“Eyes Closed” — Jisoo & ZAYN’s Dreamy Duet Unites Gen Z Sensibility with Millennial Soul

By Tommy Thounaojam October 2025

If you’re somewhere in your thirties — an era of playlists, nostalgia, and rediscovering what pop sounds like now — there’s a good chance “Eyes Closed” by Jisoo and ZAYN has landed right on your radar( not be confused with Ed Sheeran song which premiered in 2023. It’s the kind of track that feels both brand-new and strangely familiar, a slow-burn pop duet that reminds you why love songs never really go out of style — they just get sleeker.

A Pop Awakening for the Thirty-Something Listener

For those of us who grew up on the R&B duets of the 2000s — “Dilemma”, “My Boo”, “Take Care” — Eyes Closed feels like a modern echo of that golden age. The song carries that same emotional weight and conversational chemistry, but dressed in today’s atmospheric production: layered synths, heartbeat percussion, and a hint of midnight melancholy.

Gen Z has redefined what “romantic pop” sounds like. They crave intimacy over volume, vulnerability over grandiosity — and Eyes Closed gets that exactly right. It’s music for quiet moments and night drives, but it still carries enough glamour to fill an arena.

How the Collaboration Happened

Released on October 10, 2025, Eyes Closed marks the first official collaboration between Jisoo, the BLACKPINK superstar turned solo fashion powerhouse, and ZAYN, the British singer-songwriter who once carried One Direction’s falsetto into moody R&B territory.

The pairing felt both unexpected and inevitable. Jisoo’s delicate clarity and ZAYN’s textured croon meet in a place where East meets West, pop meets soul — and the result feels effortless. The single arrived with no drama, just quiet confidence and immediate virality.

Behind the scenes, a global team made it happen: Alex Hope, The Monsters & Strangerz, Amanda “Kiddo” Ibanez, Mikky Ekko, and Isaiah Tejada — producers and songwriters known for crafting emotional, high-polish hits. Their fingerprints are all over Eyes Closed, but the soul of the song is unmistakably Jisoo and ZAYN’s.

Soundtrack of the Subconscious

Musically, Eyes Closed floats between pop and R&B — a minimalist arrangement built on synth haze, soft bass, and restraint. The track opens like a memory — Jisoo whispering in near-silence — before ZAYN’s voice slides in like smoke. The two trade verses and harmonies in a dance of distance and desire.

The lyrics capture that bittersweet ache of remembering someone you’re trying to forget — closing your eyes not for peace, but to feel them again. It’s tender, cinematic, and quietly devastating. The kind of song that doesn’t scream to be heard — it lingers.

Charting a Global Orbit

Within days, Eyes Closed hit #1 on iTunes in the Philippines, and quickly climbed into the Top 3 in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Spotify’s global pop playlists picked it up within 48 hours, and the YouTube views passed eight figures before the weekend ended.

The numbers matter less than what they represent: a true cross-market moment. Gen Z fans shared the song for its aesthetics and emotional mood; Millennials connected with its melodic storytelling. It’s the rare pop track that speaks both languages fluently.

Fashion as a Conversation

The music video turns the duet into a visual poem — two celestial figures adrift in a dreamspace of mirrors, planets, and velvet shadows. The styling alone could fill a lookbook.

Jisoo appears in sculptural satin and cosmic-toned couture — an elegant nod to her Dior lineage. Her look says otherworldly, yet deeply human.

ZAYN, meanwhile, channels quiet luxury: muted neutrals, soft tailoring, and textural contrasts — silk under leather( read more about leather jacket here), wool against suede. His fashion statement is vulnerability wrapped in precision.

Together, they’re a study in opposites — light versus texture, structure versus ease. For fashion enthusiasts, it’s a lesson in how modern pop style is about emotion, not excess.

• Choose texture over print.

• Let one statement piece do the talking.

• Use tone-on-tone layering for cinematic subtlety.

• And never underestimate the story told by good tailoring and a clean silhouette.

Why It Resonates with Two Generations

For Gen Z, Eyes Closed fits perfectly into the emotional universe of today’s pop: introspective, aesthetically minimal, born to live on playlists titled “late night thoughts.”

For Millennials, it’s a return to something they’ve missed — a love song with emotional craftsmanship. The kind of duet that lets two distinct voices breathe instead of battling for the spotlight. It feels both nostalgic and future-facing, like rediscovering your favorite genre in a new language.

Eyes Closed isn’t just another collaboration — it’s a cultural handshake between eras. Jisoo and ZAYN have built a sonic bridge where generations meet somewhere between memory and modernity.

Sidebar: A Millennial’s Guide to Understanding K-Pop Today( more from Koreaboo)

If Eyes Closed is your entry point into K-Pop, here’s what sets it apart:

• Visuals are storytelling. Every video is treated like cinema, blending fashion, narrative, and choreography.

• Production is borderless. Western songwriters and Korean producers collaborate seamlessly, making K-Pop one of the most global music industries today.

• Artists are full-spectrum performers. Vocals, visuals, brand identity — all parts of one artistic package.

• Fan culture is active, not passive. Global fandoms drive streaming, marketing, and even chart success.

What Eyes Closed shows is how that philosophy now extends to global collaborations: the K-Pop ethos meeting Western introspection, creating something that feels truly universal.

The Final Word

In 2025’s crowded pop landscape, Eyes Closed stands out not by being louder — but by being beautifully quiet. It’s a song that invites you to feel, to remember, and maybe to fall in love with pop music all over again.

Whether you’re discovering K-Pop for the first time or returning to the genre you grew up with, Jisoo and ZAYN’s duet proves one thing: pop still knows how to look you straight in the soul — even when your eyes are closed.