[Review] T-ARA Triplets Special

How about a tripleheader? T-ARA have fallen off the pedestal but they remain active as individuals. They're one of those "unofficially disbanded" groups because the members all say the group isn't dead but until they release music together they might as well be. In the meantime, we have some solo efforts to go over. The triplets of Eunjung, Hyomin, and Jiyeon were very powerful in their heyday and each of them have had some solo success with songs like "Never Ever" and "I'm Good." Let's see how their most recent stuff holds up.

Hyomin - Allure

I don't think it's too crazy to say that Hyomin has seen the least success as an independent act out of the three. Songs like "Nice Body," "Sketch," and "Mango" aren't bad but can't compete with Jiyeon and Eunjung's best. Hyomin's best song in my opinion is the ballad "Gold," which brought her less-exposed vocals to front and center. That song gives me goosebumps to this day, and illustrates how a perfectly sculpted song can meet a singer's needs and show their talents efficiently.

[Review] Jiyeon - Never Ever

Jiyeon was the last of the trio of Duble Sidekick releases to premiere, and with this being Jiyeon’s first foray into solo work and curious teaser imagery, this was the song that needed immediate strong impact. Would such be delivered?

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Vocals: 9 / 10

Jiyeon has a very soft voice, and this was played to the best possible outcome in “Never Ever” (side note: I don’t like when songs have 2 distinctly different titles. Is the song name “Never Ever” or “1:01”? Neither are wrong or bad song titles, it’s just confusing to have 2 of them). There isn’t anything extremely fancy, nor would I believe such parts be possible for Jiyeon to pull off without serious strain but the song is pleasant on the ears and flows very well. The deep gasps and breathing that not subtle at all were extremely bizarre. They didn’t really add anything to the vocals or enhance the instrumental. / background. The English “I wanna be with you, but I will pray for you baby” seems a little odd at first, but I assume the praying is for the better of the significant other now that they are apart. This is a very memorable song with a strong hook without being overly loud or dramatic, which is impressive.

Dance: 8 / 10

I do enjoy some symbolic choreography and that’s what Jiyeon shows. The usage of a “mirror” and a backup dancer playing essentially an equal part to Jiyeon is quite excellent. The display of “one by one” in the chorus regarding writing letters is solid, though the other moments of the chorus could’ve been better. I’m not entirely sure what the pelvic choreography was used for outside of just pure fanservice, and the same could be said for the moves at the beginning of each chorus. Still, this style of fanservice is more aligned with Sistar’s work than the rather extremes.

Music Video: 10 / 10

What a beautifully crafted MV. I honestly didn’t expect this. The repitition and representation are all on the mark, while attention to detail like with the flowers and etc. were bonus points on an already polished video. I’m sure I wasn’t the only person who thought of Slender when the man’s face was empty / obscure, which added a clean touch to the “nightmarish” sense describe by the lyrics. I do question the necessity of having Jiyeon get wet other than, again, fanservice, and were there moments in that MV where it was raining inside? While questionable, still leaves us with a perfect MV score.

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Overall: 90 / 100

Based on score alone, Jiyeon is the clear winner but there’s really more to that. Jiyeon has a song that will loop in your head, with an artisticly and aesthetically pleasing MV. Above that, “Never Ever” shines in the areas that the other 2 songs have trouble: there’s no awful breaks or mismatching of lyrics and video in “Goodnight Kiss”, nor is there a lack of anything memorable or poor MV decisions in “G.NA’s Secret”. Jiyeon has made an excellent solo debut and I hope Hyomin’s is just as strong if not stronger.