[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?