Yay! B1A4 is back! B1A4 is definitely in my top five favorite male K-pop groups and I don't know if I have ever been disappointed with their music since I really got into them rather than being a casual listener.
"Sweet Girl" definitely fits into the B1A4 comeback pattern of fun song/adult song/fun song. The way that this song does deviate a little from their usual serious song comebacks is that the video isn't as wacky as some of their other ones, but instead of being grey and dramatic like "Lonely" and "Baby I'm Sorry" it still has that carefree cute B1A4 feeling that so many people expect from them.
Something really cool happened about a week ago! I got to write a movie review for the Korean pop culture website Soompi! This is the part of the post where you get to ooo and ahh. Go ahead, I'll give you a minute.
How this came about is at KCON last August, Becca, Autumn, and I went to the blogging/vlogging/social media panel. After the panel Autumn went up and spoke to the representative from Soompi and gave her one of the cards that she made for us.
Fast forward a few months and they sent us - or me rather since I have been abandoned - to let us know that they looked at the blog and we were not forgotten. A few more months later I was asked to review the movie Miss Granny that was going to be shown in some US theaters.
And there you have it, the story of how I am now slightly cooler than I was a week ago. So here's the review!
As people age, they tend to look back on their younger years with
more fondness, thinking about what might have been and showing pride at
what they have been able to accomplish. Getting older also brings the
fear that as we age, we become a burden to those around us. This is
exactly what 74 year old Oh Mal Soon (Na Moon Hee) worries about in the movie “Miss Granny.”
When her daughter-in-law Ae Ja becomes sick, the family decides to
send Mal Soon to a nursing home so Ae Ja can recover without the stress
she feels from her mother-in-law. Feeling dejected, Mal Soon stumbles
upon the Forever Young Portrait Studio. Little does she realize, when
she exits the studio she really has become younger, by about 50 years!
After her panic attack has subsided – and really, can anyone blame
her? – she does what any self respecting woman would do, go on a
shopping spree! With her new young body, she can’t go around with
ahjumma hair and ill-fitting clothes; it’s makeover time! She also
changes her name to Oh Doo Ri (Shim Eun Kyung), after Audrey Hepburn.
Even though Mal Soon may have the body of a 20 year old, she still
acts like a 74 year old, calling grown men “lad”, patting people on the
bum, and telling a woman on the subway that her baby has diarrhea
because she has watery breast milk. I’m sure you can imagine how well
that went over. She also spends time at the café that she used to work
at, which causes some confusion as to why there is a young woman in a
café for seniors.
While there, Doo Ri gets onstage and begins to sing. As she is
singing, she is noticed by a music station producer named Han Seung Woo (Lee Jin Wook) who falls in love with both her voice and her odd charm. She also manages to catch the attention of her grandson Ji Ha (B1A4‘s Jinyoung). Awkward.
For all the BANA’s out there, this is Jinyoung’s acting debut and while
he didn’t knock my socks off, it was certainly better than his confusing
display of emotions in the “Baby I’m Sorry” music
video. I was also a little (a lot) put off by the heavy metal hair and
makeup he was rocking at the beginning of the movie. He is far too
pretty to be pretending he is a member of KISS.
After hearing Doo Ri sing, Ji Ha asks her to be the new vocalist in
his band and Seung Woo makes it his mission to find the mysterious girl
that sang so well in the café. He finally finds her again on the subway
as she speaks very loudly about the different kinds of breast milk and
its effects on baby’s poo.
When they get off the train, instead of going up and talking to her
like a normal person, he stalks her as she walks home. All is going well
until she disappears after turning a corner. He didn’t actually lose
her though, she was fully aware that she was being followed.
So, being a strong independent woman, she threatened him with the most dangerous thing that she was carrying: a fish.
As the story progresses Doo Ri’s secret is discovered by her neighbor, and the man who loves her, Mr. Park (Park In Hwan).
They also are able to find a way that might reverse what has happened
to her, but when Mr. Park asks if she wants to return back, she doesn’t
have an answer. She must decide between the new life she is creating and
the people that she loves as Doo Ri or her old life and family as Mal
Soon.
While I wasn’t terribly surprised with anything that happened in the
story and the ending had a few holes, it was really enjoyable. It was
fun to watch an old woman get a second chance at youth and learn that
family is the most important thing that we have.
Before talking about just this song, I want to say how much I enjoy this whole album. It's really cohesive and the fact that Jinyoung, CNU, and Baro basically wrote/arranged/composed everything makes it even cooler.
If I was to categorize B1A4's songs, this one would match up with "Tried to Walk". It's not that the songs sound like each other or anything so much as the feel that you get from them. Both songs are mid tempo and just make you feel good.
Something that I tried to pay more attention to in this song is Baro parts. The reason is that I think I have been taking him for granted. I know that he is talented but I've never thought of him as this really amazing rapper and that is probably because he is in B1A4. Maybe someone knows what I mean by that because that's the only way I can think to describe it. I know that he can rap, but when thinking about rappers, my mind doesn't immediately jump to him.
But recently SBS had their Gayo Dejun and Baro was part of this giant thing with MFBTY, Bang Yong Guk, Zico, Rap Monster, and Eun Ji Won and I was watching thinking, "Princess Squirrel, why have I never seen this side of you before?" I have learned my lesson.
How's the video?
I am Zuul. I am the Gate Keeper. Are you the Key Master?
Jinyoung and his girlfriend should probably get their house checked out, that gravity problem they seem to be having could be dangerous.
How's the styling?
Whenever I see face shots of Jinyoung, I always think, "and this is why you played Gong Gil in The King and the Clown." That boy is a little too pretty.
With the exception of Taeyang, CNU probably has some of the most static hair in all of K-pop. The most drastic transformation that he ever had was for "Baby I'm Sorry" with the shaved side, but his hair never really changes except for slight length and color variations.
I wonder if they will ever chop his hair off, but I feel like the fandom might explode if that happens. I'm pretty sure that his hair is magic.
He also needs the hair because he is secretly a rock star. Get it CNU. Get it.
Is the dance super amazing?
B1A4 got their Motownon in this video what with their 1-2-steping and pointing.
Even though really intense dances an acrobatics are cool, it is nice to see a group that doesn't do those things. It makes them different and being different is important when you are trying to gain people's attention.
Which member owned it?
Little maknae Gongchanis growing up *wipes tear*. With the maknaes of groups, I feel like one day they are this cute little thing and then all of a sudden they're grown up and turning women everywhere into pedonoonas. Not that Gongchan isn't still adorable, but he is maturing.
Did the English make you ears bleed?
Yes and no. The important parts of the song sound good. "Lonely" and the "lalala" parts sound good and they use a whole sentence "Baby, I just wanna spend some time with you" and it is all good. It's actually amazing considering this is B1A4 we're talking about.
It's all the little things in the song that are weird. Sandeul says "Every day, every say" which doesn't make any sense. Gongchan also has some English which is bolded "My memories scatter like smoke, you're right girl, it hurts a lot, sick my heart." You're getting there B1A4, keep working.
What's happening? I have no idea! The first time I watched this video I was legitimately scared because I had never watched a B1A4 video before. I knew that they were a little weird, but I did not realize the extent of it until I saw this video. Wow.
So the story seems to be that B1A4 is dating Barbie. The rest of the 'real' story is going to be thrown out the window now because it's "Story Time With Alora"!
Barbie has been kidnapped by Ken and is suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. It is up to B1A4 to save their creepy girlfriend.
The boys find Ken's secret lair and are somehow able to set up spy cams so that they can see inside.
Ken, realizing what is going on, boards up the doors so that B1A4 have no hope of getting in. Sandeul does appear to have a flame thrower though, so that house must be made out of some tough stuff.
The boys are eventually able to break in and Baro knocks Ken's head off with a pillow.
CNU is the first to get to Barbie and because she is not that bright, he knows that she will follow him anywhere.
The other boys realize what is happening and they all turn on each other and Barbie looks on in horror as her saviors massacre each other with pillows and pink feathers.
The End
I have noticed that all my stories are very gruesome. Oh well.
How's the song?
This song won B1A4 their first music show win! Yay!
The leader of the group Jin Young wrote this song which is very cool. I like it when idols get to contribute to the artistic process in some way. I think that we are seeing that a lot more recently too with various groups writing, composing, and choreographing their own songs and videos.
This song also goes along with the recent trend of Frankenstein-ing songs. There are a lot of different sounds in this song and at first it threw me off, especially that dissonant sounding rappish part that Baro and CNU do. It does seem to come together quite well in the end though. It is alive!
Is the dance super amazing?
If by amazing you mean cute, then yes, it was super amazing. Something that I have noticed in the short time that I have been listening to B1A4 is that they are more of a vocal group than a dance group. They go for larger and cuter movements rather than the crazy things that you might see 2PM or SHINee do.
This fits their style though and it would be weird for them to all of a sudden become b-boys or something. I think the world would explode if that happened.
Baro's derping in the background
Which member owned it?
This song was pretty evenly divided. Well, maybe that's not true. The music video face time was evenly divided, but Gongchan didn't seem to do much in the song. Since there is no one to talk about, I'm going to talk about my favorite person!
I have decided that my favorite person is CNU, even if his name is super weird. Something that I have noticed from the few things that I have watched with them is that CNU seems to be one of the quieter members. He and Baro (who is a close second) are on completely different sides of the spectrum. I just think that he's super cute and stuff. Is all.
How's the styling?
There were so many outfits in this video it was ridiculous.
Please notice the dead Ken behind the couch
Baro gets one random outfit of his own
There were six outfits in this video, seven if you are Baro. They had different hair and head pieces in each one too. I want to know how long these boys were in hair and make up. The majority of shooting was probably them getting done up for their next cut. Then there were also all the head shots of them when they are in those weird boxes. Madness!!
Does the English make your ears bleed?
There are a few pieces of English in this song. There are singular words like 'everyday' 'baby girl' and 'alright'. It is when they use full sentences that they get into trouble. They are a followed:
Falling in love - Perfect
Wassup, wassup, tell me, tell me wassup - This is acceptable
You! Baby, I want you beautiful love - It's a little awkward and it would be better if the 'love' wasn't there or if it was "your beautiful love"
(Parenthesis are Korean) Every time I think about you, every day (I think about you) Every time I think about you (again today) - Every time what? The 'every day' part is okay but the other confuses me. Are they talking like actual time on a clock or is it an unfinished thought?
All that being said, the English isn't terrible but it could be better. I think that it would be good if B1A4 stuck with smaller phrases for the time being. This is a far cry from "Beautiful Target" though so they are moving in the right direction.
Should you buy it?
Yes of course you should! It's fun and I think that B1A4 is one of those underrated idol groups. They get overshadowed by all those other big groups, so go and support them!
What else is happening?
EXO is having a comeback! Freaking finally! Their album comes out on June 3
MBLAQ is having a comeback in June!
Shinhwa This Love - There is some serious voguing happening in this video
VIXX Hyde - This song is pretty good, but I wish the sound was a little darker
