Real meaning of Hyuna's song 'Babe'.

[Mysterymindme]

http://www.asianjunkie.com/2017/08/30/hyunas-babe-is-her-version-of-ius-twenty-three-and-it-makes-quite-the-statement/ (Hyuna's "Babe" is her version of IU's Twenty Three and it makes quite the statement) â˜…

 

"On the surface it’s a song about a relationship, but if you read into it just a bit, it’s fairly easy to see the parallels between her significant other and the public and/or the industry. 

 

Why do you have that creepy smile?
Like this, huh? Like this, huh?

 

This basically establishes the metaphor, questioning the gaze put upon her by the public and having her life dictated to her by the industry, basically having to be in a state of a constant need of approval.

 

Take me with you and spend time with me,

Why do you treat me like a baby?
I can’t tell what my age is when I’m with you,
Did you cast a spell on me?
I am anxious because of you,
I am pining for you every day,
Why does my body keep squirming babe?
Yes, I am being like a baby, pamper me.

 

After framing the lyrics within the concept, the allusions become rather clear.

Of particular note is how the lyrics reference doing sexy concepts, but that she still has to act like an innocent girl to appeal to the public. The hook revolves around needing approval, changing against her will, and being infantilized.

 

 

(More than yesterday) I’ve become stranger,

(Today as well) I am not like myself,

(When tomorrow comes) Unimaginable myself,

Someone I don’t know, someone you don’t know,

I’ll have changed.

 

 

As she works backwards through her career, HyunA progressively gets younger and younger, appearing to reference the known expectation that she needs to continue to act and look young as she ages.

 

I am just 26, 26, 26,

I’m just 26, 26.

 

You make me 25, 25, 25,
You make me 24, 24, 24,
I feel like 21, 21, 21.

 

You make me 19, 19, 19,

You make me 17, 17, 17,
I feel like 15, 15, 15.

 

In the music video, when the age gets down to 15, HyunA looks incredibly uncomfortable and rejects it, setting out on her own (literally seeming to be in her own world).

 

 

EDIT: This post is not a substitute for the article . Please read the article if you're interested!

[enchante]

It's v insightful. I love seeing female artists speak out about the double standards in the industry. I think the use of "you make me" is very indicative of that this is a song about someone who is forcing her to be something, not her own personal choice. In order to survive in the industry she has to infantilize herself and obviously she's fed up with it as seen in her most recent comeback lip & hip.

[Winter Bear]

I love posts like this that can enlighten people blindly hating.

What's even more creepy when it comes to age lyrics, is the whole +2 system Korean age usually goes by.

[the secret code era]

i'd like to see hyuna herself actually explain the meaning because all i've seen is people's own interpretations. a couple of well times screenshots or vaguely worded lines doesn't really show me a deep evaluation of it being a criticism of age related issues, it doesn't really feel like enough to say it's any more than the usual "it's romantic because i feel like a teenager!" type of lyrics. feels like a bit of a reach to stop anyone saying it's just contributing to the same stuff, especially when she's such an odd choice to talk about infantilisation. lyrics about feeling anxious are pretty common in k-pop songs about crushes and stuff so it just feels like it fits in with the rest, no criticism of it 

[Yerim.]

Ah I liked Babe already but this is so interesting! There's more to the story than what we see at first and I love Hyuna for that.

[Thigh-high feminist]

Yeah, she tried to go deep and it went right over their heads. All of those pops in Lips & Hips are the veins exploding in Hyuna's head every time she read, "We want another "Bubble Pop." Lips and Hips (a certified bop) is basically Hyuna screaming, "IS THIS THE REALITY YOU WANTED?!" to music complete with vein pops

 

And it is.😆I love her.😻

[Mysterymindme]

i'd like to see hyuna herself actually explain the meaning because all i've seen is people's own interpretations. a couple of well times screenshots or vaguely worded lines doesn't really show me a deep evaluation of it being a criticism of age related issues, it doesn't really feel like enough to say it's any more than the usual "it's romantic because i feel like a teenager!" type of lyrics. feels like a bit of a reach to stop anyone saying it's just contributing to the same stuff, especially when she's such an odd choice to talk about infantilisation. lyrics about feeling anxious are pretty common in k-pop songs about crushes and stuff so it just feels like it fits in with the rest, no criticism of it 

 

Did you read the article? Basically my whole point of this thread was to direct people to that article, because obviously (as you're saying) a few stray quotes from it is not enough. Read it, look at the comments if you like, and decide your own interpretation.

 

She's not an odd choice to talk about infantilisation, seeing as she debuted at age 15 and has basically been in the industry her whole life.

 

Her first solo song 'Change'— the mv and dance which is very sexual, by the way— came out when she was just 17. 

[Mysterymindme]

i'd like to see hyuna herself actually explain the meaning because all i've seen is people's own interpretations. a couple of well times screenshots or vaguely worded lines doesn't really show me a deep evaluation of it being a criticism of age related issues, it doesn't really feel like enough to say it's any more than the usual "it's romantic because i feel like a teenager!" type of lyrics. feels like a bit of a reach to stop anyone saying it's just contributing to the same stuff, especially when she's such an odd choice to talk about infantilisation. lyrics about feeling anxious are pretty common in k-pop songs about crushes and stuff so it just feels like it fits in with the rest, no criticism of it 

 

Correction: the infantilisation part comes into play because Hyuna's public persona has been very clean and innocent in contrast to her persona in mvs/ while performing. Sorry about that. Also having to do with people expecting her to stay the same as how they saw her when she was younger. . .

 

"The duality she’s using here is what reminded me of IU’s concept on ‘Chat-Shire‘ and “Twenty-Threeâ€. However, unlike IU popping off at people who infantilized her cause that image got their rocks off, HyunA’s case is interesting because she has a heavily sexualized musical image but is also considered “clean†and relatable because her persona away from that has a lack of scandal and therefore has presentability to it."

[the secret code era]

Did you read the article? Basically my whole point of this thread was to direct people to that article, because obviously (as you're saying) a few stray quotes from it is not enough. Read it, look at the comments if you like, and decide your own interpretation.

 

She's not an odd choice to talk about infantilisation, seeing as she debuted at age 15 and has basically been in the industry her whole life.

 

Her first solo song 'Change'— the mv and dance which is very sexual, by the way— came out when she was just 17. 

i've read the whole article before and i don't agree with it. it's an interpretation that seems like kind of a reach and i don't think its enough to talk about it as the real meaning of the song especially when i've never seen her say anything like that herself. i also don't think not having scandals means you're being infantalised, her being sexualised as a minor shows the opposite of that imo

[Charmy]

This is really interesting. I honestly would have never interpreted the lyrics past another love song