[Review] AOA - Miniskirt

So last year, I dove into a new girl group in Girl’s Day and “Expectation”. This year, I decided I’d try to do the same with another girl group, and I chose AOA. “Miniskirt” was their first title release this year, so let’s check the group out.

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Vocals: 9 / 10

I was pleasantly impressed with the vocals in this song. The group sounds very together, which is what I really like out of the vocals in groups like 9MUSES and Girl’s Day. Choa is gracefully soft, and adds an element of breathiness to the group’s vocals, but she can certainly reach for the high belts at the end of the song. Seems like everyone else is just as good in their support roles though, and can definitely hit high notes as shown in the prechorus. The chorus is catchy, the “Oohhs” after the chorus is well done, and everything just sounds right together.

Appearance: 9 / 10

I’m really drawn to Chanmi, I think she’s adorable and gorgeous at the same time. Hyejeong and Yuna also really up the expectations, and thus far is the “initial 2 hot members I can’t tell apart” pair of the group. It’s been brought up in countless reviews how I enjoy a synergy as far as appearances go, and Jimin awkwardly stands out with her short cut. Could’ve been perfect if otherwise, although the (ever popular) use of contact lenses with different colours has yet to leave that great of an impression on me, especially for a first introduction and especially if not KARA.

Dance: 8 / 10

If you thought KARA liked using butts in their dance, wait until you see this. Butt emphasis is used very often throughout the song, especially during the chorus. There’s many different formations throughout which always shake the visuals up, which is nice. I was also reminded of a bit of 9MUSES and “Gun” with using chairs, though AOA certainly uses them more in their song, and is a little more than a prop for the end choreography. Nothing blatantly bad, so good marks here.

Rap: 2 / 10

I thought Yura’s debut to me was awful… If Hyuna had a permanent cold, I think she would turn into Jimin, and Hyuna can get rather obnoxious / nasally with her rapping voice. Jimin takes this to a whole new level, and a very bad level at that. The lines themselves aren’t half bad, and the support lines from Chanmi and Mina are good, but Jimin is clearly the lead and is just unpleasant to listen to. Not good impressions, and unlike with Yura or other “mediocre” rappers, I don’t think Jimin even has a chance to redeem herself in the future, though I will admit that the opening lines of “Hey hey hey AOA” made me chuckle.

Music Video: 6 / 10

Classy boxes, eye candy, and the usual. No real plot, but is Jimin stalking Hyejeong? Otherwise all the girls look great, dressed great, danced great. Less substance, more eye candy. As far as the average music video goes this is probably one of them. Kpop’s bread and butter MV is essentially everything in AOA’s “Miniskirt”. I will stop for a moment, however, and appreciate the lack of dizzying camerawork.

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Overall: 68 / 100

That rap score, man. Really wrecks and subsequently overshadows how I feel about the song, because I genuinely like it. It’s catchy and got impressive vocals, but the rap is just embarassingly bad. Outside of all that, I’ve really drawn a lot of similarities between AOA and Girl’s Day as far as my first impressions go. Both “Miniskirt” and “Expectation” carried a synchronized vocal lineup, sexy choreography, atrocious rapping, and attractive members (with an odd girl out). But then again isn’t that what we’re all used to?

[Review] Super Junior-M - Swing

Vocals: 9 / 10

Pretty good stuff out of Super Junior M this time around. If you remember the cringe-worthy “Break Down”, all the problems since a year ago have mostly been resolved. There’s a strong electronic instrumental backing the vocals, but nothing overwhelming. The Mandarin of Ryeowook and Kyuhyun continue to improve. Some serious dubstep is thrown in, but only at the dance breaks (AKA where appropriate). The rapping in the verses, however, was completely unnecessary (but since only like 4 lines were actually rapped it’s not enough to warrant an independent rap section). They could’ve done with adding more vocals or removed them entirely and have been better. The questionable inclusion of rapping blocks the would-be perfect score.

Appearance: 9 / 10

Goddammit Siwon, why do you have that atrocious mustache. Ruins everything. Everyone is clean and crisp in their suits and dark hair. No one stands out, everyone blends in. And considering how the set is a workplace of sorts, this is bonus points. Zhou Mi’s hair could’ve been better, as could Ryeowook’s but nothing too awful…outside of Siwon’s damned mustache. Just like the vocals, one misstep prevents a potential 10 / 10.

Dance: 10 / 10

This is a really fun choreography, but at the same time doesn’t forget to be intense during the bridges between the verses and the dubstep break. I do seriously appreicate how everytime the hook “Swing!” is sung the same move is used, and while something like that may be silly in another song, works well in “Swing”. Splitting the team into 4 for the choruses and other various segments in the dance also works really well for both visuals and aesthetics as they “throw” the camera back and forth. Speaking of, the opening was both silly and neat: dancing at the desks, jumping on tables, tossing around the papers, all of which, again, compliments the workplace set.

Music Video: 8 / 10

Similar to TVXQ’s “Spellbound”, this MV is clearly for the choreography, so outside of the whole workplace theme (and subsequent party / fun theme) there isn’t much to observe besides handsome men and neat choreography. The camera work was fluid, and having members “interact” with the camera like in Donghae and Kyuhyun’s parts were well executed. While there was only one box, the pseudo-constant camera or whatever you call it, along with the use of lighting (nicely) give the illusion of multiple sets, or at least provide enough change to make stuff not feel boring. I didn’t fail to notice that with the background walls displaying the 8F, the windows show other buildings of height, which matches and is overall a detail I never would have expected out of S.M’s boxes. Lastly, the end of the (main) video shows how various special effects can be done right and enhance a music video, rather than hurt it like “Mr. Mr.”. And of course, the actual ending when their boss walks in is just silly and fun all around. Solid marks for this MV.

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Overall: 90 / 100

I can’t remember the last time I’ve been thoroughly impressed with an S.M release. Super Junior M and “Swing” brings back some nostalgic sound out of both the group and S.M., with flashy choreography, catchy tunes, and a good enough MV that shows off the dance. S.M may have been near-depressing last year, but 2014 is looking good with “Swing”, “Mr. Mr.”, and the Rookies projects.

[Review] 2NE1 - Come Back Home

Vocals: 8 / 10

Another 2NE1 song, another strong showing of vocals. Obviously led by Bom’s vibrant voice, everyone else continues to support her well throughout the verses and transitions, but what the hell is up with that garbage pseudo-dubstep break at the end of the choruses? It’s awful (Dara’s lines are actually probably worse than the dubstep use) and completely out of place, when you take into account the rhythym of the verses and the softer rap. For this reason, the acoustic / unplugged version of the song is much more enjoyable.

Appearance: 7 / 10

CL is absolutely regal in that blonde. And the hairstyle, too. Easily the best out of the group in this specific MV. It’s a more bleached blonde compared to the “Can’t Nobody” blonde, but again, just looks really good on her. Dara’s tomboy cut seems a little out of place, but the shots with her in blue hair looked pretty nice. Dara is the visual of this group, and continues to show that here. In a rare sighting, Minzy isn’t that good this MV. It’s a combination of the colour scheme and hairstyle, but she doesn’t look at stunning as per her standards. Bom has always flipped between “pretty doll” and “creepy doll” and unfortunately for her, she’s the latter this time around. The hair seems to frame her face awkwardly. As for outfits, it’s just 2NE1 being 2NE1. Wacky, tacky, fabulous?

Rap: 10 / 10

When I was talking about CL in the Girl Group Rapper Power Rankings, I wrote how I really liked the “old CL”, before more of the crazier, wilder stuff, and this rap is just in line with the old stuff that really drew me to CL as a rapper. It (the rap) also fits in really well with the rest of the song, or at least the acoustic version. How the dubstep just suddenly halts into CL’s rap is beyond awful and near “I Got A Boy” level bad. But anyway. CL delivers an excellent rap segment.

Music Video: 9 / 10

There’s a lot going on with this MV, but the most important is that 2NE1 and the producers / editors of this video took the special effects / graphics portion and executed everything way better than a certain other top girl group’s recent comeback video. The effects and distinctions for the whole “virtual world” that Dara’s boyfriend is so immersed in are all fancy. And the bizarre sets and costumes are per 2NE1 standard. This score would’ve been perfect it not for the rather disappointing lipsyncing. Actually, if I recall correctly, I had issues with 2NE1 and their lipsyncing in “I Love You”, as well. Fix this, 2NE1, and you’ll have a perfect MV score next time.

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Overall: 85 / 100

2NE1 is back, and like Girls’ Generation, is taking steps in the right direction after a seemingly lackluster performance last year. “Come Back Home” is a refreshing ballad (I’m not downloading the version in the MV) with a supplementing rap. I wouldn’t qualify this as one of the better 2NE1 ballads, but it’s still a solid title track regardless. By the way, releasing this review on the 21st was most certainly just a coincidence. Yep, definitely a coincidence.

[Review] Girls' Generation - Mr. Mr.

Vocals: 9 / 10

Before we talk about the main vocalists, I’d like to show some serious appreciation for the line distribution, and subsequently, the support work shown by Sooyoung, Yoona, Sunny, and Yuri. They’re certainly not the best singers in the group, but they more than pulled their weight in the transitions. Rotating members to do the pseudo-rapping in the chorus was also a good touch, and you usually can’t go wrong with having belts from Taeyeon, and that hasn’t changed in “Mr. Mr.”, although not quite to the caliber of her works in “Genie” or “Twinkle”. The whole of the vocals give off a very high energy / vibe, and that carries through the song. There’s some awkward English per usual, but it’s not that bad in all honesty, and only serves to flow into the chorus.

Appearance: 10 / 10

This is probably the best eye candy we’ve seen from Soshi since the Genie days. Unlike past concepts, there isn’t one single member that stands out in a negative way (Sunny in “I Got A Boy”, Hyoyeon in “The Boys”). Jessica and Tiffany in particular look the most stunning, and Sunny’s glorious return to the long hair is well appreciated. Does anyone remember what Hyoyeon looks like as a brunette? I think she’s been blonde since the days of “Hoot”, right? That’s a long time. Even CL went back to brown / black for a bit, I think it’d be a nice change of pace to see Hyoyeon do the same.

Dance: 7 / 10

Hyoyeon may have gotten the least lines (per usual), but she got a dance break! That’s amazing, and like, what she’s been needing, seriously. We didn’t get to see much of the dance in this music video, but the dance break was rather excellent, even if half of said break was completely offscreen thanks to the garbage MV (more on that later).

Music Video: 3 / 10

Who even recorded and edited this? This is beyond awful. If T-Ara’s “I Go Crazy Because Of You” MV caused seizures for such ridiculous camera changes, this MV will cause seizures for the obnoxious colour scheme and retarded close up shots and completely unnecessary special effects. I don’t know why they thought this would be a good idea but it definitely wasn’t. Outside of the awful visual effects, the rest of the MV follows in standard S.M. fashion of being bizarre with no serious plot. Tiffany must have been hella pumped to be wearing pink for a majority of the video.

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Overall: 73 / 100

So, from what I know, there’s a boy group called “MR.MR.” or something? That’s rather awkward, but this is a good showing for Girls’ Generation since their last two title tracks haven’t been as impressive. I do think this is one of the weaker songs on their album, and also slightly out of place, but I won’t take away from the solid vocals and charming visuals. Just make sure they fire the people who put this MV together. Please. 

[Review] TVXQ - Spellbound

After ignoring the less impressive “Something” from the “Kings of S.M. Town” earlier in the year, we dive into their follow-up track “Spellbound”, which is thankfully not the name of another title track being promoted by another artist.

Vocals: 7 / 10

The chorus springs to mind a familiar sound in a past song that’s just slipping past my mind right now, but it’s really solid. Unfortunately the rest of the song is about average, which is disappointing given how Changmin is a god and Yunho is getting better. The spam of “Suri suri ma…” is medioce at best, and the bridge isn’t up to par. The belts are somewhat of a saving grace, and execution could probably have been more…”TVXQ”-like. But besides, I don’t think the main attraction of this song was the vocals to begin with.

Dance: 10 / 10

Since the dance is so damn epic. I’d actually give this an 11 if that were possible. There’s a lot of stuff going on for the choreography, and TVXQ handles everything pretty well. But the highlight is most definitely the synergy between TVXQ and their backup dancers. It’s probably one of the first or most impressive instances where the backup dancers are displayed on equal level with the artist(s). The backup dancers are incredibly talented, and don’t miss a step against TVXQ. They’re dressed in black to complement TVXQ in white, and most of all they look like they’re having fun, which is exactly what this dance seems to me. It’s good-spirited fun, and probably a good workout, to boot.

Music Video: 7 / 10

Given how excellent this choreography was, I really enjoyed the camerawork which was carefree and helped add to the atmosphere. This is a performance song, through and through, so the MV doesn’t add or take away too much from the general purpose of the song. The moments where the MV was one continuous shot were well-executed, and the rooms were to the usual standard of S.M. I suppose.

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Overall: 80 / 100

While the vocals are underwhelming for TVXQ, the choreography is killer and the MV helps support that aspect, and scores well in doing so. Having more impressive vocals may have made “Spellbound” too hard to perform well, maybe. Nonetheless, it’s a good following track to “Something”, which left much to be desired out of this duo.

Next up on the review list, the queens of the industry: Girls’ Generation and 2NE1.