How's the song?
After much stress and indecision, I have decided to write about BAP's new song. I really wanted to do it last week but I ended up choosing Xia. I like to write about what came out in the week that my posts are written so I probably should be writing about the new B2ST or f(x) song to keep with that goal, but to be perfectly honest, I'm not in love with the new f(x) song, and I don't know a lot about B2ST. Then on Monday, BEG came out with their new song and I was ready to erase everything that I had written and write about them, and I was also unimpressed. What the heck K-pop?
I feel like a lot of the comebacks this year have been a little lack luster and BAP has been continuously hitting balls out of the park. That is not to say that I haven't found anything that I have liked this year, but I feel that a lot of these groups who have come back after a long absence aren't coming back with so much a bang as a.......pop? Like a firework that you expect to be amazing, but after it is done you say, that was it?
This song is really strong from start to finish though and I feel like I could listen to it forever. It is just so upbeat and it makes you want to go do something that would allow to answer any question with "because we hurricane" like how "we naughty, naughty" is a legitimate answer to anything.
The only thing that I am not totally in love with is the bridge at about the 2:30 mark. It does give us the chance to see Zelo and Jongup to dance like the beasts that they are, but I feel like I was given musical whiplash from the sudden change. I have gotten used to it and I don't find it as jarring anymore, but I still don't completely love it.
How's the video?
The fact that BAP is utilizing the areas that they are in is a really good idea. It shows that they are interested in their global audience and it is always more exciting to see these idol groups interacting - and doing it well - with the outside world. Sure BAP isn't hanging out with any foreigners, but they are in these foreign areas.
While most of this video is spent on the strip and in a party bus, they also go to the desert which I thought was a cool idea. They are using all of the area that they are in instead of just the area that you expect them to use. It is also visually pleasing going from the assault on the senses strip and outfits to the barren desert and these black and white outfits.
To continue talking about the outfits in the areas there are in, the outfits are very complimentary to the sets. They have the gold outfits in front of the lit areas, the suits in the lounge room, and a more relaxed look in the party bus and while they are walking around. This is kind of the same thing that they did the in the "Coffee Shop" video with the coordinating outfits and the fell of the area. I know that all videos are like this, but I just feel like BAP is doing a really good job with it recently.
My last note I want to make is that these boys look happy. It seems like they are always working and bouncing from comeback to comeback, but in these videos you can tell they are doing what they want to do. It is always nice to be able to see that an artist is enjoying what they do because when people like what they do, they produce a better product.
How's the styling?
How wonderful do these boys look in their suits? Putting a guy in a suit may be one of the sexiest things ever. EVER!
Anyways, why does Zelo's hair look like that? It's like someone sheared a small sheep and then glued the wool to his head.
He is also wearing an outfit that a disturbed preschooler learning his alphabet would wear. There is just so much happening I don't know what to do.
Continuing along with the trend of questionable hair, I wasn't sure how I felt about Himchan's middle part at first. His teaser photo made me cringe and I was really hopping that it wouldn't be the same in the video, but it was. When he starting to sing though, I didn't mind it so much. What are these Jedi mind tricks you're playing on me Himchan?
Last week I mentioned that there has been a trend in music video sets with the pastel colored room, there has also been an accessory that has been popping up in male music videos recently and it is this hand bone bracelet/ring combo. In this video, Daehyun is the one who is wearing it.
Other groups who have used it are BTS's Jung Gook in "No More Dream" and Infinte's L in "Destiny". There is also a pre-debut group called M.Pire - just what we need, another weird name - and one of the members is wearing one in the teaser.
Is the dance super amazing?
The only dancing part is during the bridge at the end and it is awesome. You really get to see how talented Zelo and Jungup are at this part. I don't think that pictures can fully capture how talented these boys are with everything that they do, so you should just go and watch it.
Which member owned it?
This was definitely Daehyun's song. He rocked "Coffee Shop" with his sweet vocals and he rocked this song too, but in a different way. I think that I'm falling in love with him. He's just so adorable!
Unfortunately, because of Daehyun's beautiful voice, Himchan felt threatened. He didn't have very much time to become the star since they were filming at the time so he came up with a great idea. He then went to the director and demanded a car and said what might be one of the best Engrish lines of the year, "the loofah's on fire."
Does the English make your ears bleed?
Oh man guys, hold onto your hats because this song is a freaking gold mine of Engrish, and not just the very obvious "the loofah's on fire." I think because of the amount of English in the song and the fact that all the members have quite a few lines I shall put on my teacher hat and give them a grade. I will grade on grammar and pronunciation who will fail and who will pass?
Bang Yong Guk - A BYG would totally pass the class with what he put forward during his parts. They were pronounced well and made grammatical sense. He did say "chyea" though which prevented him from getting a A+.
Jongup- A Jongup also gets an A for his part. He has the least amount of English apart from Himchan, but he says his part flawlessly, but for some reason I just can't bring myself to give him an A+ either. I think that it's because he says "feelin' good tonight" without a subject. Yeah, I'm being picky, this is my classroom!
Youngjae - A- Youngjae would have received a solid A, but there was one part that he sang that really bugged me. He lists some countries in this order: Asia, US, Korea, Euro, South America. With the exception of the word "south" he said everything very well, but it was the syllable count that got me, "Asia" received three syllables and "Korea", while it did get three syllables, it was crushed into two beats. It's a little thing, but every time I hear it I just want to change they lyrics around.
Zelo - B As I mentioned in the Xia post last week I hate the word swag and another word that I hate only slightly less is YOLO and Zelo says that in this song. I had a few students I had this past year liked to say these two words and I told them if I ever saw them in writing, I would dock them points. Zelo, you have been docked points preventing him from getting an A.
Daehyun - B- The reason that Daehyun is getting a lower grade is because he is the leader of the chorus which should be "we're hurricane" or even better "we're a hurricane". Unfortunately all we get is "we hurricane" which I suppose could be passed off as gangster speak, but this is English class, not gangster class.
Himchan - F This boy needs to retake the class. The first line he gets is "I wanna, Baby" and, yes, I know that there is a comma there, but it just makes me think that he wants a little baby. Then there is the grand daddy of all line, you know what I'm talking about.
What else is happening?
TAHITI "Love Sick"
Koyote "Hollywood"
AA "Midnight Taxi" - So, according to comments, one of the members isn't in this video because his image didn't fit with the song. I find that extremely odd, but it's their companies choice. Other than that, I liked the song and video was a giant acid trip, that sounds like a win win to me.
Lee Yu Rim "Call My Name" - debut song, Wow there was a lot of cuteness in this video. It wasn't as cute as Heyne's "Dalla" but it was still pretty cute. She seems to know what her sound is too which is good for a rookie.
Say Yes "It Feels Good" - debut song, Yay for bands! I'm so glad to see that more are coming out. When I heard their song it did remind me a little of CN Blue, but they do have their own sound and I hope they do well because bands are totally underrepresented!
AOA Black "Moya" - I felt like I had been lied to when FT Island started playing, and then I realized that it wasn't FT Island, sad. I wasn't super impressed by the song though, it was okay, but it isn't something that I am going to remember for a long time.
Kim Hyun Joong "Your Story" - This is definitely a softer sound than "Unbreakable" and I really liked it. The video was also very soft and artsy but also very sexy with that woman that was getting
Brown Eyed Girls "Kill Bill" - My first thought after finishing the video was "What the heck was that?" There is too much story and not enough song and the song isn't as bombastic and catchy as their previous songs. I'm kind of sad about this.
T-ara with Davichi "Bikini" - This isn't really a T-ara sounding song, but it is a nice summer song. I also liked that the majority of this video are the girls having fun at the beach. There are definitely some posing, but mostly it's them relaxing.
5Dolls "Soulmate #1" - This song had this great 80s feel to it that made me want to get in a old care a film a driving scene for some teen romance. I also enjoyed all the mod outfits in the video and the switching from black and white to color.
QUEEN B'Z "Bad" - debut song, I really liked this song. Their vocals are unique because they all seem to have lower voices and it wasn't super cute and while it was sexy, it was powerful. The editor was a little heavy with the effects, but it kind of works for the feel of the video
Kang Seung Yoon "Wild and Young" - debut song, I'm totally in love with this right now. Kang has this cool rocker vibe and the bridge kind of reminds me of Cold Play, so I hope that this guy stays around.
Kim Greem "Just the two of Us" - This was sexy lounge music to accompany her sexy photo shoot, so it wasn't really for me.
VIXX "You're Impressive" - This song isn't as dark as "Hyde", this is definitely a more summer friendly sound, and it still fits them as a group, even if I don't like it quite as much.
~ Alora
.jpg)
