- For starters, "Lip 2 Lip" is a pretty standard dance track. The girls sing lightly but also with purpose, while the instrumental provides a bounce on their step. Hyemi and Kyungri take center stage, charming us with their voices from start to finish, but when has Kyungri ever been away from the spotlight? I'm pleased to see Hyemi get a fair share of the singing, because frankly she doesn't normally get these kinds of opportunities. In that vein though, I once again find myself lamenting the lines that Sojin was unable to acquire. Even though I didn't predict she'd have a rap, I still expected her to get some form of singing because we've seen her do it in releases past, even if only briefly.
"When has Kyungri ever been away from the spotlight?" Never. The answer is never. Once she was added to the group there was no turning back and she was the main girl from then until disbandment. Strangely, she was not like Hyuna who soaked up all the attention and love from media. Perhaps this was due to the larger group, or the way the talent was distributed among them. Either way, she enjoyed her status for sure. Had we known Sojin was about to make her way into the rapping department, this setup would've made much more sense at the time.
- Sojin rapping is quite the surprise, and I mean that two ways. The first is that the song included a rap (and by proxy that she's the one responsible for said rap) and the second is that the actual rap itself isn't half bad. There are good highs and bad lows, all of which I'll address.
Seriously, in a Kpop world where predictably bad raps can (and are) everywhere, her first dip into the rap pool wasn't bad at all. And combined with the last sentence of that paragraph:
- In reality, the most important part of her rap is showing that she (and 9MUSES) are capable of decent rapping in a world without Erin to guide them.
Erin's departure was a huge loss, and Sojin showed that she could definitely take up the mantle and delivered on such potential (albeit only briefly).
- Let's get this out of the way. As someone on reddit pointed out, there is one moment where they make a blinking face and that simply boggles my mind. I think I love it, don't get me wrong, but I'm not sure what it's doing there or why this even became a thing in the first place.
After watching a live performance of this in the year 2019, I have come to the conclusion that that face was epic and other girl groups need to try doing dumb shit like this in their choreographies.
- Highlights of the video include Hyemi's reaction to abs which was basically "Oh," Keumjo and Hyemi's near-kiss, and Kyungri's general fabulousness. Unlike with Fei, I was pleasantly surprised by how good Kyungri looks in blonde. She's not had light hair color since "Dolls" and even then this is a bright blonde that she wears proudly and beautifully. The "Lip 2 Lip" video definitely falls into the category of "light plot MV," and that's fine. And in a nostalgic way, all the lip service is almost like paying homage to "Wild," though the lips in "Wild" were way weirder.
Good times when I gave a thought to Kpop music videos, good times. 2016 doesn't seem like too long ago but it's another grim reminder that I'm getting old and my Kpop fanatic phase may have lasted longer than I'd like to admit.
- Members come and go, but 9MUSES' music continues to be solid regardless of the lineup they bring to the table.
Ain't that the damn truth when it came to this group. Many of their iterations had the talent and music needed for high levels of popularity, and each form had enough looks to go around. They were just mismanaged by their label, and lacked a major breakthrough because of it. Fuck Star Empire.
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