[Review] 4minute - What's Your Name

Today marks the start of finals week for me, so in spirit, we’re gonna have to review some recent things that make me upset or bother me. Let’s get into it. They’ll be a little short and sloppy, but in reality it reflects ultimately on how I feel about the song(s).

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Vocals: 5 / 10

4minute is considered a mediocre group in terms of vocals, but only because Gayoon and Jiyoon are so underrated and underappreciated in their music. Gayoon (had) a unique sound with incredible power and high notes while Jiyoon brings sustainability and can also reach high. That said, everyone else is average, but this song and setup didn’t do anyone justice. I’d say the chorus was the “best” part, but even then it’s just repetitive and sounds a bit awkward. Additionally, no one in 4minute is really that great at English (even though Hyuna’s antics with G.NA were pretty hilarious) so “What’s your name” tends to sound like “Watch your name”, which is, for a lack of a better word, bad. I chose not to add anything rap related because Hyuna is terrible at it.

Appearance: 8 / 10

Gayoon is easily the best looking for this release. Out of the teasers, the only one with any mesmerizing qualities was hers. The hair is absolutely fabulous. Jiyoon really needs to grow her hair back out. I think it would fit this concept more, and make her look more badass and confident all around. That, and she looks too much like Sohyun and if not for her standout voice I probably couldn’t differentiate the two. Hyuna and Jihyun are worth a mention I guess, but not anything good.

Dance: 6 / 10

There was a dance to this song? Oh yeah I guess you can call all the hip movement and whatever else there was choreography. 4minute has never really been a dance heavy group; the only dances I really recognize are Hyuna’s “Change” (her best solo work-ish) and “Hot Issue” (thanks Jihyo). I really tried to watch this video as least as possible (you’ll see why come MV section) but even through a few looks, nothing ever stood out of the dance to me. I don’t tend to mark dances lower than 5, unless they’re really really really bad or laughable but hey it saves 4minute here.

Music Video: 5 / 10

I’ll admit that I didn’t notice the scenery similarity to “I Got A Boy” until I read comments about it, but even then that isn’t what upsets me about the music video. You guessed it, it’s the zombies. Pray tell, what was the point of the zombie apocalypse intermission? I have many gripes about this issue. It seems like just a completely random copout to save some box dancing time and some extra solo shots. There was no real contribution to the plot and in fact took away from that: flirting turns to fleeing. Then there’s the issue of what the hell were they doing after the zombie apocalypse was announced? They “escaped” into more zombies and eventually just come to terms with it and…start dancing with the zombies. I didn’t see any visual evidence of the girls having turned into zombies so I’m still lost (or blind, maybe both). I will give the girls props for being active at the beginning, hanging out with a bunch of men and flirting around. But that’s the best I can say.

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Overall: 58 / 100

When you look at this group at a glance, the girls seem really lackluster. Vocal talent is hidden amongst the group, line distribution is horrific, choreographies aren’t that interesting and faux rapping leaves much to be desired. Sometimes I think if it wasn’t for Hyuna’s solo endeavors (and their agency) they’d just become a nobody, and I find that a huge shame with the incredible vocal talent of 2YOON and the quirky personalities the group has. If they could bring back just one release that went along the sounds of “I My Me Mine”, I’d be content and then probably stop following, since release after release I’ve been consistently disappointed by Cube.