Illit's "Tick- Tack" and BoyNextDoor's "If I Say I Love You"

Context: I have a post talking about songs that pair well together and wanted to a deeper analysis of some of the pairings.

Illit's "Tick- tack" is a song that describes having a spontaneous and exhilarating crush.

"What's version of me would you like?" "It's a fitting room, change my attitude"

Tick- Tack discusses wanting to change yourself for your crush so that they'll like you. Which is a phenomenon that a lot of people experience, especially as a teenager.

"oh, oh my god, you're looking my way again. That nonchalant mode, like click click"

The song describes trying to act calm and collected when their crush looks in their direction, even though she's excited she's being noticed.

"What'd you think of me, we would make a good match right?" This person is looking for validation from their crush, curious if they like them.

"my heart's in emergency", "so noisy, my heart, tick tack ti-tack tick tack-ta-tick tack"

"there's a lot to look forward to, this is only the beginning"

All of the tick-tack's in the song are representative of her heart racing and beating loudly. She decides to chase after her feelings.

BoyNextDoor's "If I Say I Love You" also depicts the feeling of having a crush, but they don't want to act on it.

"the washing machine is overflowing with laundry", "my hair is messy and all over the place"

He can't get anything done because his feelings are distracting him and making him anxious.

"How pathetic, I've got it bad", "its not like tomorrow I'll wake up a brand new person"

"Just for today, I love you", "I whether wonder if it'll be okay if I say it and regret it afterword"

In "If I Say I Love You" they are hesitant to express their feelings because they are scared it will ruin everything. But they know their emotions won't go away, even if they put them on the back-burner.

"writing lyrics and playing the guitar has no meaning", "like forcing a feeling, it all feels phony, so I'm done"

Boy Next Door feels like they can't play music anymore or write any songs until they confess their feelings. At the end of the song they finally choose to do it, or otherwise they'll be stuck feeling inauthentic.

Both "If I Say I Love You" and "Tick-Tack" feel like youthful expressions of love. Where in Tick-Tack she's more playful and impulsive, in If I Say I Love You he's more hesitant and reflective. These two songs offer two differing perspectives. Where she's spontaneous and overcome with the thrill of new love, he's anxious and scared at the prospect of confessing his feelings. She chases after it with abandon, and he hides away. Together these songs paint a full spectrum of what it feels like to be infatuated with someone and nervous about pursuing your feelings. When analyzed together they function as a conversation between two people in love moving at different speeds. One driven by instinct, the other by fear. At the end of both songs, they choose to confess.

I think it's a cute pairing and they play well off of each other.