[SLANDER & JOSHUA] - 'Love Is Gone' Review: When Heartbreak Sounds Like Home

It’s the song that has soundtracked countless heartbreaks, a festival anthem screamed by thousands. But what happens when that scream turns into a fragile whisper? Well, SLANDER and JOSHUA of SEVENTEEN just gave us the answer, and honestly, it’s devastatingly beautiful.

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Table of Contents

1. About 'Love Is Gone': The SLANDER x JOSHUA Collaboration Explained
2. JOSHUA's Vocals: A Voice That Carries Two Emotions at Once
3. Love Is Gone Meaning: The Same Song, A Different Story
4. Finding Solace in Sadness: Why This Song Resonates
5. SLANDER's Production: When EDM Meets Emotion
6. JOSHUA of SEVENTEEN: Music as a Lifeline
7. Love Is Gone Lyrics Analysis: Love Isn't Gone
8. On Repeat: Why I Keep Coming Back
9. Final Thoughts: More Than Just a Collaboration
10. Frequently Asked Questions (Q&A)

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About 'Love Is Gone': The SLANDER x JOSHUA Collaboration Explained

When SLANDER, the renowned American DJ duo, announced their collaboration with JOSHUA of SEVENTEEN for a new version of ‘Love Is Gone’, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The original track by Dylan Matthew had already become an EDM anthem, and Cha Eun-woo’s version added another layer of K-pop sensibility. But JOSHUA’s interpretation? It’s something else entirely.

Released in 2024, this SLANDER and JOSHUA collaboration transforms the familiar melody into an intimate conversation about loss, pleading, and the desperate ache of love slipping away. And yet, somehow, listening to it feels like being wrapped in warmth.

Maybe that’s the strange alchemy of truly great music—it can take your pain and make it beautiful without diminishing what you’re feeling.

JOSHUA's Vocals: A Voice That Carries Two Emotions at Once

What struck me immediately was JOSHUA’s voice in ‘Love Is Gone’. There’s this incredible duality to it—a raw, almost pleading intensity that surges forward, paired with a gentle softness that feels like someone quietly confiding in you. These two emotions exist simultaneously in every note, creating something I’ve never quite heard before.

As a member of SEVENTEEN’s vocal unit, JOSHUA has always been known for his clear, emotive tone. But in this SLANDER collaboration, he pushes beyond his usual K-pop vocal style. It’s rare to find a voice that can convey such vulnerability while maintaining that underlying strength. Each word feels personal, like he’s standing right there, speaking directly to you.

Vocal Technique Breakdown

The pronunciation, slightly accented yet perfectly articulated, adds another layer of intimacy—like hearing someone speak from the heart in a language that isn’t quite their first, making every syllable feel more intentional, more earned.

Key vocal moments in JOSHUA’s performance:

• 0:45-1:15 - The first verse showcases his controlled falsetto
• 1:45-2:00 - Emotional peak with slight voice break
• 2:30-2:45 - Layered harmonies adding depth
• 3:10-3:30 - Final chorus with full emotional delivery

By the time the song ends, I realize my eyes are wet, and I’m not entirely sure when that happened.

Love Is Gone Meaning: The Same Song, A Different Story

‘Love Is Gone’ isn’t new to me. I’d heard Dylan Matthew’s original version, and Cha Eun-woo’s cover too. Each one beautiful in its own right. But this SLANDER and JOSHUA version takes the song somewhere completely different.

Comparing the Versions

Version	Style	Emotional Focus	Vocal Approach
Dylan Matthew (Original)	Acoustic Pop	Personal confession	Raw, intimate
Cha Eun-woo	K-pop Ballad	Melancholic longing	Smooth, polished
SLANDER x JOSHUA	EDM/Electronic	Desperate pleading	Vulnerable, layered

The lyrics of ‘Love Is Gone’ remain the same—that desperate plea of “don’t leave me, I need you by me” and “I can’t breathe, I’m so weak, I know it’s not easy”—but the perspective shifts entirely. In previous versions, I always felt like I was the one pleading, the one trying to hold onto someone. But with JOSHUA’s rendition, something flips.

Love Is Gone Lyrics Breakdown

"I'm sorry, don't leave me, I want you here with me I know that your love is gone I can't breathe, I'm so weak, I know this ain't easy Don't tell me that your love is gone"

It feels like he’s the one reaching out to me, asking me to stay. The song becomes a conversation rather than a monologue. There’s this moment—you know the one—where his voice cracks just slightly, and it feels less like a performance and more like overhearing someone’s private moment of desperation.

That’s when I understood: this isn’t just a cover. It’s a complete reinterpretation of whose story we’re hearing.

Finding Solace in Sadness: Why This Song Resonates

Life has been complicated lately. There’s this fog of uncertainty—not knowing what I want, what I should do, feeling unmotivated yet restless at the same time. Nothing seems to fill the void, even when I’m trying my hardest. It’s exhausting in a way that’s hard to explain.

That’s when this song found me. Or maybe I found it. Either way, the timing felt significant.

There’s something paradoxical about finding comfort in sad songs like ‘Love Is Gone’. The themes are painful—they speak of heartbreak and desperation. But JOSHUA’s voice wraps around those painful words and somehow transmutes them into something healing. It’s like he’s acknowledging the hurt while simultaneously saying, “It’s okay to feel this way. You’re not alone.”

The Psychology of Sad Songs

I keep thinking about why certain songs hit differently when you’re going through something. Maybe it’s because they give shape to feelings you couldn’t articulate. They say, “Here, this is what you’re feeling,” and suddenly that nameless ache has a melody, a rhythm, a structure. It becomes manageable somehow.

“Music can change the world because it can change people.” - Bono

This SLANDER x JOSHUA collaboration does exactly that—it changes how we process grief, loss, and longing.

SLANDER's Production: When EDM Meets Emotion

SLANDER’s production on ‘Love Is Gone’ is masterful. The American DJ duo, known for their emotional bass sound and melodic dubstep style, creates this ethereal soundscape—pulsing beats and synth layers that feel both vast and intimate. It’s the kind of production that could easily overwhelm a vocal, but instead it creates this perfect tension.

Production Elements Breakdown

Key production techniques used:

1. Intro (0:00-0:30): Minimalist piano with ambient pads
2. Build-up (0:30-1:00): Gradual introduction of percussion and synths
3. Drop (1:15-1:45): Melodic bass with side-chained compression
4. Bridge (2:15-2:30): Stripped back to piano and vocals
5. Final Drop (2:45-3:15): Full emotional release with layered synths

When JOSHUA’s vocals enter that space, magic happens. The contrast is what makes this collaboration work so beautifully—the powerful, driving EDM production against the tender vulnerability of the voice. It shouldn’t work, but it does.

SLANDER's Signature Sound

It creates this push and pull that mirrors the emotional complexity of the song itself: the tension between holding on and letting go, between strength and fragility.

SLANDER has always been brilliant at building emotional landscapes through sound. Their previous works like ‘First Time’ (feat. Seven Lions) and ‘Halfway Down’ showcase this talent. But they needed the right voice to inhabit that landscape for ‘Love Is Gone’.

JOSHUA doesn’t just sing over their production—he lives inside it:

• His vocal runs follow the contours of the synths
• His breathing becomes part of the rhythm section
• His pauses feel as intentional as any beat drop

This SLANDER and JOSHUA collaboration feels like two artists truly understanding each other’s craft and elevating it. SLANDER gives JOSHUA’s voice a platform to soar, and JOSHUA gives their production a soul.

JOSHUA of SEVENTEEN: Music as a Lifeline

I keep thinking about how fortunate I am to be alive at this exact moment in time, able to listen to this exact piece of music. It sounds dramatic, but it’s true. Someone’s talent, dedication, and emotional honesty created these few minutes of sound that can reach across continents and languages to touch someone they’ve never met.

About JOSHUA (SEVENTEEN)

That’s the thing about JOSHUA—music isn’t just what he does, it’s who he is. You can hear it in every note of ‘Love Is Gone’. There’s an authenticity that can’t be faked. Born Joshua Hong in Los Angeles and trained under Pledis Entertainment, he’s always straddled two worlds—American and Korean, English and Korean language, K-pop idol and artist.

If he weren’t a SEVENTEEN member, I have no doubt he’d be making music in some form anyway. It’s not a career choice; it’s a calling.

JOSHUA's Musical Journey

Watching him navigate between Korean and English music, between K-pop choreography and Western EDM collaborations, between idol and artist—it all seems effortless because it’s genuine. This isn’t someone trying on different styles. This is someone who contains multitudes, and music is how he expresses all of them.

Notable JOSHUA collaborations and solo works:

• “2 MINUS 1” (with Vernon)
• Various SEVENTEEN OST contributions
• SLANDER - “Love Is Gone” (2024)
• Multiple English cover songs on YouTube

Love Is Gone Lyrics Analysis: Love Isn't Gone

Despite the title, this song made me believe in love again. Not romantic love necessarily, but love as a broader concept. The love that goes into creating something beautiful. The love that reaches through a screen or speakers to offer comfort to a stranger. The love that says, “I understand your pain because I’ve felt it too.”

Deep Dive into the Lyrics

The ‘Love Is Gone’ lyrics repeat the refrain: “Don’t tell me that your love is gone.” But listening to JOSHUA sing it, I hear something different. It’s not just about romantic love disappearing—it’s about faith disappearing, hope disappearing, the will to keep going disappearing.

Full Lyrics Interpretation:

Lyric Line	Surface Meaning	Deeper Interpretation
"I'm sorry, don't leave me"	Apology to lover	Universal plea against abandonment
"I want you here with me"	Physical presence	Emotional connection and support
"I know that your love is gone"	Acceptance of breakup	Recognition of loss
"I can't breathe, I'm so weak"	Physical symptoms	Emotional vulnerability
"Don't tell me that your love is gone"	Denial	Hope against hopelessness

The irony isn’t lost on me. A song called ‘Love Is Gone’ that actually restores faith in love’s existence. But maybe that’s exactly the point. Love doesn’t disappear—it just transforms. It lives in art, in music, in the connection between an artist and a listener.

The Universal Message

When you’re in the thick of grief or confusion or that nameless existential dread that sometimes hits at 3 AM, you need to know that someone else has been there. You need proof that people have felt this way and survived it—even made something beautiful from it. This song is that proof.

On Repeat: Why I Keep Coming Back

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve played this SLANDER and JOSHUA collaboration. I hit repeat, close my eyes, and let the layers of sound wash over me. SLANDER’s production creates this dreamlike atmosphere, and then JOSHUA’s voice cuts through it with crystal clarity.

What Makes This Song Replayable

The painful themes don’t hurt anymore. Or maybe they do, but in a way that feels necessary. Like acknowledging a bruise—yes, it’s tender, but touching it reminds you that you’re healing.

Each time I listen to ‘Love Is Gone’, I discover something new:

1. First listen: The overall emotional impact hits you
2. Second listen: You start noticing production details
3. Third listen: Vocal nuances become apparent
4. Fourth listen: The lyrics take on new meaning
5. Fifth+ listens: The song becomes a companion

It’s the mark of a truly great song—it grows with you, reveals new dimensions, refuses to be fully understood in a single listen.

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Final Thoughts: More Than Just a Collaboration

This SLANDER and JOSHUA version of ‘Love Is Gone’ has become a companion of sorts. A reminder that feeling deeply—even when it hurts—is a gift. That vulnerability can be a source of strength. That sometimes the most comforting thing isn’t someone telling you everything will be okay, but someone sitting with you in the darkness and saying, “I’m here too.”

Why This Collaboration Matters

Love isn’t gone. It’s right here, in these three minutes and forty-three seconds of sound. It’s in the way JOSHUA’s voice breaks on certain words. It’s in SLANDER’s atmospheric production that feels like being underwater and finally coming up for air at the same time. It’s in the space between the beats where you can hear your own heartbeat.

And somehow, impossibly, that’s enough.

The Impact of Cross-Cultural Collaborations

When the song ends and I open my eyes, the world looks a little different. Not fixed—nothing’s fixed—but softer somehow. More bearable. Like someone handed me a language for what I couldn’t say and said, “Here, this might help.”

It does help. More than I expected. More than I can explain.

That’s what great music does, isn’t it? It doesn’t solve anything, but it makes you feel less alone in the not-solving. And whether you’re a SEVENTEEN fan discovering SLANDER, or an EDM fan discovering JOSHUA, this collaboration offers something rare: a bridge between worlds, built on the universal language of heartbreak and hope.

In this moment, that’s exactly what I needed.

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Frequently Asked Questions (Q&A)

When was SLANDER and JOSHUA's 'Love Is Gone' released?

The collaboration was released in 2024 on Monstercat label.

Who originally sang 'Love Is Gone'?

The original version was performed by Dylan Matthew. Other notable versions include Cha Eun-woo's cover.

What genre is 'Love Is Gone' by SLANDER and JOSHUA?

The song blends EDM, melodic dubstep, and emotional bass with K-pop vocal sensibilities.

Is JOSHUA working on more solo music?

While primarily active with SEVENTEEN, JOSHUA has expressed interest in more solo and collaboration projects.

Sources & Technical Data

Credible Sources

• SLANDER & JOSHUA of SEVENTEEN – Love Is Gone (Official MV)