EXO Growl

How's the song? 

Oh. My. Gosh. Thank you so much for this SM. You have been having a rough year, in my opinion, music wise. "I Got a Boy" was okay, but not spectacular, and I was disappointed with both "Wolf" and "Rum Pum Pum Pum" as well. The only thing I liked was Super Junior M's "Break Down", but I'm not counting that because it's in Mandarin and the two album's that SHINee put out. Then you released the drama version of "Wolf" after over a month of waiting and that was one of the biggest let downs of the year, and I'm not even being over dramatic here. Then this song came out and I was ready to, once again, cry at an SM song, but instead I am sitting here wondering why I can't buy it on iTunes yet. 

As soon as the song started and there wasn't any howling or strange tree formations, I had hope that this would be a better song and I was right. The beat was awesome and as soon as we hit the chorus I knew that this was in the running for one of my favorite songs to come out in the second half of the year. I know that it's just barely August, but I don't care, I love this song.

Now that EXO has put out their repackage, doesn't that mean that SM is done for the year? That sounds like a stupid question because SM is a freaking machine when it comes to pumping out product, but all of their big names have put out songs in the last year and SM ignores their smaller names without shame, so what is left for them to do? I'm sure they'll figure out something. Maybe they can do something Super Junior T related since Heechul is coming back from the army this month. Make this happen!!!  

How's the video? 

This video was shot on one continuous shot which is a really cool style and it showcases EXO's talents more. I may be wrong, but I think the last time SM did something like this it was for Super Junior's "It's You" drama version video. That was a really cool video, but it was all just SuJu walking around and looking angsty, while this is a dance video.

SM also handled all twelve boys in a good way when it came to shooting them. Instead of having all twelve of them going all the time, we got groups of six until about the two minute mark. I think that was smart because it gave the boys a split second to rest while the others were dancing. It also gave SM more chances to use their 360 degree camera which we all know they are in love with.  

As I was watching the video, I noticed something that I thought was quite impressive. At the 2:15 mark, when all the boys are dancing together, Kai loses his hat when he stands up. He does a smooth dip and spin though and picks the hat up and continues with the dance. This is made even cooler by the fact that this all happened when he was singing his part. I think that seeing a performer reacting to mishaps on stage is really cool if it's done well. Sometimes unexpected things happen and it takes a talented person to fix them in a way that looks like it was suppose to happen.

After seeing Kai's hat incident, I wanted to see if there were any other hat related accidents, and there were. At at the 44 second mark, Tao takes his hat off and on, but his tie gets caught so he has to fix it. Unfortunately this happens during a dark time, so no picture.

This next part isn't a mistake, but it confused me because at the 1:27 mark, Suho has the white hat, but the next time you see him, it has disappeared. I finally realized, while off camera, he tossed it aside. Poor white hat, what did it ever do to you?

 
The only problem that I have with this video is that there are some unnecessary sound effects when the boys do things. These sounds are cool - I guess - but they don't add anything to video, I would even go as far as to say they they detract from the quality of the song.

How's the styling? 

The way that EXO is styled is up there among my favorite ways to style a group. They are all wearing variations on the same outfit so it is unified, but also with a touch of individuality.

Out of all the boys, my favorite version of this outfit is worn by D.O. I like that he is all buttoned up and the bias tape detailing that he has on the jacket. He is also rocking that bow tie. Another member is also wearing a bow tie, but it is small and weird looking.

If D.O. gets the award for best dressed then Suho gets the award for worst dressed. His clothes are just so weird. They are in the same style as all the other members, but he is wearing shorts and he has these strange cuffs and waistband. There is also an arm band and his shirt has these strange gold letters on it. It just doesn't make any sense.

 
Was the dance super amazing?  

The video is a dance video, so yes, the dance is super amazing, or else this video would be a huge waste of time. It is even more impressive because they did it all in one take. Sure, this happens all the time in live performances, but it is cool so see dances as one continuous thing and not all the cuts that are usually in music videos.

My favorite move that they do is during the chorus which makes me wonder if I like the move because of the chorus or visa versa.

Something that happens through almost the whole video is the exchanging of hats. Out of the four, only two switch owners, but it was a fun touch to a very stark video.

 Which member owned it?  

This video was all a very collective effort I feel, so no one really stood out to me. I have somehow managed to figure out who all the members are though, It's taken me a year, but after writing this, I've filled in the holes. That is not to say that I don't have any favorite members though. I kind of like Xiumin because he's adorable and Tao because he has a different look from a lot of other idols.

Xiumin

Tao

  
Did the English make you ears bleed?

There is hardly any English in this video, and that might be a good thing since it is an SM song. I've noticed that SHINee and Super Junior seem to have the most English in their songs and I think that is because there aren't any English as a first language people in those groups, not counting Henry. SM can throw as much English as they want at them because there is no one to refute what they say.


The few English things they do say though are perfect, good job EXO. The only thing I can say is that the song starts out with a "Sexy. So sexy" which makes me roll my eyes a little, but whatever.

What else is happening? 

When you read this, I'll be in Oahu, so anything that happens after Sunday isn't on here. Have a good week!

MIB "Men in Black" - I may or may not have bought this song about two seconds after I heard it.

24K "U R So Cute" - And so is this video. I was hoping for a more shocking reveal a la Airplane's "You're So Pretty" but I liked the song and the cutey boy concept that it put forth.

Pascol "Like" - The song was cute, but the video skirted the realm of a J-pop video, and not in a good way. I'm not sure what I just watched.

San E "Story of Someone I Know" - This song and video are very clever. They actually compliment each other instead of fight. San E is telling a psychiatrist about "his friend" and there is a definite twist at the end.

Queen.J "Dripping" - I would never have known that this was a debut song, she sounds like a seasoned veteran in the ballad genre.

~ Alora