ONEUS’s latest single Baila Conmigo is a re-telling of The Little Mermaid. Seoho, Leedo, Keonhee, Hwanwoong and Xion assume the role of a “mermaid prince,” and give up their voices in exchange for legs to find happiness.
Despite hitting record high in their album sales, ONEUS confessed that they were obsessed with productivity and getting a certain number of votes/views to determine their success.
But what does that have to do with being mermaid princes and giving up their voices?
Turns out, the boys of ONEUS found meaning and happiness in creating music, instead of losing themselves and their passion and love for music.
Image taken from Instagram: @official_oneus
“We used to be anxious about rankings and stats, because that’s how groups gain recognition. But the more we cling onto numbers, the more distressing it became for us,” Leedo shared in an interview with the Korea Herald.
Hwanwoong continued: “We found ourselves obsessing over how we could become No. 1, rather than thinking about what makes us happy and what makes good music. We realised something was very wrong. We agreed that if we do our own music, results would follow naturally with time.”
Perhaps we, too, engage with obsessive acts of finding our own self-worth with the amount of likes or followers we get on our social media pages unknowingly.
Image taken from Instagram: @official_oneus
However, tying our self-perception and value to the number of likes on social media is unhealthy. By doing so, we give others the power and control over our happiness.
ONEUS realised that obsessing over numbers and productivity were affecting their mental health, causing them to be unhappy with the music they made.
So instead of working towards a particular number or success rate, ONEUS channelled their energy into making their craft and focused on what made them happy.
Image taken from Instagram: @official_oneus
Keonhee shared that he tries to change his perception of his own self-worth by placing value on the quality of his life and relationships, and not his level of productivity.
Hwanwoong also shared that he doesn’t chase for numbers anymore, but appreciates his fans and the ability to perform, especially after the pandemic.
“What I really want in the future is nothing definite. I just want to perform onstage, sing good songs, perform good music to the fans.”
ONEUS also reminds us that self-care is important in maintaining a happy life.
In 2022, Leedo and Xion took a break from promotional activities due to health reasons.
Leedo suffered from skin inflammation on the sole of his feet, while Xion sprained his knee and had difficulties walking.
Although the boys were eager to prove themselves and continue working, they reframed the situation by choosing to look at the positives instead of the negatives.
They listened to their bodies, took this time to rest, and worked towards a speedy recovery.
Sometimes, we may be quite hard on ourselves, especially during hard moments, as we want to show our worth to others. But it is especially during tough times, we should be extra kinder to ourselves.
Image taken from Instagram: @official_oneus
Perhaps ONEUS latest album is a tale of the boys’ journey to pursue their lifelong dreams.
While we earnestly strive to reach our own happy ending, ONEUS teaches us to recognise our own worth and value, and to find time to do the things we love.
Read more on happiness and finding your own self-worth:
Social media behaviour and boundaries
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