Sadly, they fell short of that, and quite short if I'm to be honest. The first impressions I get from "Shake It" is that the song is very underwhelming. It's not as exciting as "Touch My Body," nor is it as smooth as "I Swear." The song is slow, and the vocals aren't really that exciting. Now, Hyorin is obviously still really good, and Soyu is still climbing to the top of the girl group vocalist ladder, but from the "nanana" chorus / prechorus and the constant spamming of "shake it," the song leaves much to be desired.
Bora's rap too, is underwhelming. While it does match pace with the song, it's fairly dull and not very impressive in any way, shape, or form. Now in terms of title tracks, Bora has always been average. Not terrible, not amazing. I suppose she retains her form and keeps the theme here, but I'd like to see some more talented work from her, like her earlier participation in "Feedback" with some unpretty rapstars (sorry).
My biggest criticism of "Shake It" is that this release just sounds like a "Touch My Body Part 2" or a "Touch My Body" addendum. I found many sections of the song that could have easily transitioned into "Touch My Body." If I was in any way capable with technical programs I'd make a remix / selected clips to prove my point. But even the hooks of "touch my body" and "nanana" could seamlessly flow into each other and you'd never guess they were different songs. We praise groups for straying from their comfort zones and this is literally the exact opposite of that.
This aspect of following in the literal footsteps of "Touch My Body" is also emanated in the music video. Between the cameos, cartoon text bubbles and effects, the only thing they needed to add to really cement the similarities was if they brought back the colourful shorts. You know which ones I'm talking about. The MV for "Shake It" features a bunch of cameos or what I presume to be cameos of other idols or actors, I'm not really sure (and I don't really care to look them up). I know Kang Kyunsung also showed up in BESTie's latest video and he reprises more or less the same role here as in "Excuse Me." There's a token white dude and there really isn't a plot to this MV. It's some general fun shenanigans along with many many gratuitous shots of Sistar fanservice.
The choreography also seems particularly sloppy. I could've sworn I've seen most of these moves before. Not including any butt-shaking of course, we all know that's been overused to death but the title of the song is literally "Shake It." Complaining about the amount of butt in a song with that name is too harsh. The most suspect moves are the ones right after Soyu's "make it louder" (1:18) and after Bora's opening rap sequence (1:30).
To finish things off, a quick dissertation on the visuals. Pigtails was never supposed to be a thing, unless you're 5. So Bora needs to stop that. The stylists weren't kind to Dasom either, as the short cut frames her face awkwardly. She has looked better, ha. Finally, Soyu and Hyorin are as usual the leading girl group bodies. I'm not sure if I've said this before but I'm glad Hyorin rocks the darker complexion. She looks really good, especially combined with jet black hair.
As stated earlier, the most disappointing quality about "Shake It" is that Sistar could've released this song after "Touch My Body" (instead of "I Swear") and this wouldn't have changed anything. It's literally "Touch My Body Part 2." But the fact that this is a summer release that nearly coincides everything with their last summer single is just a letdown. Here's to a release later in the year that will redeem Sistar because I'm certainly not shaking happily to "Shake It."
[ Overall: 77 / 100 ]
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