[Review] AOA - Like A Cat

AOA is having a busy year, From "Miniskirt" to "Short Hair," they've been flaunting their skills and their faces, and early teasers for "Like A Cat" showed no deviations from this. The girls were gonna be sexy, the music would probably be catchy, and the choreography would have butts at some point or another.

I'll be very forward and say that this is the weakest release from AOA this year by far. Don't get me wrong, this is a good song, and the hook is really powerful. Choa is fantastic and makes the rest of her group look bad, but there is a very loud and distracting instrumental. It's not as supportive as the instrumental in "Miniskirt" and just not as good as the one in "Short Hair." Quite frankly, it's jarring when compared to the vocals and they simply don't mesh well. On the other hand, there is too much presence from Jimin in this song, and that's not good. Her nasally voice pretty much takes control of the whole song from the beginning, and didn't sit well with me throughout. The English / rap segments themselves are okay but I just can't stand her voice. Sorry, Jimin. Better luck next time?

The choreography for "Like A Cat" was the most tame, which actually works for them. There's plenty of cat-like gestures and all that, and even the butt-shaking for the hook isn't as in-your-face as previous songs. Were there any formation changes, though? I remember once during the rap break but none elsewhere. Given song titles alone I would have imagined "Short Hair" to have had the most calm choreography but I suppose I can't say I'm not pleased with it.

Another AOA MV with substance, how pleasant. Even if this only reminds me of Secret's "Poison" MV, The ladies are super sneaky thieves that use teamwork and blatantly random techniques to acquire the diamond. Sure, there is plenty of questionable shenanigans going on, but really, it's a video with actual plot and substance, I can overlook the "mistakes."

In the end, this song would have been completely average, but Jimin's mosquito voice dominance is too much and the instrumental does hurt more than it does help. On the flipside, a good hook plus an MV that is actually an MV and not boxes and fanservice brings some points back. Still, this song has a long ways to go before catching up to "Miniskirt."

[ Overall: 70 / 100 ]