August wraps up with a pretty hefty edition of The Late Report. Let's check out what the last month had it store for us. Spoiler alert: there's actually some interesting stuff to go over so that's exciting. From serious to memes, good music to bad, variety is the spice of life.
JYP & Sunmi - When We Disco
And you know I'll start with memes! Twice? Itzy? Nah JYP is the comeback of the month because he's still got the moves even when he's almost 50 years old. Sunmi is of course spectacular in both voice and visual, and it's funny how she got to collab with him after leaving the label. The other funny aspect is the idea that these two put on a very simple choreography display for us after Red Velvet's tutting broke everyone's arms. How thoughtful of the legend.
Lee Hyori Assembles The (Female) Avengers
Holy shit you thought SuperM was a hype ass group? This quartet has it all. Lee Hyori, Uhm Junghwa, Jessi, and Hwasa. That is maximum bad bitch energy right there. That is combined decades of experience, talent, and wisdom all working together. And I expect something magical from this squad. My favorite comment was the in the r/kpop thread where someone said "Lesbians. It is our time." But yeah man I'm really interested in seeing what these four can bring to the table together.
Taemin - 2 Kids
Never have I pretended to know anything about choreography and that isn't changing anytime soon. Especially in my post-dance crew years. Anyway Taemin continues to produce art. That's all I really have to say. Watch the man work.
I will always give credit to JYP because he doesn’t just interact with his stars through writing and composing music, he’ll also perform, too. He, along with Wooyoung and Suzy create a soothing trio of soft vocals, furthered by the excellent strings / piano instrumental. While a little on the higher side for JYP, he does a good job in transitions between the verses and chorus. I’ve not been too much a fan of Wooyoung’s voice but he definitely does well in this supportive role, and Suzy’s chorus and short adlibs are both lively and lovely. Suzy’s English is also solid, thankfully, since there is of course a handful of English. Excellent work.
Appearance: 8 / 10
At a glance, everything falls into place. Nobody is too wacky, or stands out, following the setting and theme. I wasn’t really a fan of Wooyoung’s bright blonde, but overall the cut doesn’t look bad on him. Coupled with the athletic wear, he looks just like a typical high school / university student. Suzy is of course perfect. I actually thought her face looked a little chubby, which is something I like. Being too skinny freaks me out. Goodness, Taecyeon, please go back to short hair. Taecyeon’s part of that illustrious group of male visuals who should never have long hair: Siwon, T.O.P, Yunho to name a few others. JYP and Chansung earn a bonus point I guess?
Rap: 7 / 10
I’ve seen better, and I’ve certainly seen worse out of Taecyeon. While the vocals were soft and complimentary, Taecyeon’s low harsh voice cuts through the bridge with his lines. Using him to open and close the song with the same line was also a solid touch. But oh my, using “plastic” to rhyme with “classic” has got to earn a place on the list of “Worst Engrish” ever, alongside “Sexy, free, and single I’m ready too, bingo.”
Music Video: 10 / 10
Let me first note for the people who criticized the acting in the MV, that I did not find the acting bad at all. And truth be told, the fact there is actual acting in a music video is already leaps and bounds ahead of the current metagame of MV’s. The last time I remembered relevant acting in music videos was JYJ’s “In Heaven” (Song Jihyo <3). The “Romeo and Juliet” basic plot was certainly well executed, and there were actually many nice touches that I did not notice until a few more watches. The party in which Wooyoung and Suzy meet for the first time is the celebration of the engagement between Suzy and Chansung. The connections between all the characters. Taecyeon decides early, bringing Suzy the running shoes for her to GTFO. The quality of the story being memorable for the characters to watch it together again and again. It’s a lovely music video.
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Overall: 85 / 100
I didn’t want to make the title “JYP, Taecyeon, Wooyoung, Suzy” since that’d be too lengthy, but in the end it’s a solid collaboration effort for Reebok and puts a certain SM collab work to shame. The vocals are standout and the story, while overused, is more than a reason in itself for such a nice music video. Taecyeon’s rap is okay, I guess they had to have him rap, otherwise what else would he do? Let’s not use the word “plastic” ever again though.
