Guess who's back, back again. SNSD's back, tell a friend. The current #1 girl group is here for more magic. Another comeback, another dual title tracks with "Holiday" and "All Night." How spoiled we can be as fans of Girls' Generation. This is their monumental 10th anniversary since debut, and even though Jessica is gone that doesn't take away from this accomplishment. When younger girl groups say they hope to replicate the success and longevity of SNSD it's not even an overexaggeration. Apparently Taeyeon liked "All Night" more which means in true curse fashion that I'll like "All Night" more but "Holiday" will perform better. Let's see if that holds up.
I don't think it's possible for the Taeyeon / Seohyun combo to get old. We see it all the time in subunit packages and here, too. Comparatively speaking, I don't like how the girls sound in "Holiday" because the range is too high for a lot of members, and it's especially evident during the verses. For this reason I enjoy listening to "All Night" more (to be determined whether or not I'll review that). The chorus escapes the range issues and is perfectly fine, plus the extra line tagged at the end is a nice addition to an otherwise simple chorus. Tiffany salvages the verse with the first half of her non-chorus part but again their voices sound a tad too high for my preference.
Hyoyeon's rap surprised me by both being so early into the song and being good in general. She's mostly been miss with her raps throughout her career and none of them have been too memorable (in a good way at least). Frankly, her rap in "Holiday" isn't memorable either, but serviceable nonetheless. Lastly, there's the bridge. It's weird that a bridge barely ten seconds contributes so much - especially with the backing chants - but I think it does a good job providing the drive into the final chorus. Taeyeon's finisher adds a smooth touch to the equally smooth-sounding piece.
You know the drill. Hopefully by the time this is published there will have been at least one live performance. Maybe I should learn to be more patient. Thankfully the MV helps out by showing plenty of choreography footage. In fact this is a deceptive standard box set video, not much of a surprise coming from their label. Formation-wise there's a lot of emphasis on lines and the whole dancing on the floor part at the end of the song is certainly new to my eyes, and probably theirs as well. Not sure how I feel about the making an X part during the chorus but the rest of the dance is solid. Especially the best part of the dance: I dunno about you but that highlight is definitely from 1:37 in the video to the chorus. That rotation is amazing. With clever camera angles, they change center like four times in quick succession and that shit is flawless. It's extremely visually pleasing for sure. Those handful of seconds carry the rest of the choreography on its back.
As mentioned above, this was the stereotypical box set though it's disguised well. Plenty of scenes with the members being fabulous and having a smile on their face. The set for the first chorus is clever since you have the scenic beach / sunset combo which is quite appropriate given the title. While I just praised that second prechorus for the choreography, the MV exposes the whole filming set which I don't really like. Even if it was intentional, couldn't they have done it elsewhere, much like how EXO's smooth camera transitions go? Still there are some great moments in this video. Yuri's stoic expression while Hyoyeon raps was hilarious and I liked the transition where Seohyun "slips" into that dress Taeyeon picked out for her. Speaking of, it seems like someone will always get the short end of the styling stick and this time it's Seohyun. Not a fan of the bright red or the short cut, neither look too flattering for her (not even going to talk about those pigtails ew). Oh well. On the other hand Hyoyeon's hair is fire and I wish more people would go that style because it's gorgeous. Unlike some other SNSD videos, I think this one enhances the quality of "Holiday" rather than being an obligatory MV.
How you like "Holiday" comes down to a matter of perspective. If you're here for a legendary release by a legendary group, this may not be your cup of tea. If you're here for something more of a throwback to their younger years then you'll definitely enjoy what this song has to offer. Fun and lively, "Holiday" is consistent with its sound but doesn't go too far out of the box. It's got a great backup from the choreography and music video, and the styling is mostly on point. However I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the biggest fan when I first listened to it, nor does the number seem particularly memorable (song-wise). As someone that's followed SNSD since 2009 / 2010, I think this song did well capturing their earlier years. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to listen to "All Night" some 50+ times since I put "Holiday" on repeat while writing this review.
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