Answers to the Most Asked Questions About Jimin’s New Release: Set Me Free Pt. 2
Courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
There is much to be interpreted when watching Jimin’s new music video for Set Me Free Pt. 2.
After watching it, I had so many questions:
Who is singing at the beginning?
What’s up with the autotune?
Why is he in all white at the end of the video?
Why is it Pt.2 if there was no Pt.1?
I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Here are my initial thoughts on Jimin’s new release: Set Me Free Pt. 2.
Who is singing at the beginning? What’s up with the autotune?
The first thing I noticed were the vocals at the beginning of the song. It sounds nothing like Jimin. I even looked to see if the song had a collaborator because the voice was so unfamiliar.
Yet in the video, it shows that he’s singing. About 56 seconds into the video, we hear the familiar angelic Jimin vocal we have grown to know and love. So who was singing at the beginning? Was it Jimin? I think yes, but why does it sound nothing like him?
Here’s my initial interpretation. The song is all about breaking free from an image that wasn’t fully him. Maybe the unfamiliar vocal represents that Jimin didn’t recognize the image he had created. Or that what we saw was a very edited and altered version of who he truly is.
What is signified with the outfit change at the end of the video?
The video alludes to a number of prior BTS works, but the final one was my favorite. The ending choreography in Set Me Free Pt. 2 is nearly identical to Jimin’s stage performance of “Lie.”
In that performance as he’s being lifted into the air, he sings, “caught in a lie, find the me that was pure, I can’t be free from this lie, give me back my smile.” After being set down, he continues, “caught in a lie, pull me from this hell, I can’t be free from this pain, save me I’m being punished.” Then he turns and drops to the ground.
In Set Me Free Pt. 2, there is a very different ending. Rather than continuing the agony that was represented in “Lie,” in Set Me Free Pt. 2, Jimin rises wearing all white.
White signifies rebirth. It signifies truth. It signifies purity. In “Lie” he sang, “find the me that was pure.” In Set Me Free Pt. 2, he found it.
Why is it Pt. 2 if there was no Set Me Free Pt. 1?
In an interview with Consequence, Jimin said it was a nod to Agust D’s song Set Me Free. But is that the only reason he decided to title it Pt. 2?
After listening to the song, I believe it could have a much deeper meaning. Maybe Pt. 1 was everything we’ve seen from Jimin and BTS until now. His entire career. His life. His persona. Perhaps starting this new era with Pt. 2 is representative of the person and artist he’s finally presenting to the world. As if he’s saying, “This is Pt. 2 of the Jimin you have come to know. This is me. I’m free.”
The visuals, the production, the lyrics—they’re captivating. I think it’s fucking brilliant.
What did you think of the release? What other nuggets did you notice throughout Set Me Free Pt. 2?
Chlo Turner, is my youngest and half of the folk-pop sister duo Chasing Lovely. Check out this blog post Chlo wrote with their sister about being bi-racial: What Are You?
*Disclaimer* The reflections in this post are solely the author’s opinions and interpretations of the work.