AOA is back after the disappointing "Good Luck," Japanese promotions, and hiding from controversy. We would be treated to double title tracks and contrary to what I normally do, I'm going to review what I think is the worse song (but it's not by much). if I was less lazy, I'd do a double review (I believe the only time this has ever happened was NCT) but we're already so late. Despite not including the song in Girl Group Power Rankings, I've now listened to this song enough times to have concrete opinions about it. Also new banners along with a new structure / setup, sort of!
Let's address the elephant in the room: this chorus is not very good. Or rather, the "baby cuse me cuse me" part. As far as I know, that isn't a real word and this usage is not appreciated. I understand it would sound very clunky to have "excuse me" repeated but it just straight up sounds bad the way it is. AOA's recent trend is to start the song off with a piece of the chorus (dating back to "Heart Attack") so that made me uncomfortable the whole rest of the way.
But let's talk about what's good in "Excuse Me." For starters, Choa is (as always) divine in her role and she sounds great. Hyejeong and company do serviceable work throughout the verses, while Yuna continues to be a good compliment to Choa. She sounds like she's straining more compared to past songs, though. Anyway the real hero of this song is the line distribution. Chanmi and Mina got laughable moments during their last comeback, so it was nice to see Mina grab a part during the bridge. She sounded really good during it, too, so they ought to give her more lines in this range. I'd hesitate to say that this is AOA in their element, because while this song is very much AOA, there's something to be said about the double rap breaks splitting apart the song. Whether this is better or worse than "Good Luck" is up for debate.
Speaking of, I'm glad that after her breakout performance in "I'm Jelly Baby," Chanmi got some substantial form of rap in this comeback. Unfortunately for her, she still had to split parts with Jimin even though the motherfucking top madam got another rap section all to herself during a later break. Neither rap section was very exciting, and is more in line with the clumsy rap in "Good Luck" than the more polished ones from "Miniskirt." I attribute that to having both slow and fast moments for both of Jimin's parts. Chanmi's at least sounded uniform despite being uninspiring overall.
The great thing about delaying a review is that by the time I get around to it there's usually a dance practice video up and about (or live performances but camera quality is so unreliable). And with AOA they always deliver. I'll be using that video as a reference throughout here. AOA's choreographies went from butt-shaking, to acting like a cat, to chest-pointing, to...bouncing around? This opening move during the chorus is so bizarre I can't really put it into words. I guess I'd say it's cute, but is that really what AOA were aiming for with this? Not to mention the beginning of the chorus is made even more weird with everyone else standing off to the sides like statues. If you wanted to get someone's attention, that move is certainly not it. I think. Then there's the part at 1:26. I don't even know. What's most confusing is that the rest of the choreography is the usual "AOA being sexy." The contrast between the two creates an awkward blend that can't decide if it wants to be cutesy or sexy. I've certainly seen better from AOA. But bring on the glorious eye contact versions of the dance practice video. My body is ready.
The MV for "Excuse Me" is probably the most plot-filled video of AOA's in a long time. The other recent videos with plots were "Heart Attack" and "Like A Cat" so this isn't new territory for them. From lacrosse players to thieves, now they take up their mantle as hardworking detectives after a mysterious fedora-wearing man. Much like the story of "Like A Cat," the jobs and successes of each AOA member vary. You have people like Choa who are spying on the target, to whatever the fuck Chanmi is supposed to be doing. Mina is probably the MVP after breaking into and acquiring crucial information that lets Seolhyun track down the fedora man.
Let's point out a few of the "stuff" in this video. At 0:28 we have a classic product placement and fuckup at the same time. The oh-so-subtle "1theK station" is cheeky no matter which channel you viewed the video on, and "18:00PM" is just hilarious. Unless they're gonna tell me that "PM" stands for something else it's terrible how this escaped editing. Seolhyun at 2:28 is another great moment because she almost looks pissed that she has to keep chasing after this dude. Then she takes her jacket off for no reason (besides fanservice) and that angry look is adorable. Ultimately, they needed this guy for...an interview? The usage of binoculars and typewriters throughout the video seems to contradict all the other technology they're using but I can never be sure. Given the usual Kpop MV, I'm glad there was at least something to watch along to other than eye candy. By the way, Choa's growing hair is a little awkward and I'm not digging Hyejeong's particular look. And so, Chanmi and Seolhyun are the best-looking members in this video. #MaknaeProtectionSquad
This song is just alright. It's not amazing, and it's not terrible. The line distribution is really kind and gives the lesser-appreciated members chances they don't normally get (Chanmi, Mina). Choa is great as always and the MV has substance to it. But as far as AOA songs go, "Excuse Me" is lacking where they usually excel: rapping and choreography. Don't get me wrong, "Excuse Me" is extremely catchy. But much like Twice's "Like Ooh-Ah," Sistar's "Shake It," and many others, a catchy song isn't necessarily a great song. At the end of the day, it's a good-enough song with a good-enough music video. Funnily enough, it seems that "Excuse Me" and "Bing Bing" share different weaknesses, even though I'd probably give "Bing Bing" the same score, too.
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