SEVENTEEN’s Joshua Writes Songs Easier In English Than Korean, Here’s Why
As SEVENTEEN‘s Korean American members, Vernon and Joshua wrote the track “2 MINUS 1” as a special treat for fans who speak English.
Between writing songs in Korean and English, they shared how the music processes can be different for the two languages.
During their chat with Seventeen magazine, the outlet asked the two about writing songs in Korean and English. Vernon said it “wasn’t that much different” to write the lyrics for the different languages. On the other hand, Joshua voiced a completely different experience.
When it came to writing songs in Korean, Joshua shared his perspective of how difficult it was to convey specific thoughts and ideas. Because he’s not as fluent in Korean as he is in English, it was tricker to write certain words and phrases for lyrics.
Before, when we had to write it in full Korean, I felt like I couldn’t contribute as much as I did for ‘2 MINUS 1’. Cause there are some words that I don’t know in Korean that I know in English. So I can’t really contribute.
— Joshua
Using their newest unit song as an example, Joshua revealed how much smoother the process was to write songs in English. There were no obstacles in conveying exactly what he wanted to in the lyrics.
During ‘2 MINUS 1’, I was very confident cause English is my first language. So I could tell you guys exactly what I wanted for this song—and my ideas.
— Joshua
Whether the song is in Korean or English, Carats will always appreciate Joshua and Vernon’s hard work.
Watch Joshua and Vernon talk about how smooth or rough the writing process can be for their songs.
