This is a fresh debut, so let's talk about visuals. Everyone with long hair is flawless. Naturally, you see lookalikes when first introduced, and the similarities like D.ana with Nana, Sumin with Hara, etc. That's a good start. I don't think either Eunjin or Newsun can pull off that short hair look, though Eunjin is better by far. Briefing over the choreography and song, I would hesitate to call them badass, but they're definitely distinct and exude power. It's a solid start for them, and honestly they don't have the rookie vibe or look like a group that's brand new. Personally I like seeing groups come out strong like this, should give them a lot of attention and staying power.
I'm gonna skip over vocals for a minute and talk about the rap really quick. D.ana is really good. Like, surprisingly (suspiciously?) good, though to be fair, Hana, Zelo, and Yongguk are all under the TS flag and are decent to superb. Low voiced female rappers are so rare and D.ana isn't some mediocre rapper either. All her lines are fresh and strong. Newsun is alright. Not bad, but definitely overshadowed by D.ana. Makes me wish D.ana was the only rapper so she could take all the parts and have longer raps. I suppose drawing parallel with D.ana and Yongguk is a must but as I said, if D.ana wants to add her name to the "low voice rapper" list with Yubin and Bora, be my guest.
A key difference between Sonamoo and B.A.P is that nobody on Sonamoo stands out vocally. They're all pretty average. Sonamoo are also much more similar to each other as far as sound. B.A.P had a few contrasting voices led by Daehyun but Sonamoo lacks that. This hurts them a fair bit but given the strength of D.ana they're more of a performance and rap-oriented group, just like B.A.P. Still, the adlibs at the end were nice, And when you have a strong hook and killer instrumental, sometimes all you need are passable voices.
There was some diverse choreography in this song. They weren't overly sexy (though there was a fair amount of butt-shaking), and certainly not cute, but once again I wouldn't call it badass nor would I call it a clone of B.A.P's debut. B.A.P's choreography in "Warrior" was really flashy and definitely had a style whereas the dance in "Deja Vu" is a little more varied, which isn't bad at all. As for the MV, it's what you've come to expect of Kpop, with flashy lights, solo shots, fancy sets, and even the special effects. I mentioned this earlier, but Sonamoo don't look like rookies. They've got charisma and personality and will definitely control the stage when they perform.
I already had some bias going in because I was stupid enough to read netizen / fangirl comments before actually watching the video, but I'll say with confidence that Sonamoo are debuting right and I hope to see them continue on this path rather than shift to the copypaste concepts we've seen time and time again. Powerful rapping and solid dance, supported by good-enough voices and of course pretty faces. Sure, this group may have given us some deja vu but it's the good kind.
[ Overall: 87 / 100 ]
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