When The World Needed Them Most, SEVENTEEN's V8 Are Here With the Club Album of the Year
- Maggz
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Written by Maggz
| THE 8 and VERNON are the latest subunit from nostalgic K-pop group SEVENTEEN with a mini-album filled with dynamic beats and powerhouse producers
As K-pop groups get older and more seasoned in their careers, fans always dread the time when announcements start coming in from companies about groups pausing activities and artists taking breaks to complete their military service obligations. However, ever innovative and viral boy group SEVENTEEN has once again created an amazing experience for CARATs (their fans) by making this something to look forward to. As artists from the 13 member group have approached their time to serve in the military, they have released solo and duo projects, giving them a chance to showcase their unique styles, music genre interests, and strengths. THE 8 and VERNON are the latest two to debut, with their self-titled first mini-album V8, released on June 29.
The unit name and logo are clever - an homage to the stage names of both members combining the “8” from THE 8 and the “V” from VERNON, mirroring a high-performance V8 engine (not to be confused with the juice and vegetable drink you can order on a plane.) The logo itself integrates the Chinese character for ‘eight (八)’ and the letter 'V' into a shape resembling the Chinese character for ‘human (人)’, highlighting that the stories portrayed in the songs come from the human experience of the creative team.
The lead single “singasong” has lyrics blending English, Korean, and Chinese, showing the diversity of backgrounds represented in the duo. The music video for the upbeat track features world-bending visuals and a shuffle dance choreography that dance coverists have been clambering to upload their versions of. Both members sport choppy, vintage mullets to pair with the grungy aesthetic, accompanied on screen with fierce back up dancers as their video game they are playing comes alive on screen. There’s pink horses, exploding cars, and a Transformer-style boss for the duo to battle (and defeat.) The song features German DJ and producer Mechatok.
US fans can shop the physical album domestically from stores like Hello82 and Target with two versions of the album REV Ver. (orange) and for the first time in the history of K-pop, RATS NEST Ver. (white) featuring the same grunge style from the music video. The version (previewed above) does not appear to feature any imagery of actual rats, for those with an aversion to vermin.
Photo PLEDIS Entertainment
Across the eight tracks on the album, the creative team enlisted a powerhouse lineup of producers, with popular song “girlsnboys” produced by Pharrell Williams. Dubbed a “bisexual anthem” by fans with lyrics like “Girls and boys, the same difference” and “We need more love in the world right now,” the track has been a fast favorite, resulting in the Official Visualizer for the song being released on July 6. Other notable features on the album include Alice Longyu Gao on “BEAT” and DPR CREAM and DPR ARCTIC teaming up with her for “8DM.”
To highlight the club vibe of the album, V8 hosted a pre-listening party at a nightlife venue, delivering an immersive experience from fans eager to hear the new sound from their favorite artists. The event featured performances by Mechatok, KIRARA, and Han Jung In.
V8 continues to bring live performances of their new music to CARATs and new fans alike, kicking off their concert series 2026 VERNON THE 8 [V8] LIVE in Goyang on July 11 and taking the show to Hong Kong July 18-19.
V8
SEVENTEEN
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