INFINITE have become a mainstay of the K-pop scene since they arrived with “Come Back Again” on June 9, 2010. Renown for pristine choreography and a distinct style that infuses retro-pop with orchestral elements, the boy band marked their fifth anniversary last year and embarked on their second world tour. With more than 15 albums and over 20 singles in both Korean and Japanese, INFINITE is one of K-pop’s most prolific acts.
Entering their sixth year (which is considered a pivotal one in the K-pop industry, when many idol groups struggle to stay together past the seven-year mark), the septet continues to inspire with their powerful performances and cinematic concepts.
To celebrate INFINITE’s fifth anniversary last year, Billboard counted down the group’s best dance performance videos. This year, we took a look back at the group’s wide array of music videos and determined what some of Sunggyu, Woohyun, Dongwoo, Hoya, Sungyeol, L, and Sungjong’s most memorable video performances were.
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10. “Come Back Again” (2010)
Balancing a tight dance performance in polo shirts and suits while playing around and enjoying youth, INFINITE’s debut music video set the ground for many of INFINITE’s future releases. As far as first K-pop music videos go, “Come Back Again” did well to individualize the members, giving each of the seven specific roles to fill in their search for the person leaving them notes. The variance between the darker dance scenes and the brighter moments proved prophetic for INFINITE’s career, which has consistently countered powerful dance songs and more saccharine offerings. The dance performance, ranked no. 3 last year, was the first hint of the precise choreography that would eventually garner INFINITE attention with the success of “BTD” and “Be Mine” in 2011.
Plus, the video ended with an adorable baby fox, which should always included in boy band music videos.
9. “Bad” (2015)
The only single INFINITE released as a whole in Korea last year (several members released separate works), “Bad” combined creepiness with bright colors as the members stared hauntingly at their reflections and ran around a warehouse while being stalked by a woman’s silhouette. Although beautifully shot, the video was surprisingly low-key for the anniversary event, until INFINITE’s company revealed that the sparsity had a purpose: a second version of the video was released featuring a full 360-degree view, the first K-pop video of its kind. Created to be watched on both mobile devices and computers, the 360 VR version can be rotated throughout to see INFINITE’s members (and a deer statue) at every angle.
8. “Destiny”
One of INFINITE’s most grandiose music videos, “Destiny” features the members looking forlorn while wandering through a desolate city and revealing hidden powers. Filmed at Universal Studios, “Destiny” has a beautiful set design and a high production value that resulted in a visually exhilarating video. Unfortunately, the official version of “Destiny” isn’t actually what it was meant to be. Following the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 days before the release of “Destiny,” Woollim Entertainment, INFINITE’s label, altered the video out of respect to the victims and survivors by cutting scenes that featured plane wreckage and added to the plot. (A similar event occurred again in 2014, when the Sewol Ferry Tragedy occurred before the group’s video for “Last Romeo” could be released.) The original version of “Destiny” was played at several INFINITE concerts, but Woollim Entertainment decided to never formally release the full video online.
7. “Be Mine” (2011)
Five years since its release, “Be Mine” is still one of INFINITE’s most iconic moments. The song and music video was the first that captured South Korea’s attention, and to this day, the chorus hand grab is one of INFINITE’s most famous dance moves (second only to the scorpion dance featured in “BTD.”) With sepia coloring and noir-esque plot, the video featured a woman in danger and INFINITE struggling to protect her without crossing over the line of police tape.
6. “Lately (White Confession)” (2011)
INFINITE made fans fall in love with them in this holiday-themed music video. Their most intimate video overall, “Lately” showed the members as themselves rather than as characters and revealed the individual member’s personalities and interactions in daily life. Filmed in Japan, the cheery video showed the seven idols playing around while enjoying a day shopping, exploring the local sights, and exchanging gifts. The lighthearted video’s cool-colored filter fit the cold season and, unlike many of their other videos, showed off the sweeter side of INFINITE that has garnered them an extremely strong fan base.
5. “Paradise” (2011)
“Paradise” was released during INFINITE’s breakthrough year in 2011. Completely devoid of dancing from a group that just burst through via the dances of “Be Mine” and “BTD,” “Paradise” used the members’ morose acting and chiaroscuro lighting to depict the longing and inability to let go of a past love as described in the song’s lyrics. Dressed handsomely in funerary suits, the group appeared as suave ghosts who were being mourned by a young woman. On her own, she is bathed in sunlight, but when the INFINITE members come into view, darkness fills the scenes, until they disappear entirely. The song, with its emotive falsetto melody and orchestral styling, matches the setting and INFINITE’s emotions, creating one of the group’s most striking videos to date.
4. “Man In Love” (2013)
Two years after “Lately,” INFINITE released a similarly skewed video. “Man In Love” meshed the group’s precise dance movements with seven endearing personas discovering love for the first time. Extremely sentimental and lovey-dovey, the members of the boy band appear in age-appropriate roles as college students and men starting down their careers while doing their best to make the object of their hearts return the affection. The song is a synth-pop dance track that matches the video’s bright coloring — together, “Man In Love” is INFINITE’s most uplifting production.
3.”BTD” (2011)
Like “Be Mine,” the group’s “BTD” (“Before The Dawn”) video grew popular for its dances. While the group’s aggressive choreography and iconic scorpion dance (watch for it at 2:56) were impressive, the music video’s Les Miserables-esque prison setting was game changing for INFINITE. Until the release of “BTD,” INFINITE’s music videos had veered toward more light-hearted plots and colorful videography. It was the first time INFINITE released such a dynamic video, foregoing the playfulness of their first two music videos in favor of a gritty dystopian concept that featured L and Woohyun battling to get out of prison only to discover that they were still trapped behind bars. Five years later, the music video and performance aspects of “BTD” still remains a yardstick of what INFINITE can produce.
2. “The Chaser” (2012)
K-pop’s best song of 2012, and arguably INFINITE’s best song overall, “The Chaser” has a music video that, to this day, is one of INFINITE’s best productions. Taking the angst featured in several of their 2011 releases (“Be Mine,” “Paradise,” “BTD”), “The Chaser” depicts the turbulence of emotions through the members’ actions as they try to get closer to the person they love. The video forgoes a defined plot and instead features the seven men acting on the inner turmoil of being in love without being able to gain closure, but the septet looks its best with the abstract staging and creative outfitting. Their first release after their breakout year, “The Chaser” kept the momentum going.
1.”Back” (2014)
After years of releasing intense music and music videos, INFINITE brought their forceful style to its zenith the group’s strongest video. Starting off with a slow start, “Back” burst into a dramatic synth-pop track with a music video to match its dynamism. Receiving a 19+ rating in South Korea, “Back” turned INFINITE into a gang defending a woman kidnapped by rivals. While they’d shown fights in their work before, “Back” captured the toughest iteration of the group and brought INFINITE to new heights.
The intricacy of the dance’s choreography earned “Back” the no. 1 spot on last year’s list, but the video overall remains one of INFINITE’s best performances, with its graffiti-filled world of vengeance. Fierce in a way few K-pop videos are, the orchestra-pop sound of the song provided the perfect soundtrack to the vivid battle between the two gangs. Highlighting the septet’s good looks (and promptly ruining them during the fight), “Back” brought INFINITE to a new level. The video appeared to set itself up for a sequel, but two years later we’re still waiting to see if the group got their revenge…