bring us back to when the boys only had five dollars, Wonwoo’s laptop, and a dream.

Woozi, Seventeen’s vocal boss, wittily connects the heart’s anatomy to resemble love from all 13 members that transcends through time (For the ten thousand hours I’ve been with you / I used all 13 parts of my heart).

Water, written by the hip hop unit’s S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu, and Vernon, strikes a proud but not boastful tone, emphasizing the group’s unwavering, collective desire to cross oceans (Walking on water, while you're struggling / I'm taking over; Getting suckеd in deeper like water / Hold mе harder), and is the perfect conclusion to the album.

Overall, Seventeen holds on to the principle that the highest value in life is not fame and money but simple joys like love and good company. Spill the Feels proves to be one of the group’s no-skip albums with its profound meanings, innovative explanations of relatable situations, and diverse genres blended with Seventeen’s unique sound. The boys surely take Carats on an emotional crescendo, stripping everyone out of their devastating situations in just a few notes.