Meaning of “Fast Forward” by Jeon Somi
Jeon Somi is a K-popper who originally gained notoriety as part of I.O.I, a short-lived girl group which was a whopping 11 members’ deep. Since then she has gone the solo route, dropping her first studio album, “XOXO”, in 2021. That project was released with the backing of Interscope Records, a fact that points to how effective a musician Jeon has proven on her own.
The other company behind the album project was The Black Label, which is affiliated with YG Entertainment. It was The Black Label whom Somi signed with shortly after the dissolution of I.O.I. And they, alongside Interscope, are also the ones who supported the release of “Fast Forward” on 7 August 2023.
This is one of the five songs found on Jeon’s EP, “Game Plan”. And to note, this issuance has been dubbed a comeback, as prior to “Fast Forward” Somi’s most-recent releases were the tracks from “XOXO”.
THE COMPOSERS OF “FAST FORWARD”
This song was co-produced and co-written by Teddy Park, a name we come across regularly in researching K-pop songs. The other two musicians who get both production and writing credit for “Fast Forward” are Vince and R.Tee. Besides that, Jeon Somi and Bekuh Boom (the only non-Korean artist on this list) are also acknowledged as authors of this song.
THE LYRICS
The title of this track apparently has something to do with the song’s first line, where we find the vocalist asserting that she is the addressee’s “future lover”. All lyrics considered, it seems that what Jeon is more precisely getting at is being the idealized partner of said individual.
The pre-chorus goes on to indicate that even though they may have yet to develop a physical relationship, the pair share a strong romantic report nonetheless. And it should also be pointed out that in the post-chorus, Somi apparently refers to the person she’s singing to as “girl”, thus implying that she is a lesbian.
Even though the lyrics are primarily in English, some are in Korean also. That’s pertinent to point out because whereas the lyrics of Fast Forward aren’t necessarily complicated, they also isn’t the easiest song to understand.
Some of the minutia of what’s being put forth may be more understandable to Korean culture than others. For example, it very much feels as if the motif of this is science-fiction inspired, i.e. relating time travel. And as far as we know, science fiction tends to be more popular in (certain parts of) East Asia than it may be in other regions of the world.
“How many lovers do I go through to find you?
How many heartbreaks I take just to get to you?”
She continues:
“How many lovers do I go through to find you?
How many? (One), How many? (Two), How many? (Three)
Fast forward”
That said, what is blaringly obvious is this being a love song. And it may be, concerning the whole time travel thing, that the addressee is someone whom Jeon has yet to meet. That’s one logical way of interpreting the chorus, which gives the impression that the vocalist is searching for the special someone rather than having already met her, as some other parts of the song may read.
So with that in mind, then the thesis sentiment would center on the vocalist wanting to “fast forward” to the moment where she actually hooks up with this individual rather than waiting any longer.
