Day6 from left to right: pianist Wonpil, guitarist Sungjin, drummer Dowoon and rapper-vocalist Young K .
One way to know if someone made it in the South Korean entertainment industry is whether or not they have the highly coveted "Nation's" nickname. IU, arguably one of the most successful South Korean female soloists, has been dubbed "Nation's Younger Sister." The main host of countless variety shows, Yoo Jae-suk, is known as "Nation's MC." Now, riding off the highs of their record-breaking EP Band Aid and a handful of songs from previous albums firmly sitting in the South Korean charts, Day6 is the newly crowned "Nation's Band."
Currently, Day6 has four members: the leader, guitarist and vocalist Sungjin; bassist and vocalist Young K; keyboardist and vocalist Wonpil; and drummer Dowoon. Two former members include Jae, a guitarist and vocalist who left in 2021, and Junhyeok, a keyboardist and vocalist who left in 2016.
The band first formed as 5LIVE, but with the addition of Dowoon, they rebranded. On Sept. 7, 2015 Day6 made their debut as JYP Entertainment's first rock band with their first EP, The Day. As their management housed popular K-pop names like TWICE, Day6 straddled the line between band musicians and idols. They participated in K-pop music shows and busked, performing in the streets. Day6 held fansigns and -- in a unique move compared to the era-heavy, comeback-oriented K-pop groups -- underwent the Every Day6 project where they released two songs every month in 2017.
Day6 enjoyed modest success for almost a decade, with a lull between 2022 and 2023 as all four members completed the mandatory military service required of all male Korean citizens. In a fast-paced world like K-pop, military service is seen as a barren period, as the stream of content and virtual interactions disappear. In addition, it can be difficult to regain the momentum a group might have previously held as most enlistment periods span around 18 months.
Against tradition, Day6 seemed to grow in popularity while the members were out of the public eye. One main reason was due to their sleeper title tracks, "You Were Beautiful" and "Time of Our Life," that captured the heart of the domestic public during the austere military years. Once all members returned from service, Day6 capitalized off of this by releasing a highly-successful eighth EP titled Fourever and, three months later, releasing their critically acclaimed ninth EP, Band Aid.
Perhaps the most unlikely part of Fourever's success was the popularity of the B-side (a song on the album that is not the title track), "Happy." The track has ensured Day6 their first Perfect All-Kill, the coveted South Korean music chart achievement where a song simultaneously tops multiple well-known music charts.
To celebrate them getting their well-deserved flowers, here are my favorite Day6 B-sides in the order of most to least recent.
"Still There" is the haunting closing track of Band Aid, tying back to the album's theme of comfort by addressing the opposite: heartbreak. The song starts off with tapping and spinning sound effects, not unlike a broken cassette tape. The discordance of the song is emphasized by the modulation between Young K's pre-chorus and Wonpil's chorus.
In my opinion, the best part of the song is the ending. In the bridge, Young K laments a lover who has moved on while he remains rooted in the past: "The streets we walked together, the playful jokes we shared / The whispered love, it's all still there / The way we talked, the expressions we made / The overflowing love, it's all still there." It's hard-hitting, how he times his singing with the beat of the drum, the frustration and grief audibly present.
The outro is significantly softer, with only the creaky sound effects from the beginning and some piano notes. The lyrics change in tone, as well, taking on a more melancholic, contradictory approach from the bridge: "The lonely streets, the boring jokes / The fading love, I'm still there."
2. "Day and Night" (2020)
"Day and Night" is from my favorite Day6 album, The Book of Us: The Demon. The song expresses the frustration of a relationship between out-of-sync lovers: "When you try to get closer and closer / In the midst, you disappear from my sight / We've inevitably ended up missing each other / I go up and you go down, always the same like the sun and the moon" (original translation). The opening notes reflect this range, with vocals dipping up and down, modulated to create a techno effect. The up-and-down nature continues throughout the entire song, from the drumbeat to the synths.
This is one of the songs that truly showcases the diverse singing styles in Day6: Sungjin's raspy voice and Young K's versatile tone highlighted in the pre-choruses, Wonpil's heartfelt singing and finally, my favorite for this song, Jae's airy-yet-powerful chorus.
3. "Lean On Me" (2017)
The opening track for Day6's first studio album, Sunrise, leans into their title as JYP's first rock band with 90s-esque instrumentals and a melodic guitar riff in the beginning of the song. "Lean On Me" is one of my favorite songs due to the lyrical storytelling. Young K starts the song in an almost tired, chastening tone directed to a friend's tendency to pick difficult loves. Then, as the song goes on, the narrator pleads with the friend to "lean on me," almost painfully raw yet encouraging and warm. The entire mood of Sunrise is true to its title: Viewing the sunrise takes in both the bracing cold from the preceding night as well as the illuminating, honey-sweet rays.
"Lean On Me" is also loved by fans because it is one of the few songs that features the singing of the drummer, Dowoon, who is the sole non-vocalist member. Needless to say, his vocals are the emotional culmination of the song.
4. "You" (Unreleased)
Unfortunately, this song has never been officially released on streaming platforms, but has been performed by the group on multiple occasions, such as in their debut showcase.
This song captures the quintessential pop-rock sound of 2015-2016 Day6, back when their tracks seemed to include an almost contractual rap from Young K and the heart-bursting, youthful feelings of infatuation, similar to "Sing Me" and "Like That Sun." Even the way they sing the word "you" is loopy and puppy-lovesick.
In "You," the introduction is more than a minute long. The drums start first, with the bass coming in around 15 seconds later, then the piano and then the acoustic guitar. When the electric guitar joins, the song jolts to life and all the instruments seamlessly interact with one another. As a listener, it's easy to focus on the final sound, forgetting about the individual efforts not only to nail the skills of the respective instruments but also to harmonize and play together. The intro is a wonderful reminder of the essential role each member and instrument holds, as well as the efficient teamwork that defines them.
In all, Day6 has had a remarkable, unconventional career in K-pop, partly due to their strength to put out timeless music -- whether it be a title track or a b-side. If you haven't already, give Day6 a try.