Alright, I seriously tried to like this song. I really did. "Like Ooh-Ahh" is an energetic dance number that fails to captivate outside of the chorus. To begin with, the verses are very jarring. Each member's parts are very short and while a group of this size is technically something new with JYP groups (the previously largest rosters were the original 2PM and GOT7 with 7 members, and girl groups maxed out at 5), we've seen groups like Super Junior, 9MUSES, and EXO manage lines carefully. I'm more concerned with the constant switching between the clear singing and bursts of rap. That's simply not a pleasant combination. Nayeon's opening to Momo's part (0:17) and Tzuyu to Jihyo (0:46) are but prime examples. Seemingly random insertions of rap / chants prevent the song from really falling into place, at least before the chorus. It's like "I Got A Boy" syndrome in a single verse, which is a shame. The chorus is really nice, it has good energy, youthful vocals, and traces of pop rock that remind of the 2008 Younha, which is always a plus. The only "rap" is the "like ooh-ahh" at 1:07 which is perfectly fine given it's the title. In terms of the "actual" rap following the chorus, Dahyun and Chaeyoung seem like the weakest female rappers in JYP but admittedly they had to share a 12 second rap, and even this rap had to cut back and forth every 3 seconds. Like I said, the chorus is good but the failure of the verses and prechorus leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
As for the MV, I'm not sure what to think here, either. I understand Halloween is coming up soon, but what purpose did the multitude of zombies serve? This is like 4minute's "What's Your Name" MV all over again, the zombies are used as props and nothing more. There's no substantial plot, the lyrics are a bit of a mismatch, and the girls don't seem the least bit frightened by the horde. By the end of the video we're treated to at least something. Cute girls can cure the zombie infection, so we just need to turn everyone into fanboys and fangirls of Kpop to stave off the zombie apocalypse. At least the video isn't all head-scratching. Clever throwbacks were added, to miss A's "Bad Good Good Girl" stretching and of course JYP's "Who's Your Mama." Speaking of, there was no JYP whisper, thankfully. God forbid it show up in Twice's next video. The outfits were full of colour and variety, with some even looking like they came out of 2NE1's fancy closet, but say no to Sana's pigtails and whatever Momo was wearing. In terms of visuals, Nayeon and Mina (because there weren't enough Mina's in Kpop already) are the standout, but talking about that makes me uncomfortable given how young they are so we'll stop there.
I wonder if Twice will pursue the Japanese market immediately, since they have 3 Japanese members. Hopefully not with a Japanese version of this song, because they could do better. "Like Ooh-Ahh" had plenty of promise. The vocals are clean and lively, which would have worked if utilized properly going into the strong chorus, but constant scheming from the subvocals just leave me shaking my head. However, I won't give up on this group so early and will be taking a look at the rest of the mini album (eventually, I'm only on "E" in my library rework). Hopefully this was just a bad case of poor title track selection, and to be honest there are worse songs I've included in my iTunes, ha. Twice have some pretty vocals, so JYP (or whoever) should really work with that better. Give Chaeyoung and Dahyun (and nobody else) some actual rap segments to show their abilities and voila! Oh and I realize I failed to mention the dance at all, but I'm already wrapping this up and I've got a Hearthstone ladder to climb. Next time, Twice.
[ Overall: 70 / 100 ]
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