[Review] JJ Project - Bounce (Revisited)

These revisits will temporarily conclude now that I've looked at the first three reviews on the blog. Plus with a plethora of July releases on the way there'll be no shortage of material to talk about, though time will be another story. Here's my thoughts about my thoughts on JYP's newest project at the time - a duo that would eventually lead to the core of GOT7.

• JB’s pink mix with blonde is interesting, definitely not something I see other singers pulling off so props to him. Also something to note: there were no hairstyle changes throughout the music video, only costume switches. Speaking of which, their outfits are also not anything amazing, which matches their schoolboy appearance and subsequently the MV set location.

Back in the day, I talked about appearances in my reviews because - and let's be honest - visuals are very much a driving force in Kpop and the younger me was even more easily swayed in my early Kpop years. Which of course made it weird talking about boy groups but alas.

• I love this choreography, partially because it is reminiscent of 2PM’s early stuff and I miss seeing variety. Also, this dance absolutely destroys anything 2TVXQ had (at least for now, S.M. may surprise me).

While "love" seems like a strong choice in retrospect, I had no idea about the skill ranges of choreography back then. But that's why I'm looking back in the first place, to see how times and opinions have changed. It's still a fun dance with plenty of energy that matches the song. The headbanging is definitely a solid touch, and the dance moves themselves aren't too difficult while still being neat.

• Along with B.A.P.’s Bang Yong Guk and EXO-K’s Chanyeol, I believe Jr. is a new rookie has earned a respectable slot of rappers I genuinely like and I am excited to see more of Jr. in the future.

Yongguk turned out to be a superstar rapper and Chanyeol...did alright considering he comes from SM. Jr. disappeared until the debut of GOT7, where he switched over to a vocalist role. Even though Mark and Bambam were better, that was only marginally so. Plus Jr. seemed to be the obvious choice. I haven't seen the new JJ Project stuff so maybe he did some rapping there.

• Furthermore the rock and roll scene also has guitarists and drummers in the background, which actually match the theme (I’m looking at you, “Twinkle”). Similar to “Like This”, this music video encourages the audience to participate with the performers rather than merely aside them. Extra shots of people breakdancing and even some parkour are also thrown in which is a smooth touch.

Eh. Whatever. Music videos have always been bland so when things actually happen or have some sort of synergy, I'll appreciate it. I've changed my mind on a lot of things over the last eight years in Kpop but MV mediocrity is not one of them haha.

• I want to note that this song really doesn’t feel like a JYP production (LOL), if not for the signature whisper at the beginning of the song I’d have never guessed the two were under JYP. The song mixes multiple genres together – rap, electronic, R&B, rock & roll – in fact it almost seems hashed together / cluttered but the transitions are actually really solid and is very new and experimental, which really isn’t JYP’s style.

I still agree with this. Nowadays it's a different story with JYP housing current era GOT7, Twice, and Stray Kids, but back in 2012 "Bounce" was definitely something different. Not to mention that duos were hard to come by if you weren't named Davichi or the SM half of TVXQ. The track blended a few genres together without sounding clunky which isn't something other similar songs in the future could claim. JJ Project definitely had one of the strongest JYP debuts.