Before this review starts, I would like to give a few excuses disclaimers. For one, as some readers may know, I do not possess an actual show review outline; my show reviews are a mixture of highlights and my general opinion of the show. That said, there is no numerical rating as seen in my song reviews. Secondly, since this show is not too popular, finding pictures to utilize is nearly impossible. As a result, to keep my tradition of how my show reviews contain pictures, I am putting extra effort by taking my own images from the show. Unfortunately, the downfall of that appears in the lower quality of the pictures. Apologies for such, and keep in mind, these show reviews can be considered moreover “bonus reviews” than dedicated, thorough ones. Music reviews will always remain my top priority.
Anyhow, to digress slightly more, I would like to give some comments in regards to T-ARA’s first home concert. T-ARA holds a special throne in that they are one of my personal favorite groups in general, and that I highly admire and look up to the ladies. Hopefully one day I am as intelligent and skilled as Soyeon (a huge role model to me), and that other traits such as being exceptionally friendly, responsible, caring, tough, and more, are also achieved. And, I also hope one day I will be as pretty as her, but that is impossible less important than the other significant characteristics. Back to the concert, after 5 years (I might be wrong with the years), T-ARA has finally had their first solo concert in their home country (they have done a few in Japan and China, but not Korea). It is incredible to see their growth over the years, and I hold high expectations on their future activities.
Going on another tangent, in regards to their song “ORGR,” there has been a lot of debate and confusion to the lyrics, and I will offer my own perspective on it (and at this point, feel free to skip below). Whether it is due to pure coincidence or clever composing (or simply pronunciation), the key phrase of the song can be considered a pun involving both languages of Korean and English. Firstly, “ORGR” is abbreviated for “Oh Ready Go Ready,” which is heard in the lyrics in the form of “oh ready, go ready, go.” This is where confusion occurs; people hear three phrases: “Oh ready, go ready, go,” or “Oh let it go, let it go,” or if taking account a Korean phrase of mockery (not too sure on this), a rough meaning of “Na na na.” So, to offer my own opinion, I believe T-ARA is saying the English phrase of “Oh ready, go ready” since the song title is the abbreviated form of those words. However, I find that the key phrase could also reflect the latter phrases. To explain why people hear “Oh let it go, let it go,” it has to do with the pronunciation of the English phrase of “ORGR.” The letter/sound “R” in English is replaceable with the letter/sound of “L” in Korean assuming the following letter is a vowel sound (for example, Sistar’s Hyorin can also be pronounced as “Hyolyn,” both are valid and correct; Rick can also be heard as “Lick,” and similarly, be correct) . This leads to “Oh ‘leady’ go,” but now you are wondering why the “D” sounds like a “T,” and that is simply that; in Korean, the English “D” sound/letter is a “T” sound. A simple example is the Korean slang/saying of “daebak” (means “awesome/amazing/cool”). In this case, the “D” sound is softer and moreover sounding like “taebak” for English. Factoring this into the equation, the phrase of “ORGR” now becomes “Oh ‘leaty’ go” which sounds like “Oh let it go.” As for the Korean mockery phrase, that is also correct to be heard (assuming I am accurate about the phrase). While “Oh ready, go ready, go” is heard as that in English, in Korean, the same sounding phrase could mean a teasing, mocking saying of “Na na na.” Anyhow, point is, regardless of what you hear, they all match the overall song’s lyrics, and in the end, all are technically accurate. Apologies if my formatting here induces eye strain.
Now ignoring the extremely confusing, unorganized language lesson, in terms of how T-ARA’s concert relates to “Star Camp,” I wondered how rigorous and strenuous the preparation leading up to the solo concert was; dancing and singing for hours is an extremely difficult feat, and thus, preparing for such an event would seem equally challenging. Thankfully, this show gives some insight. While it may not be focused on T-ARA, it does focus on idols who are equally charming, talented, and stunning as those ladies. ZE:A is a group I highly respect. If I recall properly, I believe I did a review on one of their songs, but considering it was during the newbie days, that review would hold as incohesive and horrendous. Perhaps a future review will need to be done to correct the past. Anyhow, whether it were songs that I overlooked such as “Step By Step,” singing and dancing skills, their humor, or their general sweet, affectionate interactions, “Star Camp” reminded me of how incredible these men were.
With all of that said, it is time to truly begin the review. The gentlemen of ZE:A held their own home concert a while back, and thanks to “Star Camp,” some behind-the-scene footages are revealed. Furthermore, for those curious on Star Empire Entertainment’s building (ZE:A’s label company; they also home Nine Muses, Jewelry, Soreal, and V.O.S), this show tours the place and reveals the layout. Is this show worth watching, and does it accurately depict ZE:A’s struggles? Through taking a camping trip to the land of the star idols of ZE:A, we will find out.
For the first section of “Star Camp,” touring Star Empire Entertainment’s building was the main objective. ZE:A’s hyung (used by males to refer to older males), Kevin, “good-looks” Heechul, and Jewelry’s sparkling Yewon were the hosts of the tour. They covered multiple stories (pun intended) of the company, and gave their own personal anecdotes such as trainee day experiences.
Peering at the first floor, there were two sections to cover: the cafeteria and the recording studio. For the cafeteria, besides some teasing on Yewon’s excitement to eat, “Star Camp” revealed the layout. Additionally, Kevin shared ZE:A’s trainee experience involving the place. Before they had a cafeteria worker, he was in charge of cooking meals for his group whether it was a formal dish or simply preparing ramen.
Later, although strangely in the show the order was not chronologically (it went from first floor, second, third, then back to first), the recording studio was unveiled. Unlike the cafeteria, some fans of Star Empire Entertainment’s artists may recognize the location due to other videos (an example such as Nine Muses’ Sera’s audition). Unfortunately, not much was covered since a V.O.S member was in the midst of recording an actual song.
Eventually, “Star Camp” proceeds to the second floor. Here, other ZE:A members are seen; Minwoo and Dongjun introduced viewers to the company’s fitness room. While the physical location is unveiled, the ZE:A members discussed their rigorous workout regime; weightlifting and running were their prominent forms of exercise. Also humorously, the members mentioned their CEO’s office being nearby. This led to Kevin’s jocular impersonation of the CEO should he catch idols improperly exercising.
Adding another example of “Star Camp” ‘s unusual order, the three hosts dived into the basement to showcase the vocal practice room. Similar to the recording studio, fans will recognize this place from other videos. Social media accounts from Star Empire’s idols have depicted short, miniature clips of them singing in this room. Likewise with the recording studio, idols are seen actively working; during the filming, the group of Soreal was seen practicing their vocals.
Now if fans have not recognized the other locations, positively, the third floor will be instantly identifiable; this floor holds the dance practice room, the same location of dance practice videos be it for ZE:A, Nine Muses, Jewelry, and even the other groups. On this floor, additional ZE:A members are encountered; Hyungsik, Siwan, and Taeheon were witnessed practicing. In preparation for their concert, they rehearsed a certain song: Apink’s “No No No” (a future review might be on Apink’s latest song, “Luv”). Readers familiar with Apink will know they are a female group, and some may hold the stance that males performing their choreography is either “wrong” or “awkward,” but ZE:A disproves such. Although “Star Camp” showcased solely a fragment of the dance, the gentlemen combated away those stereotypes and displayed a phenomenal, cute and catchy dance. Adding a quick digression, gender limitations is nonexistent; the concept of certain objects or actions being restricted to a specific gender is something socially constructed. In summary, hopefully viewers do not ever hold the idea of how a group’s choreography is limited based on gender. Reality shows there is no “female dance” or “male dance,” and even with different subjects such as cosmetics, hobbies and more, those limitations should be challenged and questioned.
Once the touring is completed, “Star Camp” focuses on specific moments of the gentlemen prepping for their solo concert. A specific scene disclosed their extreme dedication. From the beginning of the day to 4 a.m., ZE:A members were observed singing and dancing relentlessly. As Hyungsik mentioned, with 9 members in ZE:A, extra time must be invested in order to create perfect synchronicity among them. Despite how tiring and tedious the training proved to be, they all remained diligent and focused, and surprisingly, very cheerful and continued to encourage one another.
Further practice was also observed. During the day and prior to the concert, ZE:A rehearsed on the actual stage itself. With time pressuring the members, they scrutinized every detail of the stage; whether it was the choreography itself, time to transition and change costumes, or introductions, everything became thoroughly checked and had both ZE:A and staff members giving feedback. Ensuring an excellent performance would ensue was their main objective.
After all of the gentlemen’s hard work have been shown, the actual concert itself is filmed. Although in short bits, “Star Camp” disclosed the stage’s numerous fans and ZE:A’s outcome that came from dedicated, tiresome work. “Star Camp” ended on the message of how success derives from hard work. Even with the agonizing days of sheer preparation, in the end, ZE:A’s concert became augmented due to the invested time and energy.
These are the main overarching ideas to the show. Firstly, although I overviewed the main points, I did not include every conversation and story that occurred, and thus, in that regard, I still recommend watching the show for those moments (fans of ZE:A and Star Empire Entertainment would be interested). However, overall, to address the mechanical aspects of “Star Camp,” this was a straight-forward show; it went from touring the label company to showing ZE:A’s sessions of practice. On the positive side, it allowed more focus to some behind-the-scene footages, but in the entertainment perspective, it was not too exciting (and considering this is moreover a show versus a documentary, I hold some entertainment accountable). I anticipated more personal sides to ZE:A, and although there were a multitude of interactions seen, it all revolved around “Star Camp” and practicing versus their usual affection towards each other. In comparison to, for example, OnStyle’s “The TaeTiSeo,” “Star Camp” adds the behind-the-scenes aspect, but unlike “The TaeTiSeo,” general interactions were not seen. Everything was under the industry working lens (mainly rehearsals), which is not bad in itself, but considering this is labeled a show and, as stated, not a documentary, entertaining components should have been added besides the anecdotes and such.
Scrutinizing the show for other aspects excluding the mechanical piece of being a show, like the general K-Pop related ones, the overall general vibe was one of cheerfulness. While positivity should be rife in people’s lives, “Star Camp” displayed the typical one-sided story to idols. ZE:A may have been seen to be drained physically of their stamina and such, and whether their emotions of feeling positive and joyful were genuine or not, the show placed emphasis on glamorizing the men’s jobs of being idols as perfect and utterly rewarding. Some people may recall a specific incident months ago involving Star Empire’s CEO and ZE:A’s leader Junyoung; their battle over fair, humane treatment in terms of simple respect and fair payment became acknowledged all over, and with that scenario holding as true, their fight would completely contradict “Star Camp” ‘s depiction of how ZE:A members possess an easy and positive, although tiring job that simply involved practicing for performances.
Following up, there is a significant aspect to this show’s tone due to the sole basis of editing (and of course further technicalities such as specific clips used, manipulated context, and more). For example, contrasting this show to pure footage and documentaries (such as Nine Muses’ documentary), the lens in which viewers witness this show become utterly transformed into one that is expecting entertainment and a welcoming, friendly atmosphere. With “Star Camp” having their own crew, the members of ZE:A addressed the show with a persona that would appeal to the public; the men appeared exceptionally positive and cheerful. The issue, however, that arises from the change in behavior is what covers the K-Pop industry’s shadier and crueler side. To use a specific example of how ZE:A (and others) adapted their behavior, when it came to the show’s initial introduction of interviewing idols (Kwanghee’s interview is the picture above), sadly, a high chance of their answers were potentially scripted. Although strangely kept, with Kwanghee’s interview, he confessed he had to include “nest” due to a given script for his answer to “What does Star Empire Entertainment represent to you?” On the surface, the awkward phrasing was jocular, and knowing Kwanghee’s upbeat and comical personality, his confession of having a script becomes insignificant. However, ignoring the lighthearted perspective, the fact that he was given a script to answer interview questions that should have elicited genuine, personal answers from his own thoughts, creates some questioning to both the show and potentially other shows and footages involving other K-Pop idols.
Mechanically, “Star Camp” revealed a hindered perspective to ZE:A’s behind-the-scenes practice. Although crippled in showcasing solely positive experiences, it gives the most blatant layer to an idol’s work. In terms of other mechanical details such as being entertaining, while the stories tolds were amusing, more interaction among the members excluding work would have been desired. For the critical aspect, “Star Camp,” like the predominant concept of every K-Pop related show, solely displays positivity and happiness. And while the gentlemen could have truthfully and legitimately felt utter joy to be practicing, showcasing only their successes gives a limited perspective to their jobs, and unfortunately, undermines struggles they could be undergoing (and fast forward in the future, the example of ZE:A’s leader Junyoung and Star Empire’s CEO having their hefty argument). In short, this show is worth watching if ZE:A is a group of interest, and if Star Empire Entertainment holds some interest as well. Additionally, and even if it is one-sided, for those curious on practice protocols, a limited sight is given. For what I would recommend, however, is after watching this show, compare it to Nine Muses’ documentary, “Nine Muses of Star Empire,” to see significant changes and the additional layers to practicing and an idol’s experience (without leaking too much, the documentary includes staff members’ interaction with idols, the harshness, and more).
Perhaps in the future I will review the documentary, and even with my opinion of how solid Nine Muses’ documentary is, everything should still be questioned. A review on the documentary will include my thoughts regarding it, but that will be for the future. Ending on a slightly happier note (although people should still retain the idea of being critical), if the positivity and such seen in shows are forged, at the very least, I will argue that the affection between members are usually genuine. Using ZE:A as an example, Junyoung’s confrontation with the CEO was heavily driven in a desire to protect his members. Even different groups such as the somewhat older news of B.A.P attempting, as a whole group, to terminate their contract with their company is another example. After all, if the reality holds true that the K-Pop industry is rigorous and atrocious towards idols, surviving it via having love and compassion towards other members for support is a likely outcome.
Anyhow, my opinion on the show has been given. Thank you very much for reading, and hopefully this show review adds some variety to the standard song reviews I create. To add an extra piece to this show review trend, I will look over Nine Muses’ own reality show, “Nine Muses Cast” and give my stance on it. After that, song reviews will be resumed, and with a milestone of six reviews for January, I will aim to release four song reviews as soon as possible and in high quality. Songs in mind include Apink’s “Luv” and perhaps a desired review of Girl’s Day’s “I Miss You,” but as always, any song is up for grabs. In fact, I might review ZE:A’s “Ghost of the Wind” since that is a very solid song along with having the best choreography I have seen so far. Thank you once more, and stay tuned. (As a side note, I did finish this review on December 31, but I am holding it off until January 1, and I am hoping the pictures are formatted properly)
Personal Message: After a delay of multiple weeks, I am finally starting this review. As mentioned, I have been requested to review this song. Firstly, to the requester, deep apologies. Due to poor prioritizing and scheduling, this review has become quite delayed, and for that, I am very sorry. With requests, they deserve top priority and I find that it was extremely rude of me to delay it for this long. Thankfully, here it finally is.
Anyhow, I am glad to have received this song. As the requester stated, this song has a style that varies from other songs reviewed here, and I can definitely agree (although once we systemically take it apart, there may be closer resemblances in reality). The concept for “Piano Man” gives off a musical play aura; the vocals, instrumental, and even some aspects of the dancing give a theater theme to the song. While personally I am not a huge fan of this song’s style, I can still appreciate it and, at the very least, feel completely stunned at MAMAMOO’s vocal capabilities. Nevertheless, I will remain unbiased when reviewing this song.
A final note to add, considering my previously failed attempt at compacting reviews (AOA’s “Miniskirt” was supposed to be a “speed review”), I will proceed with another trial. This time, my plan is to whittle down the Song Structure to solely my reasoning on my scores; I will remove both the description and summarizing piece that I have included in the past. This time around, I feel a lot more confident in a shorter review due to that, but we will have to find out. My current plan is to produce more reviews at the cost of shortening them, but if things are done correctly, the quality will remain practically the same, but the quantity of reviews should be vastly increased.
Progressing on, MAMAMOO may not be a popular group, but I hope that will change. Their concept is unique, and more importantly, their skills with dancing and singing is exceptional. That said, “I’m ready for some action,” but “are you ready for perfection?” Assuming “perfection” is in the form of MAMAMOO’s singing and not my writing, I am completely prepared.
Song Total Score: 8/10 (8/10 raw score) – Average score of the sub-categories
– Vocals: 9/10 – Strangely, MAMAMOO’s popularity is relatively low despite how incredible their vocals are. For “Piano Man,” the group showcases versatile vocals; high notes and low notes were heard, and going from a gentle tone to an impactful, powerful one was no issue. Additionally, to suit the classier theme of “Piano Man,” the ladies sung with a soothing, slower style. This works out perfectly as it aids both the atmosphere and their general singing voices. Lastly, as expected, their vocals were exceptionally melodic. Different notes were utilized constantly, and as a result, besides further proving their skills as singers, it provides the song with a delightful flow.
Although I will not factor this into their grading, for this live performance, they were, indeed, singing live. An “MR Removed” video (a video that reveals live vocals for a performance) was made to showcase such, and considering it was uploaded to an official “MR Removed” channel, I will give it a decent amount of credibility (but, as always, they should be questioned; refer to a previous Question/Answer post for further information). Anyhow, MAMAMOO are all very adept singers. Every member individually holds exceptional singing, and for the song, their hard work and talent definitely reflects in this song’s fantastic vocals. A high score will be given.
1. Introduction: 7/10 – With this review being the second test to concising reviews, we will see how it goes. Hwasa handles the introduction.
While the introduction might not be musically charged, it is still a valid introduction. Instead of the standard protocol of seducing listeners via catchy vocals and sounds, “Piano Man” opts for a different route. Setting up the stage, literally with the performance and figuratively with “stage” being the song, is the main priority. Hwasa’s lines in addition to the instrumental created the classier, jazz style of the song. Focusing on Hwasa’s lines, they displayed a lower pitch along with being soothing. This creates subtle build-up along with potentially hooking on listeners due to soothing vocals. Later, the introduction does transition to piano keys, and this prompts an appropriate and fluent switch to the verse.
Above average will be the rating. The slower paced setup in terms of both the soundtrack and vocals were effective.
2. Verse: 7/10 – Side note, to already address the concising idea, it is definitely a struggle, but with more practice, I can see this potentially working (or back to outlining different ideas). Anyhow, Solar and Hwasa handle the first verse, and Wheein handles the second verse.
In terms of the first verse, Solar and Hwasa showcase excellent vocals. By remaining on a slower pace and using lower pitches, the song develops naturally. In addition, the vocals themselves prove to be catchy; vocals remain lingering due to the lower notes and a pacing that accommodates to the instrumental. To focus more specifically on the singing, the two members executed a small, lower note stretch at the end of every line. Not only were the endings soothing, but the song’s overall style was also well supported. For what could have been slightly better, switching the format slightly would augmented the verses even more. Both Solar and Hwasa followed the same structure, and as a result, it does become slightly dull.
Nevertheless, the overall score for the verses will hold as above average.
3. Pre-Chorus: 6/10 – Everyone chips in for the pre-chorus.
The pre-choruses are contradicting in the sense of being unique yet standard. For what is rather typical, the build-up relies on the ladies’ vocals’ looping over and over. Now, for what is different, the use of vocals to create the hype differs from the norm; usually the instrumental’s beats are responsible for this format of pre-choruses. To discuss the actual pre-choruses, a strong point is utilizing MAMAMOO’s high-tier vocals in this form. With their melodic voices complementing the lighter instrumental, not only does build-up occur, but the overall gentler and classy concept is safeguarded. Diving into the weaker aspects, the most prominent one is the format itself. Even with MAMAMOO’s vocals, structurally, the pre-choruses are not thorough; the chanting (if I may label it as that) is plain, even if melodic vocals are added, and the instrumental is equally dry.
Slightly above average will be the score. Mechanically, the vocals save the section slightly, but overall, this format was slightly disappointing. Catchy as it may be, it lacks depth in terms of being an actual structure. By being a simple textbook-version pre-chorus, its sole purpose was hyping the song for the chorus.
4. Chorus: 8/10 – Wheein and Solar team up for the choruses.
Despite a weaker pre-chorus, this section does compensate. The choruses of “Piano Man” unveil MAMAMOO’s stronger vocals. Up until this point, their singing was based on remaining serene, but with this section, the opposite occurs: impactful vocals are heard. Peering more closely, besides powerful singing, a key aspect is how the vocals were guided; the vocals in the chorus retained the established melody, and additionally, remained within the boundaries of the song’s intensity. Blind, unrestricted vocals were nonexistent; instead, vocals that can still be considered powerful yet purposefully aimed are heard.
Due to being rather solid, a relatively higher score will be given. It lacks extra quality and aspects to push it towards a 9, but nevertheless, an 8 will suffice for MAMAMOO’s strong yet controlled vocals.
5. Post-Chorus: 6/10 – Moonbyul handles the post-choruses, although technically the other members are involved for the background vocals, and thus, everyone, in short, handles the post-choruses. Realistically, however, Moonbyul is the one receiving the spotlight.
Considering the post-choruses’ role here is to aid in a smoother transition back into the song, be it the second verse or even Moonbyul’s own rap, it somewhat fails in regards to that. Ironically, the post-choruses undermine that idea, and instead, the transition can be seen as somewhat rigid. Firstly, Moonbyul’s solo lines did the proper job of returning “Piano Man” to a slower, calmer state. However, the added background vocals negate that; the other members’ background lines involved chanting “yeah” in an impactful manner. Since the background vocals replicates the choruses’ style of powerful vocals, Moonbyul’s lines lose their functionality of transitioning the song back into the gentler tone. Focusing on the singing aspect and not entirely the format itself, Moonbyul’s lines possessed little melody. The background vocals do supply satisfying vocals, but as stated, they are out of place.
Homogenous to the pre-choruses, the post-choruses are mechanically sound, for the most part, with decent vocals, but format-wise, the section does falter. Perhaps removing the background vocals, or at the very least, lightening them via reducing the power, would aid the section.
6. Rap: 8/10 – Moonbyul is in charge of the rap, and although her lines in the post-choruses can be considered weaker, she utterly redeems herself through this section.
Surprisingly, even though this song is orientated towards regular singing vocals, this rap section completely suits the song. Moonbyul’s rap contains power, melody, and flow. Of the main factors for a rap, all are present; her words possess a heavier presence due to a mixture of Moonbyul’s charisma and voice, her rap carries a tuneful component similar to the usual singing heard, and most promisingly, her flow holds as extremely smooth and fluent. Ignoring the sheer mechanical aspects, the structure of the rap remains varying, and as a result, the rap as a whole becomes augmented. For example, the initial moment of the rap emphasized the flow and tune, and towards the end, power becomes highlighted.
Overall, a very impressive rap that is deserving of a higher score. Every aspect, whether it is the mechanics or format, are all solid.
7. Bridge: 6/10 – While there are solo words, the vast majority of the bridge is sung by MAMAMOO as a group.
On the surface, this bridge is seemingly rather solid, but once everything becomes accounted for, that is not quite the case. Initial moments of the bridge were decent; the unison singing gave the usual pacifying effect heard at bridges, and Wheein’s background vocals came off powerfully. What proceeds after that, however, is questionable. Specifically, the line of “We are MAMAMOO” provides an unnecessary contrast to the bridge’s established pacing and power. When factoring in even the moment after that line, powerful vocals were always present, and while that line could have been for emphasis, in the entirety of the bridge, it is moreover misplaced than suiting. Furthermore, the overall structure was not too appealing. Repeating “let’s swing, let’s groove” became stagnant, for example.
In the end, the mechanical aspects, as expected, prove to be impressive, but for the section as a whole, the format was weaker. Slightly above average will hold as the rating.
8. Conclusion (Post-Chorus): 7/10 – The post-chorus is recycled for the conclusion.
While the post-chorus in general is not individually spectacular, for concluding the song, it proves to be effective. Rather than following the traditional route of bringing the song to a relaxed, finishing state, “Piano Man” concludes with power. Moonbyul’s lines recur, and as anticipated, the other members’ background vocals are included. In this case of having no section afterwards, the impacting background vocals, unlike in the main part of the song where transition was a concern, become viable to use as a strong finish. This leaves “Piano Man” closing with the final impressions of MAMAMOO’s adept vocals, and overall, the energetic atmosphere is kept.
Overall, a solid conclusion due to a properly reused post-chorus. Above average will be the score.
– Line Distribution: 10/10 – With only four members in MAMAMOO, the Line Distribution score should be a free 10. Adding on, with every lady possessing incredible vocals, everyone is capable of superb singing, and thus, the share should be equal.
Solar’s lines involved the first verse and the choruses. While that may seem lacking, considering the duration of lines and how the choruses occurred three times, there is no issue with her share. She had sufficient spotlight.
Moonbyul’s moments include the post-choruses and, most prominently, her solo rap section. Since the post-choruses were replayed multiple times, and including how her rap section was solely for her, there are no issues with the line share. Moonbyul left a solid impression throughout the song.
Next is Wheein. Her lines included the choruses and a solo verse. Noticing the current trend, so far, it seems that every member is responsible for two sections. Her moment at the choruses were lengthy, and to ensure her presence was acknowledged, an entire verse was also given. No issues exist here.
Finally, for Hwasa’s lines, she was involved at the introduction and the first verse. Amazingly, the trend still holds true. Like her group members, she had two sections to handle. The introduction had a longer duration, and with the first verse, even her singing was showcased. A perfect amount of time was given.
Adding an excessive factor, a lot of moments involved everyone singing. Whether it was in the form of background vocals or two-part singing such as in the final chorus, even these additional parts had equal share.
A perfect score will be given. This is outstanding for line distributions, and although numerically MAMAMOO is at an advantage, it is nevertheless quite impressive to see a perfectly shared song.
– Instrumental: 8/10 – For the instrumental of “Piano Man,” thankfully and correctly, the piano is the main instrument; after all, with a song title of such, a piano soundtrack should be included. Focusing on the soundtrack, it provides solid support for the song. In terms of creating the song’s classier atmosphere, strictly utilizing instruments that reflect a classy, jazz style aid that purpose. Additionally, individually, the instrumental is pleasing. It holds a soothing and catchy aspect; the beats and main melody from the piano complement each other to deliver a lingering effect. On the subject of complementing, the vocals and soundtrack meshed exceptionally well. With stellar vocals, the instrumental ushered attention towards the singing, but nevertheless, a supportive layer was still supplied to reciprocate the vocals’ power and energy.
A solid score will be earned here. Individually the soundtrack holds well, and with helping MAMAMOO’s singing, that is also covered.
– Meaning: 6/10 – With an intriguing title, people are most likely pondering over its meaning. “Piano Man” might be praising, as the song title goes, a man who is very talented at the piano. Or, instead of praising, it might be flirting with a “piano man.” To end the speculations, here are the Korean-to-English translated lyrics. While they are not 100% accurate, the general idea should become uncloaked:
I’m ready for some action Are you ready for perfection? Hey piano man Hello, um
Such boring conversations Such senseless guys My high heels and carefully applied lipstick, they don’t even notice, how boring I think it was then you walked in A piano man who doesn’t fit in this place When his white finger touched the keys My eyes were wide opened
Hey piano man, your dancing hands The piano man, your unpredictable body movements What can I say, I want only you and me to be in this place
To the right, to the right, to the right To the left, to the left, to the left (yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah) (Word up, Moon Star)
It starts with the trumpet Can I get that? In between is the sound of the hi-hat Drum drum kick on top of the sweet dish of rhythm you place in the piano Let me introduce myself I like jeans instead of skirts, but they’re still crazy about me
Oh swing, let’s groove, singing Oh swing, let’s groove, my baby Oh swing, let’s groove Let us introduce ourselves, we are MAMAMOO Darling you are my own
Hey piano man, when this song ends, come to me (Come to me piano man) The piano man, the conversation is now over The last melody, I want it to be just you and me (Just you and me) I want to listen to it
Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, wanna keep meeting? (yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah)
My latter prediction holds as somewhat correct; the lyrics depict a flirtatious love story involving a lady and her love-interest, a “piano man.” Unlike the other males that have passed by, the main character becomes captivated by the piano man. His talent with the piano is what drives her interest; his “dancing hands” become an interest, and the act of his fingers “[brushing] against the keys” leads the lady to have “naughty thoughts” (perhaps such as him flirting with her instead of solely playing the piano). Other details further support the lady’s infatuation, and overall, the most unique aspect to these lyrics is the focus on the piano/music to reflect the lover’s feelings.
Between deciding a 6 or 7, I lean moreover towards a 6 due to weaker details, although they are numerous. Some details are miniscule, or somewhat irrelevant. For example, the rap section’s lyrics are not only confusing (although that may be due to translating), but it does not relate back into the flirting concept; music is related back to, but the piano man or the lady’s infatuation are not mentioned.
For “Piano Man,” unfortunately and fortunately, the “Critical Corner” label-to-be-decided section where we dive deeper and question the lyrics is not too relevant here. I admire that this song does shift away from the typical flirtatious stories where physical appearances are the catalyst for attraction. Instead, the main character is attracted to a certain man due to his talent with the piano, not his looks. Realistically, though, love and attraction should come over time; infatuation should not be an spontaneous emotion, but rather, developed overtime and building up due to understanding and finding out more about a love-interest. Anyhow, I cannot pinpoint anything to critically discuss for this song.
Choreography Score: 7/10 – With this final section left, we have the choreography to grade.
Factoring in “Piano Man” ‘s concept, a flashier, upbeat dance is not expected. Simplicity and calmness are this dance’s stronger points. Peering at the syncing, most of the choreography relates to the song; the beats matched movements, and even the flow was synchronized via different gestures and such. Unfortunately, for what is weaker in the choreography, the key points proved to be slightly lacking. While they varied at times, most of them were rather plain. For example, the piano playing key point for the choruses were clever in terms of matching to the song and lyrics, but visually, the dance itself remains insipid. Other key points were also equally uninteresting. Nevertheless, the slightly weaker key points are miniscule, and considering there were some strong key points such as the pre-choruses’ tap dancing, the key points, overall, still hold as decent.
More appealing key points could potentially bump up the score to an 8, but taking a different perspective on the choreography, nothing should be altered; the dance remains less physically demanding due to simpler key points, and thus, more stamina is allocated towards singing. As a result, for MAMAMOO’s purpose, the choreography perfectly suits their main objective of showcasing their dominating vocals. Ignoring this side note, the grade will still hold as above average.
Overall Score: 8/10 (7.5/10 raw score) – In the end, a high score of 8/10 holds. This is definitely reasonable and agreeable to. “Piano Man” discloses amazing vocals due to the members’ skills, and for the song itself, with decent song sections and a phemenonal line distribution, a high score is expected. Furthermore, even the choreography holds well.
As always, thank you very much for reading. I appreciate that you are willing to spend some time reading this review, so thank you. For the person who requested this, I hope I brought justice to this song in terms of genuinely grading it and with decently explaining. Also, apologies for a huge delay on this review; this song was requested weeks ago, but I have finally got to it. I will ensure future requests are heavily prioritized. Due to having some work to clear, my schedule has not been complete leisure time. Nevertheless, I still expect to finish strongly for December, and with my last week of break, to catch up on all my work. It is time to be like T-ARA’s Soyeon and to push through everything.
For other news, I have been recently getting a copious amount of positive feedback, and for that, I am very grateful. It is great to hear from readers and your thoughts on my review structure and writing. However, do not forget to also bring in criticism; while many shudder at that word, criticism is not necessarily bad at all, especially if it is constructive. Hearing how I can improve vastly aids my reviews, and from the past with feedback, I have learned a lot.
More important information, or at least, for those curious, I have two special reviews in mind. It has been a while since I have done show reviews, but I have two in mind. These will provide a welcoming change after a barrage of purely songs. To give hints on which shows they are, one is somewhat older, but the other one is new and ongoing (which makes me wonder if I can accurately review it). Anyhow, the first show focuses on my favorite male group, and the second focuses on one of my top groups in general. They will both hopefully be out within a few days.
This seems like an appropriate place to close, so once again, thank you for reading, for those who send in feedback, I appreciate all of the support and kind words sent. Although “the conversation is now over,” for “The last melody, I want it to be just you and me.” Stay tuned for the two upcoming show reviews (and usual song reviews). Keep checking back.
Personal Message: Before the review starts, I would like to mention a quick thank you for the support with my previous review of T-ARA’s “Little Apple.” Perhaps it is due to T-ARA’s soaring popularity, but that review was well received by many of my readers, so for that, I am very grateful. That also reminds me, T-ARA did have a dance practice video. I slightly regret not finding it sooner, for it clearly depicts how flawlessly synced the choreography was. At the very least, I can rest knowing an 8 was an accurate score given for the choreography section. Interestingly, however, “Little Apple” was still within its revision stages; the audio used for the dance practice was different in multiple areas in comparison to the official version.
Anyhow, for this review, we will be looking at a requested song (I’m always open to requests, so feel free to send them in; it’s a great way to interact with my readers). I will be covering Junggigo’s song of “Too Good.” Many will recognize his name; after all, he had a very successful duet song of “Some” with Sistar’s Soyu. From that sweet, romantic ballad, I became very fond of Junggigo’s singing. Although he is embarrassed by the nickname, “Honey Vocals Junggigo” (something along those lines if I recall in an interview) is quite accurate; his voice is exceptionally soothing, and as the name states, very sweet and gentle. While we are on the subject of duet, although “duet” would be an overstatement for this song, a featured person does appear: Boyfriend’s Minwoo. For those who have read my review on Boyfriend’s “Witch,” Minwoo was the main rapper of that song. Due to his specialty in that category, and with both singers being in the same label company of Starship Entertainment, for Junggigo’s song of “Too Good,” Minwoo is featured in a rap section.
Focusing on the song now, “Too Good” is a K-Drama OST (original sound track) for the drama of “High School: Love On.” This is not the first drama OST I have reviewed; Lena Park’s “Only With My Heart” was the first one. Coincidentally, both songs are not only K-Drama OSTs, but they are also ballads and both have been requested for review. On what is different, Junggigo’s song will not induce tears and sadness is more cheery and vastly more upbeat than Lena Park’s song.
Back on topic with “Too Good,” I will fill in some background about the drama according to a friend/teammate (if this is inaccurate, I will blame her Edit: Only the general ideas are accurate. To give a revamped version, the angel’s job was to “transition” people to the “after-life,” but instead, she broke the rules to save her future love-interest. As a result of saving the boy, she lost her angel status, and thus, became a human; a normal high school student like the person she saved). “High School: Love On” is, if romantic love stories are not already, somewhat cheesy in that it tells the story of an angel who, despite her angel mentor’s advice and his distaste towards humans, decides to go to Earth in order to become human. Why? Due to love. She has fallen in love with a high school boy. Yes, “love makes you do crazy things” is completely applied here.
Now, while I love ridiculous, cheesy love plots the drama may seem somewhat absurd (although another drama does follow a similar path; “You Who Came From the Stars” showcased a plot where, instead of an angel, an alien tries becoming human since he fell in love with a lady), thankfully, the song by Junggigo still remains outstanding. On a random note, I could link the music video of this song instead of an audio version, but since it showcases scenes from the drama, many readers would be confused at it. For example, for those confused on why she does not understand the concept of getting hit by a car and the physics associated with such, it is because of exactly that; she does not understand human life (nor love, I would assume, since that would create a romantic, jocular tone). I may add the music video, though, considering the lyrics are included and that there are a multitude of cute, romantic scenes. If not, a simple search of “Junggigo Too Good” will find it. Although the general opinion is that love stories are too ridiculous, I confess, I am a fan of them for the most part. Or at the very least, I would prefer watching love dramas over ones that include gore and such.
With all of that said, Junggigo offers his incredible vocals for this K-Drama OST. “Too Good” is a melodic, soothing yet upbeat ballad that will captivate listeners on the sole basis of his voice. Hopefully the song title is an accurate representation of the song itself; let’s take a look and see if this song is truly “Too Good.”
Song Total Score: 7/10 (7.25/10 raw score) – Average score of the sub-categories
– Vocals: 9/10 – With Junggigo, a very high score is anticipated. The vocals in this song are melodic, smooth, soothing, and as his nickname implies, very sweet with the romantic tone of “Too Good.” Being an adept singer, his singing is rather versatile; the range of slow and calm to powerful and upbeat is seen. During slower and calmer sections, his voice drifts off as extremely comforting, and for the upbeat parts, very charismatic and energetic. Furthermore, Junggigo’s note range is equally adaptable; high and low pitches are heard. If “Some” has not proven his talent, this OST ballad speaks for that. Junggigo is an incredible vocalist, and with such a sweet and charming voice, ballads are easily dominated by him.
Overall, amazing vocals exist in this song. For a ballad, everything is included. His singing brings in emotions, varying melodies and pacing, and it has both aspects of being soothing yet upbeat.
1. Introduction (Verse): 8/10 – Strangely, the introduction is using another song section. I believe this is the first song I’ve reviewed that has utilized this, but nevertheless it proves to be promising. To keep it less confusing, the verse itself will be discussed in-depth at the verse section. Instead, I will simply address whether the introduction benefits from this style.
Although it seems rather unusual to have a song dive straight into its core without a proper setup, “Too Good” manages to pull it off. Considering the verses are on a relatively lethargic pace, the introduction does not come off as too potent. The instrumental also follows suit with the pacing.
A methodical, patient setup occurs due to the verses’ original format and style, and as a result, a standard introduction becomes rather obsolete. The verses in “Too Good” work both roles as an introduction and verse. While I won’t dive into the actual verses here, considering how solid they are and the aspect of how the verses’ format fit as an introduction role, a higher score will be given. A proper setup occurs; melodic vocals are showcased, and the song’s overall mood and structure are unveiled.
2. Verse: 8/10 – Peering more closely at the verses, they hold as outstanding. For the most part, they all follow the same structure.
The verses begin slowly with both vocals and instrumental. Junggigo’s utilizes lower notes at the start. In terms of the melody, it differs and changes throughout the section. Eventually at the end, he does hit a higher note to conclude.
Looking at a verse entirely, it is exceptionally well done. With starting off slow, it creates a steady yet solid build-up. Another benefit is also gained: lower notes. Due to the verse’s initial rate, lower notes perfectly fit and that adds a smooth component to the verses. Focusing on the flow and melody, with Junggigo’s captivating voice, that in itself augments the softer tone that is bestowed. At the very end, Junggigo does toss in a higher note. This allows a proper shift to the next section, and in addition, some diversity is seen in regards to the notes. Instead of hearing solely slower and lower pitched lines, an energetic one is added.
Overall, an exceptionally charming section. This section definitely holds a solid score, and if I were being biased, I would add even more points. Junggigo’s voice utterly suits this section; lines became additionally gentle and soothing. Excellent pacing and build-up, varying notes, and a fantastic, soothing melody are the winning aspects to this section.
3. Chorus: 8/10 – Strangely, although not completely alien, the song dives straight into the chorus. Considering how the verse worked, however, this is acceptable; the previous section did subtle build-up for the song as a whole, and the transition ended on an impactful line that would suit a chorus.
For this part, Junggigo’s stronger vocals are heard. The instrumental also follows suit with bringing in more energy. In terms of his lines, the first two were impacting, and they had stretched endings. After that, Junggigo resumed a standard singing pace backed with a pleasing melody.
Knowing Junggigo’s singing is in its prime here, a solid section can be expected. Powerful vocals are showcased here. This works out perfectly considering the previous sections, the verses, end on a higher note. Thus, the higher level of intensity seen at the chorus fits the established trend and structure. Focusing on the melody, Junggigo’s hitting a variety of notes although most of them are within the same range. An interesting aspect was also how the melody was “stretched” at the beginning; while I won’t regard the first two lines as note holds, it showcased beautiful vocals. Additionally, the pacing switch prevents any staleness from occurring. Since the first two lines were slower and the remaining were faster, there is a lively flow to the section.
Overall, an impressive chorus in “Too Good.” Junggigo’s singing continues to be charming, and with a unique structure in terms of the pacing, melody, and vocal strength, a higher score will be given.
4. Post-Chorus: 7/10 – The post-chorus does have a subtle transition. Nevertheless, that should not be an issue, and this section is very definable and can be differentiated easily. All of the post-choruses are fully identical.
At the start, “Baby” is repeated three times. After that, a line follows it up. This entire format repeats for a total of three cycles, although for the very last line, an English line of “I’ll be always loving you” is utilized. Focusing on the singing, the “Baby baby baby” part takes the form of background vocals, and for the line that follows, it comes off as more prominent yet it remains gentle.
While the post-choruses are still decent, in comparison to the verses and choruses, this section does slightly falter. The use of “Baby baby baby” for background vocals allow a change in style to contrast the other sections, but this line is on the weaker side. Unlike the melodic singing Junggigo has shown, “Baby” remains lackluster; little energy is added nor is any pleasurable tune heard. The only asset is that the progressing line ends up sounding more impactful and becomes slightly emphasized, but other than that, the background vocals strip away the established sweet and melodic style of the song as a whole.
In the end, this section still holds as above average. Alternating lines of background to main vocals may add a varying section, but the background vocals were on the duller side. Nevertheless, for the other lines, Junggigo’s singing heavily compensates. The post-choruses are still decent sections, but juxtaposing it to the previous parts, it does become slightly overshadowed.
5. Bridge: 6/10 – The bridge of “Too Good” has potential, but unfortunately, it does not manage to hold as exceptionally spectacular.
This section initiates with an English line of “You’re my beautiful baby girl” (my opinion on this line will be at the Meaning section). A similar line, also in English, is sung after that first line. Now after that, Junggigo sings the final line in Korean. The final line does contain a stronger end.
Firstly, the initial singing took the form of background vocals, and homogenous to the post-choruses, the same issue of being dull occurs. Sadly, the background vocals has a longer duration here unlike the post-chorus. The contrast of how “Too Good” in its entirety is rather melodic hurts this section’s beginning; this background singing fails to fit the established standard. There is no pleasing melody, and the instrumental remains neutral and passive. To end on a positive note, when the main vocals are heard, Junggigo delivers the usual sweet tune and finishes the bridge with a perfectly suiting high note hold. That creates a solid wrap up, even if the beginning was rougher.
As mentioned earlier, this section has the proper structure to do well. It fits the overarching gentle and calmer tone since no insane note hold was used, and furthermore, it did not hold as utterly and absurdly passive. What does fail is the background vocals used; plain singing would have been more beneficial. Slightly above average is the rating here.
6. Rap: 7/10 – Finally, the section where Minwoo from the group Boyfriend raps.
Minwoo’s rap is accompanied by a slightly more passive instrumental. His rap maintains a decent speed and flow. In terms of the melody, the rap did not fluctuate too much with different notes, but nevertheless retained the softer atmosphere of the song.
Taking into account that seldom do ballads possess rapping sections, this part may seem somewhat unusual. Thankfully, however, Minwoo proves that raps in ballads are indeed viable. For his rap, the instrumental’s shift to becoming passive works out favorably; Minwoo’s rap becomes the sheer highlight. Looking at the rap itself, considering the song is a ballad, his style would need to utterly suit the romantic, sweet tone that has been created. In this situation, he succeeds. The pacing is slow enough so that it suits the ballad genre, and on the other side, sufficiently fast enough to prevent the rap from feeling lethargic. Onto his flow, words proved to be smooth; line after line, word after word, it was all rather fluent. In fact, certain word endings supported that: “deureowaseo” and “mannasseo” as well as “ani” and “sigani” are examples. When it comes to the melody, this is perhaps the weakest aspect to the rap. There was little diversity with pitches, but considering raps are not meant to be melody oriented, but rather, heavily focusing on speed and flow, it is a very miniscule issue.
In the end, an above average rap. Minwoo’s flow and speed were very suitable to the song as whole. Nothing was lacking nor overly done. The only issue derived from this section is something easily overlooked, although it will prevent potentially higher scores. A decent section nevertheless, and with how rare and difficult it is to craft a rap section in a ballad, accomplishing that feat is stunning.
7. Conclusion: 8/10 – While a final post-chorus does play out, I am counting the very last moment with the instrumental playing out.
For the conclusion, the instrumental and vocals run for a few seconds. Slowly, the instrumental fades away, and as expected, Junggigo’s vocals of “Oh” and such follow suit.
Even though the conclusion is rather short, it is a solid wrap-up to the song. Having the instrumental and vocals fade slowly leaves a lingering presence of the song. Additionally, it was a proper way to conclude “Too Good”; nothing was abrupt nor was it seemingly too long.
A solid conclusion for the beautiful ballad. It was concise, precise, and an important aspect, efficient. “Too Good” holds a satisfying end.
– Line Distribution: X/10 – Minwoo is only featured, so this song is still mainly a solo ballad. This will not be graded.
– Instrumental: 7/10 – The instrumental for “Too Good” is on the stronger side. Progression is a key aspect to the soundtrack; starting off slow and gradually becoming more complex aids the song as a whole. From the verse to post-chorus, and of course other sections, the instrumental’s intensity correlates to Junggigo’s singing. Solid chemistry is seen from both sides, and due to that, the song is vastly augmented. On that subject, when it comes to how well the instrumental suits the vocals, it does an excellent job. Considering that Junggigo is an outstanding singer, by having a soundtrack that simply adds a foundation layer to the song, Junggigo’s vocals are supported without leeching away attention. Lastly, for how well the soundtrack sounds on its own, it holds as solid as well. A cheerful, happier and romantic mood can be gleaned from the instrumental possessing graceful sounds. Adding on, the soundtrack proves to be soothing or energizing, similar to the singing.
Above average is the rating for the instrumental. It fulfills its role of helping the vocals and it remains delightful on its own.
– Meaning: 6/10 – With a song title of “Too Good” coupled by the fact that the K-Drama is related to a romantic plot, I am expecting some sweet, love-filled lyrics. Perhaps the lover believes their love-interest is “too good,” or that their life is now “too good” thanks to their love-interest. Anyhow, through these Korean-to-English translated lyrics, let’s uncover the story behind the song. As always, these lyrics are not 100% accurate due to pure translating, but with the music video also supplying lyrics, it should be very accurate:
It feels like I’m living in a dream every day I’m still not used to this kind of life When I’m with you, the stars twinkle during the day
I don’t want to meet anyone else but you Without you, I don’t want to do anything When I’m with my friends, I’m always thinking about you
You’re too much for me You’re too good for me Anyone can see you’re beautiful Everyone wants you I can’t believe you’re mine
Baby baby baby, you’re too much Baby baby baby, you’re too good Baby baby baby, today and tomorrow I’ll be always loving you
When I see you, it feels like the whole world is mine I don’t want to be anyone else but me If it’s for you, I feel like I can do anything
You’re too much for me You’re too good for me Anyone can see you’re beautiful Everyone wants you I can’t believe you’re mine
Baby baby baby, you’re too much Baby baby baby, you’re too good Baby baby baby, today and tomorrow I’ll be always loving you
You’re my beautiful baby girl (so beautiful) You’re my only one baby girl You’re more dazzling than the sun in the blue sky
Anyone can see that we’re so close now You’re my sunshine, I’m your sunflower I’m so glad that you came into my life I was lost for a while but I finally met you Our first meet was a bit awkward It was no coincidence did you know? Spending time with you and the flowers in full bloom Even when the seasons change, I will like you a lot
You’re too much for me You’re too good for me Anyone can see you’re beautiful Everyone wants you I can’t believe you’re mine
Baby baby baby, you’re too much Baby baby baby, you’re too good Baby baby baby, today and tomorrow I’ll be always loving you
“Too Good” ‘s lyrics positively unveil a love story. Reflecting back on the drama, these lyrics could perhaps reciprocate what the boy feels towards the angel. Anyhow, analyzing the lyrics from a neutral stance, the song tells a story of a lover who is exceptionally infatuated with his love-interest. Specifically in this case, and by adding in context of the drama, the lover is most likely the teenage boy who feels a certain way towards the girl, the angel who saved him. The boy feels as if he is in a “dream” since his love-interest is, as stated from the title, “too good.”
Overall, the lyrics prove to be very adorable and sweet. While I enjoy the love tone, it does remain rather lacking in details. Many ideas repeat, such as the concept of how the girl is “too good” and that his life has completely changed for the better thanks to her. Nevertheless, decent lyrics that will be rated as slightly above average. Extra details would easily bump it up to a 7.
Transitioning to the bonus part of the Meaning grading section, I will now take a more critical stance on some of the lyrics. I will not account this into the grading unless if something erroneous pops up. As mentioned earlier, there is the line of “baby girl” that is used at the bridge. Now, while the lyrics do depict a story of a boy and girl falling in love, “baby” is an understatement. An over-understatement, more precisely. While the connotation is sweet and all, I personally find it rather absurd; especially in a more realistic setting of love where, instead of teenagers, adults are the ones in love, being referred to as a “baby” would seem less charming than expected. Unless if there is literally a “baby girl” as the subject, it would be vastly better to find other delightful words to express love and care towards a love-interest.
I could also begin a rant towards how the lyrics place seemingly extra value towards physical beauty, but since it does not go in-depth towards the love-interest’s physical attributes, I will not bother going on a tangent on this topic. Nevertheless, I will reiterate that love is truthfully hardly based on physical attraction; a person’s intelligence, attitude, personality and such are the main factors to determining attraction. Additionally, beauty should be loosely attached to physical aspects. I will end it off here for the time being.
Overall Score: 7/10 (7.25/10 raw score) – With only the Song Total Score being accounted for, this leaves “Too Good” with a 7/10, which is actually shockingly lower than expected. This song should be at an 8/10 I would imagine. Perhaps the Meaning score should have been a 7, but I will leave the score as is. Biasedly, I hold this song at an 8.
As always, thank you very much for reading this review. I apologize for being exceptionally delayed with reviews; it has been 8 days (I think) since I last posted, so huge apologies. I have been slacking with reviews. To compensate, a few speed reviews are in the work, and depending on how they go, I may opt to find a balance between my current style of reviews and a “speed review.” To the person who requested this, thank you so much for sharing an incredible song. I do feel ashamed, though, that this review is rather weak. Due to slightly rushing and having weaker writing for this review, I feel regretful and wish I could have done a better job. I will strive harder to improve my writing and reviews. Anyhow, thank you once more for sticking around and being patient. I sincerely appreciate every reader.
For those curious on upcoming reviews, I still have a requested song to finish, and along with that, a plethora of other songs I have been yearning to review. I have been multi-tasking and have begun a speed review, so I plan to quickly finish that one soon. Look forward to them, and with Winter Break coming soon, positively, reviews will come out rather quickly.
With all of that said, I believe this is a proper place to conclude this review. I am personally slightly frustrated at myself for writing a lacking review, but I will attempt to have a stronger one for next time. Thank you once more for reading, and to the requester, it has been a pleasure to receive this song. Expect MAMAMOO’s “Piano Man” to come out shortly along with other songs. Stay tuned and continue to check back. I will attempt to fix my current rate of reviews. “You’re too good for me,” so I will work harder to bring better reviews.
Personal Message: I am exceptionally delayed with releasing reviews. As of right now, I am drowning with lots of work, and with due dates being threateningly close, I’m not prioritizing reviews. Nevertheless, I am still attempting to work on this review as much as possible per day. And, since I believe in honesty, I have been slacking slightly in both work and reviews; videos have been draining a lot of time. But, considering how AOA has been the most hilarious group (so far in my experience) to go on “Weekly Idol,” I believe the time lost is somewhat understandable. Furthermore, I have been pumping extra time into practicing for my E-Sports team. Performance-wise, I’ve been slacking so I am trying to correct that.
Anyhow, as readers may have predicted, I am finally reviewing AOA; specifically, “Like a Cat.” This song definitely poses as a serious contestor to T-ARA’s “Roly Poly” for what I would consider the “catchiest song.” Before anything else is said, to address the link, it is a live performance but, knowing FNC Entertainment’s trend (AOA’s label company), their official dance practice video should be released as well. Unlike a vast majority of other K-Pop labels, their company actually takes the time to upload multiple perspectives of AOA’s choreography; versions of eye contact, full view, and even mirrored have all been uploaded for their previous songs (or at least from what I browsed through). For a better view of the choreography, search up their official one. As of the time I am typing this sentence, their company has yet to upload it, but I am confident in their release of it in the future. That also reminds me, an acoustic version could potentially be released as well. Those versions are extremely beautiful and graceful. "Short Hair" Acoustic Version is one I cannot recommend enough; in fact, I will link it: AOA – “Short Hair” Acoustic Version (I’m a huge ballad fan as readers may know).
Now to add even more delay before the actual review (although for those who can’t stand my tangents, feel free to just skip this section), I will give my opinion on AOA as a whole. I am still personally familiarizing myself with these ladies, but nevertheless, I have found them to be very captivating and solid. To begin, I will focus on their personality side. All of the members have definitely won my heart via interviews, going on shows, and such.
For those curious on a specific lady of AOA that has captured my attention, Choa has proven to be very charming. While her exquisite hair style and glistening eyeliner and eyeshadow hold as infatuating, her attitude makes her even more beautiful. She constantly strives to improve her skills as a singer and dancer. Her wish is to become a popular singer one day, and I have complete confidence in that outcome (and arguably, that has already come true). Another aspect that I found really admirable was her background; her parents had no intentions of allowing her to pursue a career in the entertainment business (realistically, most parents would be against that). Nevertheless, she yearned to be a singer and pursued it despite her parents’ desires. After multiple audition attempts, she made it. Passion is a powerful drive; anyone is capable of accomplishing anything through following it. Anyhow, Choa has proven to be a very remarkable, inspiring lady. Besides, if not for anything else, at least her laugh is very jocular and sweet. Now, if only she was as “hip” as her younger members. Then again, keeping up with the current pop-culture of slang and whatnot is quite difficult. Even without being 24 years old like her, I tend to be out of the loop for everything (and likewise in my own team, I end up being the laughable one for being oblivious; even more embarrassing is that I’m the second youngest).
This also brings me to another point: age. AOA is, so far in my experience, the youngest group I know of; their average age is 21 (I think). It’s also quite interesting that Jimin, their leader, is not the oldest despite holding that position (ironic that I am the one saying that). But, of course, my vision of a leader is heavily distorted by stereotypes and such; when it comes to the leader role, I envision the person to be the oldest, and additionally, I would expect her to come off with a serious, upholding demeanor. Although Jimin falls short on being the oldest and having a solemn attitude, she still showcases excellent responsibility and care towards her members. And actually looking over this section, I really don’t know how this relates to anything. I wanted to start a conversation on K-Pop idols’ ages and how, for a lack of a better word/phrase, they are “bereft of a ‘normal’, youthful life.” After all, it is intriguing to know that the ladies possess no cell phones, and through the variety show “Weekly Idol,” recently got gifted with a TV. FNC Entertainment may be the one responsible for this, but obviously, it is unclear. And actually, it is another subject that I find the lack of those electronics “intriguing” (I am guiltily poisoned with the idea of electronics and such as “normal”). Time to get back on track; this is perhaps the most random, unrelated Personal Message section I’ve ever wrote for my reviews.
In terms of what readers typically come here for, I will now address AOA from a K-Pop/musical standpoint. The very first song I heard from them was “Confused,” and unfortunately, I found that song to be on the weaker spectrum. Eventually, they continued to rise in popularity, and with their release of “Short Hair,” I finally paid more attention. Fast forward further, their current comeback of “Like a Cat” solidified their position on my personal list of groups to remain updated with.
Something I find respectable and enlightening is the fact that AOA has kept their original style throughout their career. Whether it’s their sexy-themed concepts or their distinctive way of singing and song producers following their trend, it has all remained identical. There was no sudden switch that left people clutching at their aching hearts (I’m obviously in no way referring to Hello Venus’ “Sticky Sticky”; I’m also in no way self-promoting the previous review I wrote on that song). While arguably there was a change in terms of switching from an actual band to the standard dance/singing groups, I will exclude that. The final point on why I find this impressive is due to their growth in popularity. From my personal experience, most of the groups that have made it to the higher tiers did, at one point, make a sudden change or, in a lot of cases, constantly go through different concepts and style to keep a high appeal (T-ARA is perhaps the prime example; they have done multiple, varying concepts to gain the public’s love). In Ace of Angels’/AOA’s case, despite retaining the same mature concepts, they are still growing. Changing to please current trends never occurred. Furthermore, witnessing a group that can be considered “underdogs” work their way to the top is satisfying; a sense of pride and proudness derives from that sole idea (and perhaps this is a miniscule tint on what parents might feel when their children grow up).
I have stated way more than enough (I never knew I’d be so loquacious about AOA) . I will personally blame the dark chocolate I consumed during my time of writing, but anyhow, it is time to focus on their comeback of “Like a Cat.” As foreseen, the seven ladies of AOA are returning with a sexy-themed, mature style. This time, however, their main concept/idea is, as Jimin said in their silly dance tutorial, “learning dating skills from a cat.” The lyrics and dance manipulate a cat’s communication and movement in relation to love and flirting.
Anyhow, did the guard-beating diamond-stealing spies of AOA acquire a jackpot jewelry that will captivate ladies and men? The music video claims so, but through this review, let’s find out for sure.
Song Total Score: 7/10 (6.6/10 raw score) – Average score of the sub-categories
– Vocals: 7/10 – Tossing a quick disclaimer, as always, I recommend listening to the official audio. Listening to the live performance, in the case of wearing headphones, it sounds rather jumbled (live singing/not singing and background playback are not meshing well for this performance). Nevertheless, the quality isn’t too awful.
In light of AOA’s vocals for “Like a Cat,” they are rated on the higher side. AOA does an exceptional job with carrying forth the melody. The flow is catchy, upbeat, and full of altering pitches. In terms of power, while this song was not orientated towards that aspect, the members showed off impactful, lingering lines. Another excellent aspect of these adept singers is how consistent and stable their voices are. Now, in regards to what is not as solid, the post-chorus and (hoping that Jimin won’t whip me like the guards fans won’t decimate me) their leader’s singing/rapping voice hold on the weaker side. The post-chorus showcased a tedious, melodic sound of “Lalalalala,” and while it holds as exceptionally catchy (more in detail later), the vocals disclosed there were not stunning. Before I begin discussing Jimin’s voice, as mentioned elsewhere, I am judging from a musical lens; every voice is unique and beautiful, and in no way am I attempting to bash a specific type of voice. Jimin’s normal speaking voice is very gentle and sweet. With my safety ensured that said, although her rapping is mechanically sound, her higher pitched, nasally voice does contrast every other member’s voice harshly. Her vocals may benefit the introduction, but overall, juxtaposing the other member’s singing to Jimin’s, the disparity stings.
Above average is the score for “Like a Cat.” From what I have observed, AOA as a whole are not the most adept at singing, but they nevertheless possess decent singing skills. Yuna and Choa are their main vocalists (Hyejeong is also worth mentioning), and indeed, they alleviate the vocal load for their other members in this song. Everyone else, although they held their ground, failed to show off utterly mesmerizing vocals.
1. Introduction: 8/10 – Jimin is their go-to member for initiating songs; “Miniskirt,” “Short Hair,” “Moya,” and now that I recall more of their songs, practically all of them have had Jimin leading it. For “Like a Cat,” there is no exception to the trend; their leader starts it off.
“Like a Cat” begins with a seemingly random and slightly obnoxious horn sound. After that, Jimin arrives with her lines. With her unique nasally and high pitched voice, she tosses out energetic, catchy, and upbeat English phrases (and while pronounciation is not graded, applause for her flawless English; it was so comprehensible that I actually mistakened a Korean line for an English one). The flow of the lines remain very diverse with different durations, lengths, melody, and background vocals. At the very end, Jimin concludes with the signature of “Brave Sound” (their song producer).
While there are a multitude of weaker aspects to the introduction, it still possesses a higher score of an 8; a solid score. Focusing on the strengths of the introduction, variety and energy have to be the biggest factors. By utilizing different structures such as background vocals of “geu eodil bwado” (means “no matter where you look”; this was the line that I personally heard as “I’ll be by the toe” when in reality, it was a Korean line) and “I know,” it generates and establishes the song’s energetic tune in addition to preventing staleness. Every line spoken was individual and not identical to any other part. Jimin exceeded her role; not only was the song’s mood and energy properly prepared, her varying lines provided a proper hook that would bind listeners.
Contrasting the strengths of this section, what does remain lacking would be predominantly Jimin’s voice along with the questionable horn sound. Regarding the very initial seconds of the song, the horn sound was moreover tumultuous than musical; it was loud and could have been potentially evaded. The only benefit that derives from the use of that noise was a cheap and quick method to instantaneously boost the song’s intensity and energy. Although, in the large scheme, that sound is necessary to smoothly begin the song, a different approach would be more desirable. As for Jimin’s voice, as stated earlier, it is not the most pleasing to hear for a song. While it provided forth a lot of energy and fun, it has a slight tint of annoyance and becomes slightly dull.
Overall, the introduction still holds as solid; the cons are miniscule considering how the horn sound was very brief, and solely Jimin’s voice itself comes off as slightly displeasing. Ignoring the lesser issues, however, and a strong introduction holds. The song engaged listeners via fun, upbeat lines. Additionally, the foundation was properly laid out; the song’s pacing, intensity, and style were all given from the start. An 8 is well deserved.
2. Verse: 7/10 – There is only one verse in this song. This format is not completely alien; we have seen this before in other songs that I have reviewed (not sure on specific ones). Anyhow, Seolhyun and Choa handle this section.
Seolhyun is the first one to sing. Her first two lines involve slower pacing to accommodate the developing melody. Certain endings of “…ae” were also exploited to create a lingering tune. Progressing on, her last line quickens in order to transition to Choa. Once Choa begins, her lines follow the same format as her fellow member.
The verse had the role of developing the song. Coming after the introduction which was relatively energetic, it would be too sudden to have the song play out in high-gear; as a result, a slower, methodical approach would be preferred. In this case, that happened; Seolhyun and Choa were simply constructing the song. By having vocals that were on the calmer side, the explosive vocals that occur later became preservered. In terms of the small sound play with the ending sound of “…ae,” it created some extra specialty to prevent the section from becoming dull.
In summary, the verses lie with a score of above average. While the setup was thoughtful and systematic, the vocals were not dazing nor was the instrumental enticing. Nevertheless, in terms of building up the song, this section fulfilled that role.
3. Pre-Chorus: 7/10 – Mina, a very kind-hearted member, handles the first portion of every pre-chorus. Hyejeong does support her; she arrives for the last half of the pre-choruses. Although pre-choruses tend to heavily hype up a song in preparation for the chorus, “Like a Cat” is a song that remains rather mellow. Therefore, the pre-choruses do not necessarily serve that standard role as typically found in a vast majority of songs. Fitting that role or not, the pre-choruses in “Like a Cat” are decent.
Mina starts the section off with an impactful presence. One line is normally sung, but after that, there is a unique chunking flow; lines of “Spotlight-light-light-light” and “Headline-line-line-line” become used. Once Mina finishes, Hyejeong arrives with melodic and semi-powerful vocals and wraps up the section.
Mina’s part augments this section vastly thanks to having the “Spotlight-light-light-light” (I did not intend for a pun) and “Headline-line-line-line” lines (I still hold my claim). Through this flow, it creates a lingering, catchy and tuneful section. In regards to Hyejeong’s part, her vocals were solid; melody and some power went towards it. Besides leaving a solid impression, her lines provided a very smooth transition to the chorus. Her vocals gave a glance for how the chorus’ vocals would be. As a result, the switch from the pre-chorus to the chorus is borderline undetected.
In the end, although the outline is solid, the singing, specifically on Mina’s part, was not spectacular enough to glean a higher score. Nevertheless, a very promising section that will lure in listeners whether it’s due to Mina’s lines or Hyejeong’s melodic vocals.
4. Chorus: 8/10 – Previously mentioned, the transition to the chorus is nearly cloaked; the chorus sounds as if it is simply an extension to the pre-chorus. While that could be possible, to keep sections less complicated, I will label this as the chorus (and overall, it is a chorus). Choa and Yuna, AOA’s strongest singers, cooperate for this section. Knowing the capabilities of these ladies (check out their acoustic cover for evidence), a solid section is anticipated.
Choa sings first. Her lines follow a slower, sliced up flow. Yuna continues with the same style. Reflecting on the vocals, they were, as expected, very solid. Both Yuna and Choa showcased a delightful and very melodic part. On top of that, the instrumental did its part of supporting the section.
Diving deeper, the strength of the chorus lies in the fact of having a strong flow of melody. For example, Choa’s chunked pacing such as with “sappunsappun” allowed catchiness to build. In addition, their vocals went through a diverse range of speed and pitches; some lines were faster while others were slower, and regarding pitches, the ladies were hitting higher notes at certain endings. Additionally, the instrumental amplified the section as a whole by remaining hyped enough to reciprocate the vocals, but at the same time, it remained passive enough to not strip the attention towards the singing.
A solid section. Having their main vocalists singing as a pair allowed for a very adept and fantastic section. The instrumental also gave justice with supporting the members.
5. Post-Chorus: 7/10 – The post-chorus involves all of the members, although Jimin does have solo lines. This section is perhaps the trademark of “Like a Cat”; it is simple yet extremely catchy. Mentioned earlier, this song challenges T-ARA’s “Roly Poly” for what I would consider the “catchiest song.” That is an impressive feat considering how the chorus of “Roly Poly” becomes heavily ingrained in listeners’ heads.
The post-choruses of the song follow the format of chanting “Lalala” (multiple “La”s; exact number will be at the Meaning Score) which is then followed up by Jimin tossing in an English line of “I’m good I’m hot I’m fresh I’m fly” (opinion on this later as well). This repeats twice.
Firstly, while the structure of the chanting is mediocre considering it is a standard chant, “Like a Cat” manages to unveil a decent section. Being exceptionally catchy is arguably the only, yet promising, asset to the post-choruses; the “La” chanting lingers around. Peering on purely the chanting, unlike a lot of other songs (Girls’ Generation’s “I Got a Boy” for example), the chanting here remains complex despite recycling the same sound tediously. The pacing varies, and likewise, so does the melody. In terms of preventing staleness, Jimin’s lines ensure that; the solo lines break away the homogenous flow of “La” sounds, and therefore, it allows some extra diversity along with a change in structure.
Even though I usually loathe this type of format (chanting a sound over and over), “Like a Cat” manages to achieve an above average post-chorus score; a 5 at max is normally what I would give, but a 7 will be earned. Despite how many times I’ve listened to this song, the post-chorus still retains its unique chanting and catchiness. I will claim this is even more catchier than T-ARA’s “Roly Poly” ‘s choruses.
6. Rap: 7/10 – Chanmi and Jimin are responsible for the rapping in “Like a Cat.”
Coming right after the post-chorus, Jimin shoots out a few lines. Her lines follow a flow of rapping one line, and towards the end, having a kissing noise play as Jimin takes a short pause. After that, Chanmi arrives with her own rapping line. Once she finishes, Jimin wraps the section up with another line that ends with a “meow.”
Although I complained about Jimin’s voice earlier, it does aid her rapping via making it sound coherent and smooth. The rapping here was decently paced in terms of the song. What remains slightly weaker is the flow itself. Words were not pouring out like water; there were some rigid, rougher spots. On the subject of subtle details, there were plenty added. The kissing noise during Jimin’s pauses not only reflected the lyrics, but additionally, it created a variety from pure rapping. The transition was also smooth since the “meow” was a clear indication of the rap ending.
Overall, above average for a rap. The different details added make it a unique rap. If the flow of words were smoother, an 8 would have been possible. Nevertheless, it remains a charming rap.
7. Bridge: 7/10 – The chorus duo returns for the bridge; Choa and Yuna deliver this section. High expectations are set for these ladies, so let’s see if they surpass predictions.
Yuna kicks the bridge off with a slower yet impacting line. Her next line slowly deescalates in terms of power, but it still retains the slower and melodic flow. Choa continues where Yuna left off. Her initial line possesses decent power and she adds a small note hold at “arajwo.” Further on, she tosses in a few English words and towards the end, she releases a lighter, impressive high pitched note hold at “bam~.”
While I would not personally mark this bridge as a phenomenal one, it still deserves a lot of highlight. Yuna’s intro to the section created some build-up, and with her slowly bringing her vocal strength down, it allowed a smooth transition for Choa. Once her member takes over, disclosing her adept talent was the focus. Choa’s power and note spectrum was revealed. Her note hold towards the end was also a solid mark on the climactic point of “Like a Cat.”
The structure and format of the bridge is admirable, and of course, the ladies’ vocals are as well. What does remain an issue, however, is it remains very basic; there was nothing to separate this bridge from other ones. The vocals were solid, but nothing was outstanding. Even the instrumental proved to be a background.
Overall, above average. The bridge lacks some extra aspects to push it towards an 8. Note holds that occurred were fine, but the other parts, such as Yuna’s initial singing, were not utterly captivating. Nevertheless, it is still a respectable bridge.
8. Conclusion (Post-Chorus): 8/10 – Finally, the last part of the song. The conclusion does have the post-chorus replaying, but this time, Choa throws in some two-part singing.
With the normal post-chorus playing out, Choa simply adds in some note holds of “Woah~” and tosses in an English phrase of “The pretty girls are here, oh baby come on~” which does end in a solid, powerful note hold. Once the dust settles with the original post-chorus fading, Choa adds a final line of “Come on over boy” which eventually disappears as well.
From the start, I will say this conclusion is solid. Having the post-chorus reused is an excellent way to leave “Like a Cat” ‘s remnants; the catchiness and looping sounds of “Lalala” and such will stay with listeners. In terms of Choa’s two-part singing, it was a strong finish. Her lines showcased power, sweet melody, and high note capabilities. Her part was also the finishing touch; it added the last climactic moment. When it comes to very end, it was a smooth end. No abrupt cuts or extended periods existed; it song calmly faded out.
A solid ending. This conclusion will net a score of 8. It is stunning in regards to both the two-part singing and the alluring post-chorus. “Like a Cat” concludes effectively and efficiently.
– Line Distribution: 6/10 – With a size of 7 members, distribution of lines may be slightly challenging. Nonetheless, it is very plausible to achieve a high score.
Starting with Choa, she appears at the verse, the bridge, and of course, the choruses. To excessively add more, she also performs two-part singing at the conclusion. As many can tell, she had sufficient time; “sufficient” is a questionable term, however, considering that she might have been given too much time. Being too prominent might cause scarcity of lines for other members, but we shall find out.
Next up is Jimin. The leader’s moments involved the introduction, the solo lines during the post-choruses, and lastly, the rap section. No issues exist here. Every section she appeared at was rather influential; the introduction radiates with her presence along with the other sections.
Yuna had no issues, either. Her lines included the choruses, and she had a part in the bridge. While she may seem lacking in comparison to Jimin and Choa, for what a member should be given in this song’s duration, Yuna had the perfect balance; not lacking but not excessive.
Hyejeong’s lines occurred at solely the pre-choruses. Since her lines were on the longer duration, no issues truly stem from this except for a lack of variety. For the most part, no issues.
In Mina’s case, her “Spotlight-light-light-light” (I’m sure people saw that coming) consisted of solely the pre-choruses. Similar to Hyejeong, since her lines were lengthier, she had enough time. Although singing different, additional lines would have been preferred, there is little trouble here.
Seolhyun, unfortunately, does remaining somewhat lacking. She occurred at solely the first and only verse, but unlike Jimin, her lines did not leave any impactful, lingering memories. Due to that, she can be seen as deprived of some singing time. Having one more additional moment elsewhere would have been desired.
Lastly, we the maknae (youngest person) of AOA: Chanmi. If Seolhyun’s lines, or lack thereof, proved to be an issue, then Chanmi is in a rough situation. Essentially, her lines are completely unnecessary, and sadly, it would have been even viable if Jimin simply took her lines. Chanmi occurred at the rap section in which predominantly Jimin was rapping; only two lines were rapped from Chanmi. Similar to an old review of Boyfriend’s “Witch,” the rap section in that song had the same issue; two people rapped, but in reality, only the main rapper was necessary. Anyhow, a horrendous distribution for Chanmi; her lines were not only short, but furthermore, were completely replaceable with Jimin simply taking over.
One additional factor to account for is that all the ladies sing during the post-chorus, but unfortunately, since that section leaned moreover towards chanting than singing, it loses its value of being “lines” in the song.
In the end, 5/7 members had adequate lines, and even then, scrutinizing further would reveal that it is still somewhat imbalanced. Choa comes off as too prominent although biasedly, I can’t complain, and Mina and Hyejeong were slightly lacking. The only member with a near-perfect distribution was Yuna. Overall, disappointing for a share of lines. For the score, considering it was mainly 5/7 members (that equates to roughly 70% of AOA) singing, adding in the vital factors of how Choa slightly overpowered the song and Mina’s and Hyejeong’s semi-lacking lines, a lower score will be given. 6 for slightly above average. Normally, 6-membered groups do fine, so even adding one more person should not prove to be troubling. On the other hand, even 9-membered groups are capable of solid distributions. It is somewhat disappointing to see issues occur here.
– Instrumental: 7/10 – The instrumental in “Like a Cat” is pleasing; it adds a supportive foundation for the vocals along with other utilities.
Meshing with the vocals was natural; neither parties contrasted the other one harshly. In terms of matching up to the song’s flow, that was followed through. The instrumental was only as energetic as the vocals. A clear example is observing the pre-chorus to the post-chorus: the instrumental steps up a notch to accommodate the singing, but once the post-chorus arrives, it plays out as slightly passive in order to fit the chanting. Individually, the instrumental had a soothing, attractive, and catchy influence. A solid soundtrack by itself.
Overall, above average. It lacks the extra spice to gain a higher rating, but nevertheless, it holds as very suiting towards the vocals, and on its own, it comes off as a catchy soundtrack.
– Meaning: 6/10 – “Like a Cat” is a unique title. I predict lyrics that tell a flirtatious love-story. After all, Jimin did claim that datings skills can be derived from a cat. For an off-topic story/fact, apparently slowly blinking at a cat (or receiving such) is their way of sharing affection. For those wondering if this is true, I will ask a teammate who is obsessed with cats (his cats are truly adorable and irresistible). On topic, through these Korean-to-English translated lyrics, let’s find out the story:
Hey no matter where you go (No matter where you look) The pretty girls are AOA You know (I know) You know (I know) I’m good I’m hot I’m fresh I’m fly Brave Sound
You say you’ve never seen a girl like me before That you had a feeling as soon as you saw me Said that I especially shined even among the many people Your head turns to look at me Your eyes are filled with me Seeing you hesitate to talk to me is so cute
The sunlight shines on me like a spotlight-light-light-light Only I am in your head as a headline-line-line-line Even when you dream, you’ll see me Are you worrying? Stop it Come to me, baby come on
I’ll walk over to you like a cat Picking a rose, I’ll give it to you, I’ll surprise you I’ll walk over to you like a cat When you’re asleep, I will softly hug you, I’ll surprise you
Lalalalalala Lalalalalala Lalalalalala I’m good I’m hot I’m fresh I’m fly Lalalalalala Lalalalalala Lalalalalala I’m good I’m hot I’m fresh I’m fly
I want to go to you like a cat Tonight, without anyone knowing I wanna softly kiss you on your lips when you’re sound asleep You and I, on this sweet night, let’s hold tight to the night You’re my wolf, I’m your cute cat
The sunlight shines on me like a spotlight-light-light-light Only I am in your head as a headline-line-line-line Even when you dream, you’ll see me Are you worrying? Stop it Come to me, baby come on
I’ll walk over to you like a cat Picking a rose, I’ll give it to you, I’ll surprise you I’ll walk over to you like a cat When you’re asleep, I will softly hug you, I’ll surprise you
Lalalalalala Lalalalalala Lalalalalala I’m good I’m hot I’m fresh I’m fly Lalalalalala Lalalalalala Lalalalalala I’m good I’m hot I’m fresh I’m fly
We fly high, hug me tonight and fly higher So I can touch the clouds and the moon Know how my trembling heart flies so lightly Oh talk to me, oh lead me Oh kiss me baby tonight
Lalalalalala Lalalalalala Lalalalalala I’m good I’m hot I’m fresh I’m fly (Come baby, kiss baby) Lalalalalala Lalalalalala Lalalalalala (The pretty girls are here, oh baby come on~) I’m good I’m hot I’m fresh I’m fly (Come on over boy)
The lyrics are indeed about a loving and flirting scenario. Although specifically in this case the main character is a “girl” (“lady” is the true word if I want to be really picky), overall, it remains neutral in relation to gender; the main character could be simply described as a “lover.” Focusing on what is depicted, a lady is expressing her wishes about her love-interest. Lavishing her love-interest with flowers, hugs, kisses, and such are the main details. Unlike a lot of other stories that have a shy lover, the character in “Like a Cat” has a confident, slightly arrogant demeanor. She feels that she is “good,” “hot,” “fresh,” and “fly.” There are multiple details and different aspects that showcase how infatuated the lover is, but the amount is minimal considering most ideas are essentially repeated.
Overall, a decent love story. It remains cute and charming, and as a result, a tint of sexiness is also gleaned from that. Slightly above average for the lyrics. Extra details would easily bump it up to a 7, but as of now, a 6 will be the score. Nevertheless, it is a sweeter story; after all, assuming you have no allergies with flowers, who would not love such a gift?
Now for the “nitpicking” in terms of picking out some intriguing parts of the lyrics, I find the post-chorus’ terms slightly strange. And before going any further, this will not affect the score unless if it is exponentially significant. Addressing, “I’m good I’m hot I’m fresh I’m fly,” while it adds a lot of energy and upbeatness for the song, in terms of breaking down the meaning, it holds as very absurd. Perhaps I am pulling the “I-am-Choa-so-I-don’t-know-slang” card, but I find the diction used for that line questionable. As some readers may know by now, the term “hot,” in my personal list, is very basic and not worth utilizing as an adjective towards describing a person’s physical, intelligent, and personality beauty. Unless if temperature is the subject, “hot” can be replaced by a plethora of other meaningful, vastly more significant words. For the other terms, “fresh” and “fly” are equally absurd, but considering how those are slang words that are probably related to “cool” and whatnot, it will be forgiven. I will cut it off here. Although I am positive that other lines are worth breaking apart, for the sake of keeping the review running, I will progress to the next part.
Choreography Score: 6/10 – Quick note, as of the time I typed this sentence, FNC Entertainment did release their official dance practice videos (full version, eye contact, and for dancers, a .8x speed video to make it easier to learn). There is one issue, however: Mina is nowhere to be seen. From what I know, she is busy with filming a drama, hence why she is absent. In the end, it turns out the linked performance will be what I recommend just for the purpose of seeing the full group.
Digressing aside, the dance for “Like a Cat” does hold as lacking. Even though I am probably still scarred from Hello Venus’ “Sticky Sticky” dance relieved to see that the dance was not overly sexualized, it does, unfortunately, remain somewhat mediocre. Syncing was shockingly a large issue; the verse is one example of how the music and dance maneuvers were disconnected. During that section, although the motions were emulating the song’s flow and pacing, it was inconsistent and the only clear, unequivocal moves that synced properly were at the very end of Seolhyun and Choa’s singing. Other sections were also guilty of not matching up to the song. The only sections that were flawlessly synced were the post-choruses and rap; for the post-choruses, every beat was related to a “hip” snap, and for the rap, the flow was matched. Paying attention to the key points (repeated movesets), none were too appealing. A vast majority of the choreography focused on emulating a cat’s movement, but that sadly proved to be either poorly synced or simply dull. Even sections without mimicking a cat, such as the post-chorus, were equally loathing.
A choreography does not need to be utterly complex, and in fact, simplicity is sometimes very effective (T-ARA’s “Number 9” is a solid example), but without properly syncing and having unique maneuvers or positions, the simplicity concept completely backfires, such as in this case. Although it hurts to give a lower-end score for a section that heavily impacts the overall rating, I will grade fairly assuming I forget about Choa and give a 6 for slightly above average. “Like a Cat” has a simple choreography that contains potential, but unluckily, AOA does not manage to execute a completely infatuating dance. Nevertheless, there are still some adequate moments despite how poorly synced and unappealing the key points were. Due to that, the score is not hitting the bottom of the scale.
Now, to add a small tangent on the sexual part of the dance: the “hip” snapping part. In all honesty, everyone knows it is a butt-orientated part versus the current label of a “hip” dance. To say the least, it is interesting and I hold multiple positions regarding it. What I can appreciate is how subtle it is in comparison to a lot of other songs (or maybe I am still simply traumatized by my previous review). Although sexual-orientated parts prove to be obstructive at times due to deconstructing maneuvers to very plain, basic motions, in this case, due to proper syncing and the lack of emphasis/exaggeration, that theme was not too hindering. Nevertheless, sexual or not, the post-chorus’ dance was still very stale. On a different topic, regarding AOA’s choreographies in general, while most of them have explicit or implicit sexual concepts, they tend to be properly executed; nothing is grotesque in terms of being vastly inappropriate or overly emphasized. Remaining mature and retaining maneuvers that relate to the music itself is what AOA does well for the realm of sexy-themed choreographies.
Overall Score: 7/10 (6.5/10 raw score) – At the end, AOA’s “Like a Cat” finishes with a 7/10, and that represents above average, and I do agree with that value. If we are being keen towards the raw scores, however, I am slightly concerned that the Song Score did finish with a 6.6; that is threateningly low. The weaker Line Distribution Score and Meaning Score might have been the reasons.
Anyhow, although statistically the song is not too strong, biasedly, I find it a very catchy song. If I were to review this song via “feelings” versus logic like how I used to long ago in the past, I would have given this an 8. Realistically, of course, we can see certain flaws throughout the song, and that it truly is not the best. Nevertheless, it is above average and I still highly recommend AOA. I have been watching a lot of their interviews and whatnot. I will claim they are a rising group, and it is well deserved. These ladies have worked very hard to get to where they currently are at. Lots of respect towards them. That also reminds me, although I did not link the music video, in comparison to a lot of other ones (or once again, I might still be mentally scarred), it is well done with retaining AOA’s usual sexual-themes without going overboard (but nonetheless, it is very sexualized at certain moments). Besides, it is the first music video I saw with a small plot occurring. Anyways, I personally will be keeping track of AOA’s future releases and such. They have won my heart through their humor, wit, intelligence, and very respectable dedication, and they have won my ears with decent songs (although in honesty, most of their songs are “above average” or even just “slightly above average” if I were to review them).
As I always say and do, thank you very much for reading this review. I hope I did the song justice. I considered being hasty and quickly finishing this review, but I went against that and went my usual pacing. Nevertheless, I apologize deeply for not posting anything for 8 days. As I mentioned with an update post, I have been very busy with school work, so I’m allocating more times toward that. I will be making a strong return during Thanksgiving break; I plan to do a song per day during my time off. While I am skeptical on that, please look forward to it. Thanks for your patience and time, I appreciate it so, so much.
In terms of upcoming reviews, for some reason, during periods where I have multiple songs in mind, I end up being very time restricted. Lots of ballad songs are in mind, but there are also a lot of regular K-Pop songs as well. In order to keep things diverse, I will probably review a male group. But, if I may add my personal belief or at least my experience, males already have enough attention; society is male-orientated and dominated enough. And for those who will get defensive, I am not offending males; I am stating that society is simply structured towards males’ perspective. Point is, if my next review does happen to be another female artist, readers should not overreact and claim I am not being “fair” and such.
Now with that said, I have both male and female artists in mind to review. I will probably do a rushed review for one song I consider mediocre, and then return with a more detailed review on another song. In fact, I think I may review a song with a different language other than Korean; Girls’ Generation did release a Japanese ballad a while back, and I will say, it is indescribably beautiful. To go off topic, music holds a very interesting position in relation to culture and whatnot. Despite how Japanese sounds very foreign to me (and note, unlike a vast majority of newbies exposed to songs with different languages, I said “foreign” and not “weird/strange” or, forbid, “wrong”), I can still heavily appreciate the music and vocals. And, uniquely, the emotional vibe is still felt despite having a language barrier. I am sure a lot of K-Pop enthusiasts can relate; even for those who don’t understand Korean at all, let alone the culture and such, it is impossible to deny that some songs do sound amazing despite sounding foreign.
Back on track, I plan to either review Girls’ Generation’s “Divine” (the J-Ballad) or GOT7’s “Girls Girls Girls” (faster review) for my next one. Even then, I have 5 other songs in mind as well. That reminds me, Hyorin from Sistar did make a solo comeback, so I might review her recent ballad. But, keep in mind I am already drowning in work, so look forward to it, but do not put in too much anticipation. Overall, it will remain a surprise for what my next review is. I have an itch to review a ballad song. With winter coming and all, ballads are always soothing.
I have said too much for this review, so I believe this is a proper place to end it. Once again, thank you very much for the wait. I sincerely appreciate your patience, and I will do my best to repay that with a barrage of reviews coming out during my own break. If it was possible, I would be “Picking a rose” and I would “give it to you.” Thanks for reading, stay tuned for future reviews and for other fun posts as well.
Personal Message: As promised, I will be covering Hello Venus’ recent comeback song, “Sticky Sticky”. I am actually reviewing this without having a proper video link, but by the time this review is finished, I am sure a high-quality live performance video will be published. Currently in terms of when I wrote this Personal Message section, every live performance video was either blurry visually, or in the audio department, very difficult to hear. Given a few more days, a proper link should be attached in this review. Now if their label company is feeling awfully generous, we may be bathed in luxury by having a dance practice video. Chances of that, however, is probably as low as an abyss.
Focusing on what really matters, I will give my personal opinion and insight on Hello Venus’ complete revamp. The most obvious change would be the lost of two ladies; Yoonjo and YooAra left during the summer if I recall correctly. Diving into the technicalities of what exactly happened, in honesty, I am not fully sure. But for those who are very curious, their original label company had a split. Unfortunately, due to that, YooAra and Yoonjo were under another label company than the other members (again, I might be completely wrong, but I remember something along the line of this), and as a result, they weren’t able to stay in Hello Venus. That said, considering how Hello Venus was very unpopular and hardly recognized, I expected the lost of the two valuable members to be the catalyst for disbanding. Fast forward a few months, I have been proven wrong; Hello Venus is still active.
Now that the roster change is clarified, although I am not familiar with this group at all, if my brain is properly functioning, in their previous song of “Do You Want Some Tea?” (check out my newbie review of it), YooAra was a solid vocalist. Losing her probably affected a lot of their vocal capabilities. Their two new members are Seoyoung and Yeoreum, and, from a single perspective of “Sticky Sticky”, neither of them have promising vocals. Then again, not a single member was able to show off impressive vocals for this song. I will simply cut it off here. The real review will begin below.
The final aspect of their changes to discuss, which I’m sure readers are quite curious on, is their concept: cute to sexy. Personally, I did not expect nor desire this; their original cute concept was what made them very unique. Perhaps I am just still in morbid shock; after all, if Apink swapped over to a sexy concept, I am positive that fans would be clutching at their hearts. Anyhow, it will be interesting to observe Hello Venus in the long run. They were not the first group to abandon a cute, lighter concept. Girl’s Day is a prominent group that comes to mind. They started off as adorable, but then transitioned over to give off a stronger, sexier image. In Girl’s Day’s case, that switch was what allowed them to be at their current popularity. Will it work for Hello Venus? In my opinion, no. From my observations, the biggest, most influential factor that Girl’s Day gleaned from switching over to a sexy concept were their vocals; they sounded like the incredible ladies they are versus their original, childish singing style. Sadly, in Hello Venus’ case, the opposite happened: they sound worse. “Do You Want Some Tea?” showcased solid vocals despite being on the cute style. For their comeback, “sexy” vocals are not heard at all. Arguably, I will claim their cute concept’s vocals were vastly “sexier”; they were genuinely decent.
Anyhow, I have went on for long enough on that subject. In short, I am hoping Hello Venus goes back to their original concept, or at least, to alternate the two concepts of cute or sexy, or another solution, to do a combination such as with Girl’s Day’s “Darling”. As of now, Hello Venus’ current concept is overwhelming different. I may just be purely biased right now, however. That might be the case since I watched the music video (I rarely watch the MVs of K-Pop songs; live performances and/or dance practices are what I watch) and expected their original concept. As a result, I was completely caught off guard and disturbed by how sexual it was. To share a tangent, “implicit” sexy concepts are my preferred concepts for the sexy category (and for those wondering what is my favorite concept in general, I am not bound to one; biasedly, T-ARA and Nine Muses’ general songs/choreographies are ones I’ve found appealing). For example, the choreographies of Nine Muses are bold, confident, powerful, but they possess sexiness disguised in the form of remaining mature and respectable. In the scenario of Hello Venus’ “Sticky Sticky”, the choreography is heavily focused on blatant sexual dance moves. Their label company should have stuck with the original style, but they must have had some deliberate purposes for this change (and actually, a discussion about which concepts are most appealing/profitable would be interesting).
I have digressed for way too long, and in fact, this review might hold the record of the longest Personal Message section yet. Anyhow, Hello Venus’ recent comeback song is “Sticky Sticky”. As stated earlier, the ladies are swapping over to a sexy concept. Despite losing two members during the summer, they have rebounded with the addition of two new teammates. Although it is admirable to see them persevere, their latest song leaves them in a “Sticky Sticky” situation; it does not compete with their previous song.
Song Total Score: 5/10 (5.4/10 raw score) – Average score of the sub-categories
– Vocals: 5/10 – Considering Hello Venus was given an 8 before for their vocals, seeing a 5 here is absurd. The style of this song may be the one to blame.
“Sticky Sticky” showcases average vocals. The singing holds as weak and exceptionally stale. The melody provided was simplistic; a spectrum of notes did not exist. Even during the bridge section, the higher pitches were not too appealing. In terms of being stale, the style thwarts the vocals from being diverse. Strangely, for this song, the ladies had to sing in a raspier voice. Due to this, a lot of the melody becomes clogged down and restricted. (As a disclaimer, as I mentioned before in my review of “Red” by Hyuna, I am judging voices from a musical aspect; every voice is indeed unique, charming, and beautiful. There is nothing wrong with having a raspy voice at all. Every voice should be well respected.)
Average vocals for this song. Hello Venus in the past have shown competent vocal capabilities, but in this song, the style of raspiness and the lack of diverse pitches lead to an exceptionally stale song from a vocals perspective. It’s pitiful that “sexy” vocals mean the ladies have to hinder their own voices to suit the theme. What would have been “sexy” would be their normal singing voices. They have proven to have stunning vocals, but for this song, that is not showcased.
1. Introduction: 5/10 – This introduction is what I personally call a “trademark” introduction. This is due to the song producer, Brave Brothers, always leaving his signature (and actually, one day I may give a brief discussion regarding K-Pop songs and the main song producers). Anyhow, a male voice introduces the group and the producer. Throughout the voiceover, Hello Venus adds “Hello” in a raspy tone.
This introduction leans towards the mediocre side, but considering how efficiently it sets up the song, it holds as adequate. The vocals’ style is instantly established and the slower paced instrumental is set. Furthermore, this section remains compact; nothing excessive.
Overall, an average section. Quickly setting up the sexier theme and delivering the vocal and instrumental styles was properly done. What does remain lacking is how plain and dull it is. A “trademark” concept without any other aspect to support it holds as pure narration. Sadly, such was the case here. Although Hello Venus did add their “Hello” lines, they were simply adding a background narrating voice. A current example of a stronger trademark introduction would be AOA’s “Like a Cat” (next review in line). AOA has a trademark introduction for all of their song’s beginning, but due to either actually singing or having twists and a variety of melody and words, they manage to pull it in a stunningly appealing manner. Anyhow, on track with “Sticky Sticky”, the introduction is rated as average.
2. Post-Chorus: 4/10 – Considering how the post-chorus is instantly used when, as the name states, it should be found after a chorus, this section may seem absurd in terms of the order. Nevertheless, despite all odds, the timing is acceptable. All of the ladies sing for the post-choruses.
The post-choruses involve a melodic repetition of “Oh”. Unfortunately, there is nothing else to add onto that.
Repetition and staleness are huge issues for the post-choruses. There is no diversity in terms of the words used (it was only one word), and the melody, despite being withered down due to the raspy vocals, is endlessly looped. These aspects are perfect bait for luring out tedious sections. The only benefit regarding this section would be how it does hold as slightly catchy, but taking into account of how there is little complexity involved, that brings the post-choruses to a “Sticky” situation.
Overall, below average. This section is simply too repetitive. If the vocals were more impressive or the section’s length was shortened, then perhaps it would be slightly stronger. As of now, however, staleness is a large issue. One of the most stagnant sections I’ve heard in a song.
3. Verse: 5/10 – Yooyoung and Alice handle the first verse, and as typical, I will focus on the first verse for critiquing.
Yooyoung arrives with a slower pacing to accommodate the instrumental’s rate. The vocals retain the expected raspiness. Towards her last line, she does add some emphasis at the last word “geol” for a smooth transition to Alice. Once she takes over, she replicates Yooyoung’s style. There is a difference, however, towards the middle of her part. Her words of “tteugeoun nungire” have extra power going towards them. After that, Alice concludes her last line.
From a vocal standpoint, it holds as mediocre. There was minimal melodic flow for the singing; staleness becomes derived from such. In terms of the emphasized parts, they slightly alleviate the dullness, but not by much considering the amplifications were still vocally lacking. The only strength that emerges from this section is the proper chemistry between vocals and instrumental. Both sides were identically paced.
Overall, an average section. Should the emphasized parts not have existed, this would be leaning towards the negative scoring scale (less than 5). Thankfully, with some minimal differences in the flow due to emphasis, a penalty won’t occur. Nevertheless, the section is bereft of anything solid. The vocals are mediocre, the instrumental provides solely a foundation, and the melody, despite the emphasized words, is still equally plain.
4. Pre-Chorus: 5/10 – Nara handles the first pre-chorus by herself. For this song, the pre-choruses are rather shorter. That is not an issue; the pre-choruses fulfill their roles.
Upon transitioning to this section, the instrumental makes a subtle increase in energy. It becomes slightly faster. Nara’s part involves reaching for the higher pitches. At the very end, she manages to hit a high note for transitioning the song to the chorus.
For the most part, the pre-chorus does the standard role. It escalates the song’s intensity in preparation for the chorus. Focusing on the singing, while Nara’s range is respectable, once again, the raspiness impairs vocal abilities. The ending could have been vastly stronger if the “sexy” themed singing was decimated. Due to the raspier style, the high noted ending sounded as if she was lacking breath. In a song, it is almost imperative to always show sustained vocals, not faltering and languishing ones (although in different situations, this wouldn’t hold as true).
Another average section in “Sticky Sticky”. The vocal skill is partially witnessed via high notes, but the style of delivering the lines is not solid. Simply put, this section did its standard job of bringing the song’s intensity up for the chorus. Anything else, however, remains out of the picture.
5. Chorus: 5/10 – So far, as readers can tell, this song is coming off as purely average. Will the chorus follow suit? Perhaps. Alice and Seoyoung team up for the first chorus.
Alice begins the chorus with decently powered vocals. Her lines become slightly more dynamic by being sliced up into bits. During the ending parts of “…hage” and “…lae”, there are small pauses after each part. Seoyoung’s part emulates her member exactly. After both ladies finish, the song transitions into the post-chorus.
If it has not yet been clear, this song is quite average. As anticipated, another average section. The pacing here provides some fluctuating lines. That allows for diversity and prevents some staleness. Vocally, though, both ladies were limited by the raspy, weaker tone. “…hage” is an example of how the raspiness constricted their vocal range. Additionally, with how the instrumental became slightly more upbeat, seeing the vocals reciprocating that would have been desired. The chorus in “Sticky Sticky” leaves room for improvement.
6. Bridge: 6/10 – Three members are responsible for the bridge. Seoyoung, Nara, and Alice are the ones in specific.
Coming off with decent power, Seoyoung initiates the bridge with “I’m in love”. She adds one more line before Nara tags in. In contrast to the power, Nara gives a slower, quieter tone. Following that up is Alice who, in coordination with Seoyoung, hits a higher pitched and strong note hold. Once all the dust clears, the song proceeds with the post-chorus/conclusion.
Personally, I have mixed feelings about this bridge. Although the ladies kept their raspiness style, they were, against all odds, able to show off an energetic, melodic, and impactful bridge. The note hold at the very end was well executed in both categories of power and coordination (Seoyoung joined in). What prevents me from confidently giving a high score is due to peering at the song as a whole. I expected a relatively dull calm bridge. The song in general was rather mellow and quieter, and therefore, any bridge with a climax occurring in the form of a powerful note hold would be unexpected and unsuitable. Sadly, “Sticky Sticky” uses the climactic bridge concept.
Overall, slightly above average. The bridge itself was well done. Vocals were diverse despite the rife raspy style, and the note hold was impressive. What holds the bridge back is the approach of it; impacting and powerful. Having a calmer bridge would have suited the song as a whole. The section is mechanically well done, but systematically at fault.
7. Conclusion (Post-Chorus): 5/10 – Similar to the bridge, this section contrasts the other pieces harshly. Head-on power in the form of the post-chorus occurs for the conclusion. All of the ladies chip in.
The post-chorus plays out as usual. However, this time different members throw in high notes and perform two-part singing.
Since the post-choruses were exceptionally bleak, considering how the conclusion takes away such via two-part singing, a solid ending should be expected. That is not the result. Similarly to the bridge, this conclusion was overdone; the two-part singing and explosive vocals were too potent. A calmer end should have been done.
Overall, an average section. The vocal skills were respectable, but this style either should have been included near the start, or, if left out, remain out. This conclusion fails to fit the established trends and it fails to bring the song to a smooth end.
– Line Distribution: 6/10 – There are 6 members in Hello Venus, so a high score should be expected.
Alice has a part at the first verse, she appears at the choruses, and returns at the bridge. Plenty of time was given to her.
Nara handled the first pre-chorus and appears at the bridge. Slightly lacking considering both moments were very short in duration.
Lime is heard at the second half of the second verse. One part for her, so not too impressive. More time could have been given.
Seoyoung had sufficient lines. She appears at the choruses and bridge. No issues.
Yooyoung is witnessed at the verses. The first halves of the verses belong to her. An ample amount of time was given.
Yeoreum possessed solely one pre-chorus. Considering how short the pre-choruses were, not much time was given.
Lastly, the final thing to account for is all the ladies sing during the post-choruses.
The main issues in the share of lines for “Sticky Sticky” is predominately with Yeoreum, but other members such as Lime and Nara were also lacking. Even with all the members singing the post-chorus, more time could have been allocated towards three of the members. Slightly above average, but nevertheless, slightly disappointing.
– Instrumental: 6/10 – The instrumental in “Sticky Sticky” works as a foundation; it remains subtle and a part of the background, but it fulfills its job of supporting the vocals. During moments where the intensity was higher, the instrumental followed suit. Individually, the soundtrack is a slower paced and calmer orientated type. The beats are consistent and provide decent rhythm. Other sounds hold as decent.
Overall, slightly above average. It meshes well with Hello Venus’ singing, and individually, it remains as a soothing soundtrack. Nothing too spectacular, but it can be regarded as sufficient.
– Meaning: 5/10 – “Sticky Sticky”; an interesting title. I am expecting a love-related story that isn’t necessarily cheerful, but rather, a “Sticky Sticky” situation such as a fight. And no, for my fellow readers that follow me from my E-Sports activities, this song is not praising the Demoman’s beloved weapon (and for those completely lost, just nod your head and ignore this). Putting aside my inhumanely awful joke/pun, let’s take a look at the story from these translated lyrics. It is not 100% accurate, but here are the Korean-to-English translated lines:
(Hello) It’s a new beginning (Hello) Brave Sound and Hello Venus (Hello) Now we together, let’s go
Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh
I’m so full of charm Am I really sexy? Just by giving you a look, you get so happy You can’t take your eyes off me Your hot stares at me make my heart pound, too
Hold my hands, hum along and whisper love to me, oh baby
Sticky sticky, risky risky I wanna hug you, I wanna have you next to me tonight Sticky sticky, electric electric Wanna come to me? You’re it, catch me tonight
Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh
Make me lose my breath Make me dizzy because of you My cheeks are red Your naughty hands are so busy Your sweet words are like chocolate My heart is like melted candy In your hands, sticky sticky
Hold my hands, hum along and whisper love to me, oh baby
Sticky sticky, risky risky I wanna hug you, I wanna have you next to me tonight Sticky sticky, electric electric Wanna come to me? You’re it, catch me tonight
Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh
I’m in love, I’ve fallen deep into your heart, can’t escape Hold me tight, sweetly tell me Make it sticky, our own tonight
Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh
In reality, my predictions were completely off; the sheer opposite happened. “Sticky Sticky” describes a flirtatious love-related story. A lady or gentleman is in a situation where, as the title says, they are heavily attached to their partner in both a physical and an emotional level. Through physical contact such as holding hands or hugging, the couple is “Sticky Sticky”, but with being in love with one another, they are also glued together via feelings.
In the end, an intimate, passionate love story is unveiled. While the story itself is interesting and slightly different than others, details remain lacking. The verses are mainly the sections that give details. Everything else is a repeat of the same idea of “Sticky Sticky”. Average lyrics. If more details were added, a higher score would have been given.
Choreography Score: 5/10 – To be straightforward, the choreography of “Sticky Sticky” is, as every other section in this song has proven to practically be, average.
Syncing with the song was consistent, but there were numerous moments where a connection between movements and the song was lost. Examples include the verses. In terms of the key points, they were not impressive. Every section recycled the same dance sets, and in focus of every set, they were mediocre. Ignoring the sexual aspect of the dance (which will be discussed in a few more lines), the dance maneuvers remained extremely simplistic. The post-chorus’ dance section was equally plain as the musical section itself. The only benefit of the dance would be how it reflects the song’s slower pacing.
Now as stated earlier, time to address the sexually-orientated dance. It is one thing to have a section overly sexualized, but it is another issue when that typically involves whittling down the dance to simply moving or (forbid) groping a body part. Blatant sexual dances are not only disturbing, but it simply notches the choreography’s complexity down by a significant degree. To use a current song as an opposite, AOA’s “Like a Cat” is a solid example of a sexy-theme while remaining subtle. Hello Venus’ “Sticky Sticky” becomes hindered by their sexually explicit dance sections. To clarify, most of the time (sexualization in media will be saved for another time), and that is a questionable frequency term, sexy-themed concepts in K-Pop songs are not instantly bad; the largest indicator is explicit versus implicit. Nine Muses, for example, has been known to lean towards the sexier side, but it has never been outrageously disturbing (but I’ll be honest, “Wild” was overwhelming at first due to the MV) since their choreography and song are limited by being very subtle and passive.
Anyhow, point is, a sexy-theme doesn’t immediately corrupt a song’s or choreography’s rating unless if it is poorly executed. What ruins the concept is when it is overly exaggerated or explicitly done. And lastly, for fans who are indeed clutching at their aching hearts for Hello Venus’ concept change, these ladies are simply cooperating with their label company. I am positive that the members of Hello Venus are, in fact, genuinely sexy ladies; like many idols, they are extremely hard working, talented, intelligent, and persevering. Sounds sexy enough.
To bring this all the way back to the choreography, it holds as average. The dance’s key points are weak, and certain parts are impaired due to a poorly executed sexually-orientated part.
Overall Score: 5/10 (5/10 raw score) – Both the Song Total Score and Choreography Score are rated at a 5, thus, the Overall Score will follow as such. This leaves Hello Venus’ comeback at a rating of average, which I do reside with. The song itself is average and similarly is the choreography.
Perhaps in the future Hello Venus will release a hit, but as of now, their song holds as mediocre. Nevertheless, I am glad the group is still active. Rebounding from a roster disaster is very admirable.
As I always do, thank you for reading this. Apologies for being rather slow with this review. I did slightly rush this review, but hopefully it still remains cohesive enough. Thank you very much, though, for sticking around and reading. It means a lot.
For my next review, AOA’s recent comeback of “Like a Cat” has caught my attention, so that will be reviewed shortly. Their other songs have been notable, but nothing was too outstanding. “Like a Cat”, however, has definitely captured my ears. Anyhow, I appreciate how they have an “AOA” style to their songs and that they’ve stuck with the same concept throughout their entire career. They’re a group that’s rapidly gaining popularity, and considering they were (don’t hurt me) underdogs, it’s really pleasing to witness that. More will be discussed about this if I remember on their review.
I am currently bundled down with work, so reviews are not a priority. School before anything else, but I will do my best to keep up. The end has arrived. Thank you for all the support; “Your sweet words are like chocolate”. Keep checking back for a review on AOA’s “Like a Cat”.
Girls’ Generation – I Got A Boy (short/live vers.)
Reviewed on November 8, 2014
Personal Message: There are so many things to address/share before this review. To begin, this will be the first review of November 2014. Let’s keep things rolling well, and, through work, improving. Something to address quickly, this review will be based on the live performance linked above; this version is significantly shorter (30 – 40 seconds?). What is lost is a bridge section in addition to shorter transitions (I think). I am keeping it this way to prevent readers from becoming confused with the performance audio and the official audio. Overall, though, it’s practically identical.
Anyhow, why am I digging all the way back to 2013 for this song? Originally, VIXX’s “Error” was going to be reviewed, but then I saw that they did a dance cover of Girls’ Generation “I Got A Boy”. As a result, it made me look over this song once more, and considering this song won YouTube’s Music Award (right?), I took an even closer look and decided to review it.
For a short story, I remember vividly this era of Girls’ Generation. It was a huge sensation and hit (side note, it’d be so much fun to analyze and figure out why it was so popular, etc.). People from all over loved the song, concept, and style. Personally, when it came to the song itself, my initial take was “What is this thing?” Now of course, “thing” might’ve been said differently, but I was quite repelled by the song. Silly joke aside, it still remains as one of the most disorganized songs I’ve listened to, even after coming back to it after many months.
One last story I have to share, though, is how a recent “discussion” about Girls’ Generation and this song led to me being called a “woman-loving feminist”. Now if this person told me that in a cheerful, friendly way, it’d be a different story. However, her style of delivering that was in a muttered, menacing tone. Quickly summing up the discussion, I mentioned how ladies should be able to happily express that they “Got A Boy” they love. Perhaps my phrasing of “men are ‘unnecessary’” was poorly worded, and thus, I got the comment stated above. I simply meant how females should not feel obligated to be with a male for the sake of just being with a male. Anyhow, what irritated me the most was how feminist was said with such a negative connotation when that should not be the case. Believing both genders are equal shouldn’t be anything close to bad. But, to each their own opinion; after all, this is the same friend that gave me trouble for watching “The TaeTiSeo” (check out my review on that show). And as a disclaimer, in no way am I trying to put my friend down; she just has different perspectives than me, and I fully accept and understand that.
Back on track with this song, as mentioned, Girls’ Generation was extremely popular during this time. Perhaps it was due to this song’s uniqueness, the chic styles, or most likely, a combination of the two. While this song comes off as a mixture of hip-hop, regular pop, funkiness, and full of fun, it still remains very disorganized. I haven’t even started organizing the different song structures, but I feel quite intimidated.
Even with my own personal dislike towards this song, I won’t let that hinder me from reviewing it fairly. After all, the intelligent, tough, and hard working ladies of Girls’ Generation were very prominent during this time. A reason must exist for that. Enough said, “Let me introduce myself, here comes trouble” in the form of Girls’ Generation’s “I Got A Boy”
Song Total Score: 6/10 (6/10 raw score) – Average score of the sub-categories
– Vocals: 7/10 – Knowing it’s Girls’ Generation, a 9 would be expected. Unfortunately, for this song, that is not quite the case. For moments where there was individual singing, the vocals were decent. What doesn’t remain too solid is their chanting; moments during the chorus and pre-choruses. While those sections had catchy, energetic vocals, nothing vocally stunning was shown at all. Peering back at individual parts, when a single member would sing her own lines and part, it would remain sufficient; not too strong but nothing to look over. Adding a fun mood is the benefit of their vocals in this song.
Overall, for “I Got A Boy”, vocally intensive lines were nonexistent. Nevertheless, the vocals were very catchy and upbeat. The choruses and pre-choruses showcase vocals that capture attention, but in terms of moments that unveil high vocal skills, there were little to none. Above average for vocals. Although this song in specific lacks their standard score, Girls’ Generation has proven that they can be very adept singers; examples include “Mr. Mr.” and with their sub-unit group, TaeTiSeo.
1. Introduction: 9/10 – Personally, this may be one of my favorite introductions. Ignoring my bias, however, it would still hold as a fantastic introduction. Sooyoung, Yuri, and Tiffany handle the introduction.
The song starts off with Sooyoung yelling out, “Ayo, Sooyoung!” After that, a few lines are sung/spoken (depending on if you consider that singing). Eventually, Yuri takes over and replicates Sooyoung’s style. Once Yuri’s part closes, Tiffany takes over. The instrumental also shifts to a lighter, energetic and upbeat version. Tiffany’s lines include confident and fun words. A smooth transition is created from such. One last thing to add is during certain words, such as “eo-meo” and “wae geuraetdae?”, all the ladies chip in for emphasis.
In terms of the introduction’s role, the start of the song should capture the attention of listeners. In addition, it should allow listeners to anticipate what is to come. For “I Got A Boy”, all of those parameters are set; the dialogue style at the beginning lures people in, and the energetic vocals and instrumental set up the song. To go into detail, Sooyoung and Yuri’s part was a short story/dialogue (the Meaning Score section will cover it). Musically, their lines were on the plain, calmer side. Nevertheless, for certain words such as “eo-meo”, the other members would say it along with either Sooyoung or Yuri. This creates some diversity for their flow along with highlighting the lyrics’ meaning. When Tiffany arrives, her part elevates the song’s energy. Her lines leave a lasting impression. Furthermore, by having both the vocals and instrumental shift together, the transition becomes very fluid.
Overall, a very loveable section. Considering how the song as a whole isn’t too solid, an introduction as this is rather surprising. The dialogue at the start captures attention and the emphasized words add to the flow. Lastly, the transition to the next section was exceptionally well done; Tiffany and the accompanying instrumental swapped over to an energetic style without coming off as harsh. A very high score will be given here.
2. Pre-Chorus: 5/10 – For this part, all the members of Girls’ Generation sing. There are a few solo lines; one lady of the group sings during those moments. Before going any further, there are two “versions” of the pre-choruses: slow version and fast version. Since I’m feeling lazy it would be less confusing and troublesome, I will be grading the pre-chorus as an average. If I were to be specific, the fast version would be a 4/10, and the slow version would be a 6/10.
Peering at the slow version first due to order, it remains quite solid. As stated, all of the members sing and then one member would have a solo line. Focusing on the first pre-chorus, the ladies are chanting to a catchy and powerful melody. Although their chant is using a simple “Oh” and “Yeah”, this creates proper syncing between the vocals and the instrumental’s heavier beats. Jessica, in the case of the first pre-chorus, finishes the section with an adequate and satisfying line. Overall, for the slow version, due to phenomenal synergy between the vocals and instrumental, the section as a whole becomes augmented. The words used may be very basic, but hearing the perfect connection between the heavier instrumental and equally impactful words allows this version to thrive.
Unfortunately, when the fast version occurs (pre-choruses after the rap), the previous pleasing style disappears. Instead, the instrumental downgrades and the vocals attempt to emulate the lighter melody. Connections between the soundtrack and singing are gone. With the instrumental being quite fast-paced, Girls’ Generation struggled to keep up; the vastly lighter style that emanated from the instrumental did not mesh well with the ladies’ singing.
Combining everything together, average remains as the score. The slower versions showcased exciting and powerful moments, but the faster version did the complete opposite; weak and little to no chemistry between the vocals and soundtrack. On the positive side, at least listeners will hear the better pre-chorus version at first. Nevertheless, it is disappointing to see a pre-chorus degrade during a song.
3. Verse: 5/10 – As keen readers may notice, this song does seem disorganized. The pre-choruses have two versions, and likewise, the verses have multiple versions as well. Thankfully, the two versions aren’t too drastically different, but nonetheless are homogenous to the pre-choruses with the terms of “fast version” and “slow version”. If those terms become too confusing/boring, quoting a friend, the first verse is the “badass version”, and the remaining two are the “cute versions” according to her.
Putting humor aside, regardless of the versions, they all come out as average. I won’t be able to use a verse in detail/as an example since they all differ, so I will generalize. For all the verses, the singing executed was neither adept or inept. In terms of the instrumental, both the slow version with its heavy beats and the electronic fast version were average. Unlike some previous sections, there was little to no connection between vocals and instrumental. Everything for the verses come out as plain; nothing terrible but also not astounding. Now, if there were bonus points for being adorable, Seohyun and Tiffany would’ve earned a few, but realistically and looking at what truly matters for judging, Girls’ Generation manages to snatch only 5. (Short tangent, judging realistically should always be in mind, not how “cute” or whatever a lady/gentleman is)
4. Chorus: 4/10 – The chorus of “I Got A Boy” is, as expected from the song title, the key phrase of “I got a boy”. To be blunt, this category spells below average explicitly: B-E-L-O, shall I end this pathetic joke? All of the ladies sing during a chorus for the entirety of it.
The choruses consist of repeating lines of “I got a boy” followed by a few adjectives that are either in English or Korean. There are 6 phrases of “I got a boy…” assuming I counted correctly. Firstly, repetition becomes a huge issue; “I got a boy” times 6 becomes quite stale. Should the lyrics not be tedious enough, the instrumental ensures that the chorus is. The soundtrack itself is an obnoxious electronic sound that zips back and forth. Vocally, since all the members are chanting, the melody becomes muddled down moreover to power and chanting versus actual singing.
In summary, below average for a section. The instrumental was mediocre, melodic and delightful vocals weren’t showcased, and the flow was utterly mundane. Remaining somewhat catchy is the only strength of the choruses.
5. Rap: 9/10 – Digressing for a moment, I feel ashamed that I even considered myself a fan of Girls’ Generation; I had no idea that Yoona and Hyoyeon (or any member at all) were capable of rapping. Anyhow, I came to an extremely welcoming realization thanks to “I Got A Boy”. For this rap, those two ladies handle it professionally.
Yoona kicks off the rap with words sliding off her tongue. The pacing is quick and her melody is catchy; outstanding for a rap. Hyoyeon carries the remaining of the rap after Yoona is done. There is a unique layer added to this part: dialogue. For two lines in her rap, Hyoyeon would spit out a line and Yoona would toss in a few words as a reply. After all of that, Hyoyeon finishes the section on her own. Another aspect to include is the instrumental, which still remains the same bouncing electronic sound.
A large boost to the score is the outright fact of the ladies’ speed and fluency. Words were coming out easily and the pacing was incredible; fast and accurate. Melody was not lost as it typically is during such high rates, either. Another aspect is how, despite all odds, the instrumental amplifies the pacing. Although the instrumental individually induced annoyance, the soundtrack reciprocated the rapping speed from Yoona and Hyoyeon.
Overall, one of the better raps I have heard in a song. Yoona and Hyoyeon’s rapping skills individually were stunning. On top of their amazing mechanical rapping talent, the instrumental aided the section and the flow and melody remained just as solid. A very high score is deserved here.
6. Bridge: 5/10 – A basic bridge that fills in the spot. Jessica and Seohyun tag up for this section.
Jessica initiates the bridge. During her lines, the instrumental shifts to a relaxing and softer tone. Jessica’s lines are hitting the higher pitch range. Her pacing was on the slower side and had some words stretched out (not enough to be considered note holds). Nevertheless, she remained very melodic and graceful. Later, Seohyun transitions in via adding “neo” (means you in English). Once she takes ownership of the section, Seohyun sings one line and the rest of Girls’ Generation concludes the bridge with everyone adding one final line.
While I am glad that the bridge was nothing excessive, it does remain on the bleak side. The vocals from Jessica were impressive, but the follow up from Seohyun contrasted that by being basic. Peering at the soundtrack, it stands as equally stale. Observing how this song as a whole was structured, a lackluster bridge seemed imminent; no pathway leading to a climactic moment existed. Nonetheless, even if this is a bridge that isn’t aimed towards being the climax, there aren’t any prominent aspects.
Overall, the bridge comes out as average. The singing from Jessica holds as skilled and enlightening, but the instrumental and Seohyun’s part did not provide anything further. A plain, simple, and basic bridge.
7. Conclusion (Chorus): 6/10 – As something seen from other K-Pop songs, the chorus is recycled for this song. That is seemingly concerning considering how the choruses are not too appealing, and in addition, the previous section before the conclusion/final chorus was another chorus.
All of the ladies handle the chorus, and in general, the final chorus flows as any other chorus did. The difference here, however, was two-part singing occurred; a few members sing their own separate lines to add some layers.
Perhaps the two-part singing added enough to create diversity and changes, but the conclusion is not bad at all. In fact, it’s slightly above average. The double choruses towards the end give a final climax along with the key phrase becoming ingrained into listeners. With certain members singing their own lines, the choruses no longer felt as stale. Even if the “I got a boy” phrases were repeated for a total of 12 times, due to the two-part singing, that thought did not occur whatsoever. In terms of the final moment, it was a clean cut. The soundtrack died out completely and the ladies were left standing (no pun intended) with simply finishing one line.
For this section in “I Got A Boy”, slightly above average is the score. I expected a much lower score, but since the two-part singing modified the song in an appropriate and enjoyable way, a decent score is given.
– Line Distribution: 7/10 – With nine members in Girls’ Generation, it will be challenging to have all lines equally shared among the ladies. Nevertheless, they pulled off a solid score if I recall in “Mr. Mr.”. Besides, it is possible to ace a perfect score with nine members; Nine Muses (as the name implies; also one of my favorite groups) has nine members and they manage a very equal share with lines.
On track with Girls’ Generation, for Taeyeon, her lines involved the halves of the first and second verse, and one line during a pre-chorus. No issues exist here.
Jessica had one line during a pre-chorus, two lines at the first verse, and, more generously, lots of spotlight during the bridge. Due to the bridge, it redeems the lack of lines during the other parts.
Sunny had a lengthier moment during the first verse, and in addition, she had the second half of the second verse. One more section to add is her one line during a pre-chorus. Seeing how prominent she was for the verses, she is not lacking in this song.
Tiffany had a plethora of the song’s parts. That or maybe I’m biased towards her and thus, pay more attention. In a serious tone, she appeared during the introduction, she had one transitioning line, and she had a half of the third verse. Sadly, the reality does show that she lacks a few lines, but considering how impactful her introduction was, she left enough of an impression for viewers/listeners. For the most part, no concerns are here, but more could’ve been expected.
Hyoyeon shared the incredible rap with Yoona, so her prescence was definitely felt. Besides having that excellent section, she had one line during a pre-chorus. Considering how her rap had a longer, impacting duration, Hyoyeon had a fair share.
Yuri was, unfortunately, primarily at solely the introduction. Although she did a pleasing part, it would have been desired to see her have other moments. The only other moment she sung was during a quick line at a pre-chorus. Overall, more is expected from her; slightly lacking from this song.
Sooyoung rides in the same boat as Yuri; she took the first half of the introduction, but that was mainly it. Even more homogenous to Yuri, she had one quick line during a pre-chorus. Like Yuri, more lines would have been delightful. Not too impressive in terms of the line distribution for her.
Yoona, the actress of Girls’ Generation (she has been casted in multiple dramas/movies), was, as mentioned earlier, the rapping partner with Hyoyeon. Her part involved the fluid and smooth rap, and one line during a pre-chorus. There are no issues with her share; she had an amazing rap moment.
Last, but definitely not least, Seohyun, the sweet maknae (youngest person) of Girls’ Generation, had numerous lines. She was given a lengthier moment during the first verse and second verse, and she supports Jessica during the bridge. Thanks to a longer time frame at her sections, she had a nice bit of the song. No problems.
One thing to account for is all the ladies sing/chant during the pre-choruses and choruses. This does alleviate some sharing problems, but not by too much.
Peering at everything, a 7 will hold as the score. Yuri and Sooyoung were the only ones bereft of singing time, but adding on the factors of how their introductions were powerful and lengthy, it slightly redeems them. Furthermore, with all the ladies singing during certain sections, that also helps by a minimal margin. Above average for Line Distribution; while some members lack some spotlight, for the majority of the song, it remains diverse enough with different members singing.
– Instrumental: 4/10 – Perhaps the disorganized structure stems from the instrumental. Throughout the song, there were multiple, random shifts occurring all over the place in terms of the soundtrack. It would change from heavy and slower paced beats, to a vastly faster, electronic based instrumental. The opposite also occurred; electronic sounds to the heavy beats. Since the transitions were very abrupt and seemingly random, that will impair the score. This created a lot of incohesive, confusing moments.
Looking at the soundtrack individually, it remains quite mediocre. The instrumental was either somewhat obnoxious with electronic sounds, or it was a plain beat. When it comes to meshing with vocals, surprisingly, it works well. Vocals are often time backed up by the instrumental; the energy from both parties feed off one another. The choruses were filled with a chanting style of singing, and the electronic sounds there blended in smoothly with that. Other moments, especially during the rap, also benefitted. Yoona and Hyoyeon’s rap was augmented due to a soundtrack that reflected their rapping speed.
Overall, slightly below average. The sudden swaps between the two types of instrumental (heavy beats or electronic) ruins the score. Too many disorganized moments were the results of the random transitions. Individually, the soundtrack remains quite stale. Neither “versions” of the instrumental were stunning. If it wasn’t for how well the vocals and instrumental mixed, this would be a lower score. Thankfully, the rapping moment, choruses, and more give the score a slight boost.
– Meaning: 6/10 – “I Got A Boy” would seem to be a title related to love. I am expecting a story where a lady is bragging about her partner, or perhaps, a story where she is expressing how she captivated her lover. Through these translated Korean-to-English lyrics, let’s find out the story. Not 100% accurate:
Ayo! Sooyoung! Yeah yeah, are you ready for this? Uh-muh, look at her, look What happened to her that she cut her hair? Huh? Uh-muh, again look at her, look From head to toe, her style has changed Why did she do that? I’m curious to death, why did she do that? Tell me Let me introduce myself! Here comes trouble! Follow after me
Oh oh oh yeah oh, oh oh yeah oh, you really are something else
Who is she? Ridiculous Do you know you’re too self-assertive? She thinks I’m average Yeah, I guess she really liked him No way! No way! She became so pretty and sexy, it’s because of him, right? I almost asked her what her new makeup was Truthfully, I’ve seen it for the first time The deep eyes, like a scarred beast I was dizzy by just talking to him You really are something else You really are something else
Oh oh oh yeah oh, oh oh yeah oh, You really are something else Oh oh oh yeah oh, oh oh yeah oh, You really are something else
Ayo! Stop! Let me put it down another way
I got a boy, a handsome one, I got a boy, a kind one I got a boy handsome boy, who took all my heart I got a boy, a handsome one, I got a boy, a kind one I got a boy awesome boy, I must have really fallen for him
Ah, my prince When are you gonna come save me? Like a white dream Will you lift me in your arms and fly?
I’m like, surprised, mental collapse He wants to see my face without makeup. I really like him, would it be okay to show it to him? Oh! Never! Right? Right? Let’s keep what needs to be kept right, right Until you take all of his heart Don’t ever forget this
Oh oh oh yeah oh, oh oh yeah oh Even if I stay up all night, it’s not enough, everything everything Oh oh oh yeah oh, oh oh yeah oh Our biggest interest, everything everything
Listen to me, you all know him, right? He’s a bit young but he’s full inside Sometimes he is as reliable as an oppa but when he acts charming, he is so cute
Always next to me, it’s you, who’s on my side and listens to me, you- you- I’m happy as it is right now, ‘cause everything will work
I got a boy, a handsome one, I got a boy, a kind one I got a boy handsome boy, who took all my heart I got a boy, a handsome one, I got a boy, a kind one I got a boy awesome boy, I must have really fallen for him
I got a boy, a handsome one, I got a boy, a kind one I got a boy handsome boy, who took all my heart I got a boy, a handsome one, I got a boy, a kind one I got a boy awesome boy, I must have really fallen for him
I got a boy, a handsome one
Firstly, I am using the lyrics from the live performance, so if these lyrics differ from the original audio (which it should), then that is why. Also, I am hoping this format will paste into the blog a lot smoother. Edit: Using Notepad to type in the lyrics and formatting in there seems to be the most efficient method.
On topic, the lyrics reveal a story that is somewhat confusing. The format differs from other songs. At the start, it appears to be a dialogue in some sense. Moving past that, in a quick summary, people are noticing how a lady looks quite different. She became “sexy” and “pretty” due to, according to assumptions, wanting to impress a love-interest. Continuing, eventually the assumptions do hold as true; this lady found a lovely boy whom she is in love with.
Glancing at some details, there are some sweeter and slightly jocular lines. For example, the part with how the boy may be young and cute but still remains just as reliable as an older person (oppa: literally translated as “older brother”; used by females when referring to an older male). There are some other interesting points as well.
Overall, in terms of grading the story/significance, it comes off as slightly above average. Different details are appreciated, but the story itself does not hold as exceptionally intriguing. Personally, I enjoy the overarching idea of (and goodness forbid I get called a “woman-loving feminist” again) how ladies should be able to proudly say “[they] got a boy, a handsome one…a kind one…” and such. Ladies and men all deserve a partner that they genuinely love. A relationship for the pure sake of having that entitlement is ridiculous and outrageous.
Since there is a current trend of me nitpicking at lyrics, I will now discuss some points that I find questionable or worth mentioning in detail. As always, this critiquing here will not affect the score. Rather, I simply wish to discuss certain details. Back on the subject, something that is mentioned right off at the start is how the story’s main character changed her appearance in order to infatuate her love-interest. To be quite frank, I do not hold a solid position/stance, but overall, a lady or man should be able to dress how they desire to without the fear of acceptance or rejection. If a female wishes to dress to impress a love-interest, then by all means that should be accepted without any hassles or assumptions. On the other hand, should she wish to change her style “head-to-toe” for the purpose of pleasing herself, then that should also be fully accepted and no assumptions should ever be made that she is only dressing to attract people/a love-interest. These ideas also applies to males equally.
The final takeaway message is a small reminder to dress how you wish to dress. Changing your style completely should not warrant the automatic idea of trying to attract a lover. Sometimes, a female or male wishes to dress well for themselves, not for others. Even if the case is true where dressing to impress happens, no issues should be given there, either.
Choreography Score: 8/10 – Digressing for a moment, I can certainly see why fans were in love with this concept; the style is quite chic and captivating. In specific, Yuri’s clothing set appealed a lot to me. Props towards her stylist; he/she did an excellent job. I can definitely learn multiple things from Girls’ Generation’s style (assuming I had stylish clothes to begin with; but alas, fashion is not one of my priorities in life yet).
Focusing on the actual subject, the choreography for “I Got A Boy” stands as solid. Syncing with the music proved to be consistent. Every maneuver was linked to either the pacing, the beats, or a mixture of the two. Transitions in this song were very fluid. Despite how the song itself had rougher transitions due to the instrumental, the dance flowed from one set to the other seamlessly. When it comes to the key points, seeing multiple, different setups was pleasant. Repetitive dancing only occurred at the choruses.
“I Got A Boy” will earn a solid score here. Every aspect of this dance is strong, but nothing pushes it as extraordinary. Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable choreography. The dance uplifts the fun mood of the song while showing off power and coordination.
Overall Score: 7/10 (7/10 raw score) – In the end, Girls’ Generation’s “I Got A Boy” finishes with a decent score of 7/10. That translates as an overall above average song. I personally think it’s slightly above average (6/10), but considering how the choreography was solid and that the introduction and rapping sections were quite remarkable, this score is acceptable. The song itself is weaker due to the poorer instrumental which impaired both the organization and the song sections’ capabilities.
For this review, I was extremely delayed. I believe I started this review 5 days ago, but I’ve only finished it now. Instead of filling my free time with writing reviews, I’ve guiltily spent it on either watching videos or playing a few games. I’m finishing up the bonus episode/last episode of “The TaeTiSeo”, so that has drained some time. Also, I spent an hour watching TaeTiSeo on “Hello Counselor”. Anyhow, I should hopefully be back on track. Forcing myself to do a bit of a review everyday has been helpful, so I will positively resume that old regime. I may be a bit slower for the time being, however, considering I have plenty of schoolwork and scholarships to apply for.
As always, thank you very much for reading this. Apologies for delays, but hopefully this review redeems that slightly. Thanks for all the support, it means a lot and I sincerely appreciate your time reading this blog.
If anyone is curious on my next review, I am making an abrupt turn and swapping over a recent comeback: Hello Venus’ “Sticky Sticky”. VIXX’s “Error” will be reviewed at a later time. Anyhow, in terms of Hello Venus’ comeback, I have a plethora of things to say. Their concept has completely flipped to a sheer opposite. That will be interesting to digest. That also reminds me, AOA will be making a comeback soon as well, and I think it’s about time I gave my opinion on their songs/dances. As of now, expect “Sticky Sticky” by the freshly reformed group of Hello Venus as the next review. I won’t share my own opinion on that song here, but on a different note, I am glad their group did not disband after they lost two valuable members.
I have said enough. In summary, I am on a busy schedule but I will attempt to get out a review on Hello Venus’ new song as soon as possible. Other than that, look forward to more reviews. Thank you once again for reading. “Always next to me, it’s you, who’s on my side”, so thanks and check back in a few days for the review of Hello Venus.
Personal Message: Firstly, I am trying out Google Docs for a place to do my reviews/posts. However, to keep a low-stake situation (in case something goes utterly wrong), I am testing that with a show review of “The TaeTiSeo”. That does mean I am writing two separate things so forgive me for some delay. On the bright side, if it all works out, no more “spoiling” review issues. Also instead of saying “[UNFINISHED]”, I’m using a better terminology with “[WORK IN PROGRESS]”. Sounds slightly more sophisticated; or at least I hope.
Anyhow, it has been about 6 days I believe since my last review of Ailee’s “Don’t Touch Me”. As stated, I was extremely busy and had to wait until Friday for another review to come out. Nevertheless, I kept my promise of reviewing a male group. Today we’ll take a look at 2PM’s recent comeback of “Go Crazy”. Actually “recent” may be slightly exaggerated; this song is roughly a month old. On track, although I’m personally unfamiliar with these gentlemen, their group does have some reputation and popularity.
Continuing on, the link above is a live performance. They do have a dance practice video but, it’s not very serious. It proved to be humorous, but that is to match up with the song’s theme (explained later on in the review). On the negative side, however, that forced me to once again use a live performance video. My personal issues with live performances are video and audio quality; the video tends to be “pixelated”/blurry, and with hearing live singing and fanchants, it muddles down what the song genuinely sounds like. For those wondering, I review songs from a regular audio standpoint (the audio if you were to buy it, etc.). Official dance practices typically include the normal audio of a song, and a very vivid image of the choreography. As a result, that explains why I heavily prefer dance practices over live performances. Ignoring this rant, the live performance was still splendid.
Anyhow, enough said. With a somewhat recent comeback, 2PM continues to garner more fans. They’re showing off a jocular, upbeat and funky concept. Let’s take a look and see how they make ladies and men “Go Crazy”.
Song Total Score: 6/10 (6/10 raw score) – Average score of the sub-categories, separate so Choreography Score doesn’t affect it.
– Vocals: 6/10 – For “Go Crazy”, intensive vocal work is nonexistent. What the men of 2PM showcase, however, are some decent melodic lines. On top of that, they add a lot of energetic parts for the song. Overall, however, the vocals aren’t spectacular; the singing comes out to be moreover chanting and mellow versus sweet and melodic. As I stated earlier, I’m not too familiar with them and thus, may not have the best idea on 2PM’s true vocal abilities. For what is heard in “Go Crazy”, nothing too impressive.
The choruses do showcase some solid vocals, and in addition, even Bridge 1. However, every other section comes out on the average side. In the end, very slightly above average for vocals; nothing outstanding at all.
– Song Structure: 6/10 (6.44/10 raw score) – Going to have scores for “Verse score”, “Pre-Chorus score”, “Chorus score”, etc.)
For “Song Structure”, I’m going to go through each section (Verse, Chorus, etc) and give a score per section. After that, the average is the “Song Structure” score.
1. Introduction: 7/10 – Firstly, this may be the song I’ve created the most sections for. Initially, I decided to merge the chorus and post-chorus together, and in fact, even Bridge 1 and Bridge 2 were combined. After listening to this song a little more, I decided to split some sections up and as a result, we have nine sections.
Back on topic, the introduction for “Go Crazy” is quite solid. For the most part.
At the very start, there is a very high pitched electronic sound. In addition, a background voice of “Cray, cray” (crazy but just the first syllable) repeats and has its pitch edited to go higher and higher. This part was a weak part of the introduction. It comes off as obnoxious, and hardly sets the stage up for anything. The only benefit derives from how it transitions the song properly into the next part.
After the high pitched, silly part, a transition occurs where the instrumental becomes a funky and heavy beat; it comes off as catchy and towards the end, quick and light beats are used to transition into the verse.
While it would seem preferable to have the first moment shaved off, hopping right into the deeper beats would be too sudden. As a result, the weaker first seconds aren’t necessarily bad; it allows the heavier beats to arrive smoothly. When the funky instrumental does arrive, it aids the song quite well. The instrumental heard here will remain prevalent throughout the entire song. Setting up the atmosphere is well done.
In summary, an above average introduction. The first moment is a bitter medicine; loathed but necessary. Progressing past that, however, and the instrumental transitions to some strong beats that prove to be catchy in addition to setting up the song’s main instrumental.
2. Verse: 7/10 – As usual, I will be covering the first verse. Wooyoung and Chansung form a duo for this.
For this verse, a great play on sounds is utilized by the singers. Wooyoung is the first to sing. His lines leave a catchy melody; with his lines ending on words such as “aniya”, “doenikka”, and “boreunikka”, the “ah” sound becomes manipulated to create a verse that remains catchy and lingering. Furthermore, Chansung emulates that with his own ending lines of “aniya” and “yeojadeuriya”.
Overall, a decent verse. The play on sounds is quite pleasing; the melody is augmented and loops around. What does hold back this song section, however, is how repetitive it is. While the “ah” endings may be delightful, a sole usage of only those endings will bring the score down. Repetition becomes an issue and thus, staleness and boredom become an issue. A respectable verse, nevertheless.
3. Pre-Chorus: 7/10 – Strangely, the only pre-chorus in the song. Junho tackles this part alone, but he does have some assistance in a unique way.
For this part, the instrumental and vocals do an excellent job of syncing to the other; the steadier, systematic beats work well with Junho’s own chopped lines. This definitely strengthens the pre-chorus. After the pre-chorus progresses further, there is a part where 2PM as a whole adds a background vocal of “micheoboryeo kwitgaye" after Junho finishes a line. This part proved to be intriguing; it added extra power to the section as well as preventing Junho’s lines from becoming too tedious. At the very end, a slow "Ha ha” transitions the song to the chorus.
Peering over this section, it is surely not bad; however, it also isn’t the most impressive. The chemistry between the vocals and instrumental is worth highlighting, but that remains the only strong point. While the flow of the vocals were very catchy due to matching the beats, it doesn’t come off as extremely melodic nor extraordinary. Average vocals here. In addition, with how the pre-chorus feels like another verse, it further extends the tint of staleness that occurred within the verse.
Overall, a section that sounds too much like the previous one. While a pre-chorus doesn’t necessarily have to hype up a song, it should at least remain different enough from the verse/previous section to prevent listeners from feeling uninterested. Ignoring the faults, however, and this pre-chorus isn’t too bad. The flow of lines matched up the beats very well; Junho’s chopped lines gave a nice, burst feeling that the instrumental had. Slightly above average despite the minor flaws.
4. Chorus: 7/10 – The chorus. Jun.K is running solo with every chorus in “Go Crazy”.
The play on sounds of “ah” makes a return here. This time, however, Jun.K is rocking a very melodic voice. With some solid vocals here, the ending lines of “aniya”, “nomdeuriya”, and “mariya~” become very soothing and catchy. In addition, Jun.K does add unique note holds during the later lines, such as for “mariya~” and “aniya~”. That allows the melody to further shine and in addition, it allows an exceptionally fast and subtle transition to the post-chorus.
With the choruses, Jun.K’s solid vocals allows the section to shine. The note holds proved to be lingering and catchy, and the play on sound makes a welcomed return. A solid chorus, but, the instrumental begins to lack here. For other sections, the passive instrumental that is composed of a funky beat reciprocated the vocals well. Unfortunately, in the choruses, since Jun.K’s vocals step up a notch in terms of possessing more energy, the instrumental feels as if it’s lagging behind. Not a large scale issue, but with the instrumental remaining quite dull in juxtaposition to Jun.K’s singing, it causes the chorus to lose a decent amount of power and energy. This leaves a score of 7; above average for a chorus.
5. Post-Chorus: 4/10 – Finally, the part where the key phrase, “Go Crazy”, is heard. I will be critiquing the first post-chorus, which consists of Wooyoung and Nichkhun.
This section comes off as vastly stagnant. In summary, Wooyoung or Nichkhun will say “go crazy” and then the rest of the members add a background vocal reply of “go crazy”. That repeats for 4 lines (technically 6 if considering the format itself).
That is the post-chorus; very simple and lacking. Considering it is a post-chorus, it does its job of relaxing the song. However, “Go Crazy” hardly had any energetic part that would need this type of post-chorus. It’s an obsolete section minus being able to use the phrase “Go crazy”. Anyhow, this section is lacking; the instrumental was plain, the vocals were average, and the flow is just as stale. A disappointing part that only redeems itself through the use of its key phrase. Slightly below average.
6. Rap: 6/10 – An interesting rap. The power was there, but the flow and pacing was not as efficient as it could have been. Nevertheless, the rapping did match the song’s theme of having fun/partying. Taecyeon is the rapper in this song.
To kick the rap off, English words were used. “Everybody just drop it like it’s hot” came off as fluent. Focusing on the musical side, it allowed a stronger entry for the rap; it gave a punch but it lacked some flow. Progressing on, his next two lines came off as “exasperated” if I am using that term correctly. In short, he made himself sound like he was running out of breath, but that was to add silliness into the rapping in order to reflect the song’s mood and theme. It may net points for being comical, but for listeners, the rapping didn’t need to include it. Past that, his next two lines were in a slower yet impacting manner; the line endings of “bok” and “dok” came off as another pleasing play on sounds. After that, a slower paced line transitioned the song to the next.
The rapping didn’t possess a solid standard of speed and flow, but considering the general slower pacing of “Go Crazy” as a whole, the rap’s speed can be forgiven. Nevertheless, with words not easily sliding right after another, it almost felt like anything but a rap. On the plus side, the power was there and the play on sounds near the end was great. Overall, unfortunately, very slightly above average is the score. It lacks the needed flow that would allow the rap to excel. Everything else is decent.
7. Bridge 1: 8/10 – As noticed, I broke up the bridge into Bridge 1 and Bridge 2; a significant shift occurs, and as a result, I felt the need to split it. Anyhow, Bridge 1 is handled by Junho.
This part comes off as decent. The vocals and instrumental do a fantastic job here. When Bridge 1 occurs, the instrumental takes the typical route of becoming lighter and passive; further spotlight on Junho’s vocal work is created. His first two lines followed an interesting flow. The singing is quite melodic, and towards the end, he emphasizes the final word with some added power. For example, “jeo saramdeurui sonjit” had the final word, “sonjit”, added with a lot more vocal strain. All of this allows Bridge 1 to display Junho’s vocal abilities. Moving on, his final line of “going crazy baby” were sung in a very slow fashion. From that, it allowed an exceptionally smooth transition to Bridge 2 as well as latching on some final vocal power.
An extremely impressive bridge by Junho. The singing comes off as melodic and sweet, and the addition of slower, straining stretches on final words adds in power to create a slight climatic effect. Not the best bridge on my list, but that doesn’t impede it from earning a solid score.
8. Bridge 2: 7/10 – Taecyeon and Jun.K team up for this section. Bridge 2 proves to be unique; it feels as if it were a pre-chorus transformed into a bridge.
Taecyeon initiates this part. His role here is to provide a background vocal of “Clap your hands everybody, everybody gettin’ all crazy”. Due to his duty, he ends up repeating that for a lengthy duration. That isn’t it, though. Eventually, Jun.K joins in with slower paced and powerful lines of “Everybody knows it, you can’t stop it, baby”. Two-part singing became synthesized from this.
The background vocals are satisfactory; it leaves a foundation that Jun.K is able to manipulate. Jun.K’s part meshed quite well. His lines were slower and focused on stretching out every word. Combining the two gentlemen’s singing, it leaves the song’s strongest climatic point. Two-part singing with the addition of a final explosive shout at “baby” crafts the climax.
Now, while the section remains solid with the teamwork and powerful lines, the vocals overall aren’t too impressive. Taecyeon’s background vocals are excusable, but Jun.K’s part came off moreover as loathed yelling versus desired and powerful note holds. If Jun.K left an impression of a solid, impacting note hold, that would vastly improve this section. Sadly, his line had power, but the line’s strength were due to sheer shouting rather than the work of very talented vocals.
Slightly above average for a score. The two-part singing is well appreciated, but Jun.K’s vocals are questionable here.
9. Conclusion: 5/10 – Firstly, credits to the song producer for her/his decision to make a conclusion that is not simply recycling another song section. What is gleaned, however, is the reason on why most songs do tend to use other song sections; making a separate conclusion is either a hit or miss. For “Go Crazy”, it does end up being a miss, but respectable efforts for attempting to use a new section versus a safer choice of repeating another song section.
Back on track, it is unidentifiable on who wraps up the song, but that should not be significant in any form. The ending uses an announcer-style concept, similar to Girl’s Day’s “Darling” or TaeTiSeo’s “Holler” (check out my review on Holler if you haven’t!). The difference, obviously, is that this announcer is used at the end. Eventually, the announcer disappears and instead, an echoing and pitched-lowered voice is heard. This leaves a dramatic deep voice effect to match the words of “Slow…down”. At the very end, the edited voice says one more line and then it dies out along with the instrumental.
Looking at this conclusion, it was on the right track for sure. The first announcer-style part was acceptable; it allowed 2PM to leave a “signature” by saying “It’s 2PM!” and it prevents the instrumental from feeling bereft of vocals. The last part, however, included an obnoxious voice. What would have been superbly better is if the deep voice was not included at all; having the funky soundtrack play out until it eventually faded at the end would have been perfect.
In the end, average for a conclusion. The announcer-style came off as merely acceptable, but the last portion with the lower-pitched voice was not necessary. Having the heavier beats play out would have been the best solution. A conclusion that had its trajectory ruined.
– Line Distribution: 9/10 – 6 members are in 2PM. The Line Distribution score should be pretty solid.
Jun.K had all the choruses to himself. He definitely had his fair share. In addition, he had Bridge 2. Not an issue here.
Nichkhun was responsible for the second half of the post-choruses. Furthermore, he also had a part in the second verse. Nothing lacking from him.
Taecyeon had a rapping section along with providing background vocals for Bridge 2. He had a decent amount of spotlight.
Wooyoung was the first to sing with his part during the first verse. Later, he makes a return via handling the first half of every post-chorus. He had his time.
Junho’s spotlight includes handling the first and only pre-chorus. Later, he makes a welcomed return at Bridge 1. He had his time.
Last but not least, there is Chansung. While 2PM was on a solid streak, Chansung did not have as much time. His moments were only during the verses; not very lengthy lines. In comparison to his members, however, his time was not as reoccurring nor was the duration as long.
Overall, though, this comes out with a near perfect score: 9. Very impressive line distribution is seen here.
– Instrumental: 6/10 – The instrumental for “Go Crazy” holds its ground. It doesn’t necessarily hinder the song, but at the same time, it doesn’t provide much aid.
The instrumental comes off with a “disco” tune; it has a funky theme to it. Heavy beats remain the predominate key point of the soundtrack. In terms of meeting its roles, it does some transitional work, especially towards the bridge section. However, everywhere else has the instrumental providing little to no help. When it comes to syncing up with vocals, it lacks there and does impair the song at times, but overall, nothing too major. For the most part, it remained neutral.
An above average soundtrack. Electronic-based with very satisfying and catchy beats. Nothing too appealing nor damaging about the instrumental, it simply fulfills its role.
– Meaning: 3/10 – “Go Crazy”. An interesting title. Throw in the fact of how the theme remains jocular, I’m expecting the lyrics to be about partying. Let’s take a look through these translated lyrics. Not 100% accurate, but close enough:
Go crazy, now that it’s Friday night, Can’t sleep ‘til 12, everyone’s calling me Go crazy, is it night or what? The streets and clubs are full of girls
Your attractive scent, your moves, Your eyes drive me crazy Whisper in my ear, Your voice takes my breath away ha ha~
Go crazy, tonight We are determined to go nuts Just for one night, go all out Go crazy~
Crazy people (Crazy!) Go Crazy! (Go Crazy!) Go Crazy! (Go Crazy!) Go Crazy! Crazy people (Crazy!) Go Crazy! (Go Crazy!) Go Crazy! (Go Crazy!) Go Crazy!
Go crazy, it’s still not over, This guy is getting ready for Round 2, Go crazy, all these people All together, all as one, going crazy
Everybody just drop it like it’s hot, It’s better together, Too early to wake up From this misty trance Energy is the gift of youth, Distress is the poison of youth No tomorrow, no day, but today
Go crazy, tonight We are determined to go nuts Just for one night, go all out Go crazy~
Crazy people (Crazy!) Go Crazy! (Go Crazy!) Go Crazy! (Go Crazy!) Go Crazy! Crazy people (Crazy!) Go Crazy! (Go Crazy!) Go Crazy! (Go Crazy!) Go Crazy!
See all their gestures, The voices of the youth, My heart is getting hotter Going crazy baby
Clap your hands everybody, Everybody gettin’ all crazy Clap your hands everybody, Everybody gettin’ all crazy (Everybody knows it) Clap your hands everybody, Everybody gettin’ all crazy (You can’t stop it baby) Clap your hands everybody, Everybody gettin’ all crazy
Go crazy, tonight We are determined to go nuts Just for one night, go all out Go crazy~
Crazy people (Crazy!) Go Crazy! (Go Crazy!) Go Crazy! (Go Crazy!) Go Crazy! Crazy people (Crazy!) Go Crazy! (Go Crazy!) Go Crazy! (Go Crazy!) Go Crazy!
I did exclude the conclusion, but that shouldn’t be an issue considering the end has no actual meaning. Anyhow, the lyrics can be implied that it’s about partying. The first part does have some flirtatious lyrics about (arguably gender neutral) a woman/man getting infatuated with a love interest; however, as the song progresses, that dissipates away and instead, partying and “Going crazy” and “all out” become the main focus.
There is very little deep and meaningful value to these lyrics. It’s simply about “Going crazy” with partying at the clubs, streets, or wherever else. Disappointing lyrics; this song possesses almost no meaning. At least Hyuna’s “Red” made me speculate on what “Red” meant, but for 2PM’s song, there is nothing to be questioned at all. Weak lyrics.
Choreography Score: 7/10 – For the Choreography Score, I will lean towards a 7.
The dance fits the theme of being silly and having fun, and that works as a double-edged sword. On the side that doesn’t hurt, it allows the song’s meaning and mood to translate into movements. On the side that cuts, it means the dance will be on the chaotic, outrageous side.
In terms of syncing up to the music, 2PM does a very impressive job. Most maneuvers match up to the beats or, such as in the case of the choruses, to the “wave” of melody. Besides simply syncing up, the different positions and coordinated dance sets were just as stunning. For example, the first verse and Bridge 1 were quite unique. A solid impression was left off from the creativity. The conclusion was also an interesting and humorous part; it definitely matched up to the slower pacing at the end, and it worked well as a finish to the song.
For what didn’t go too well, the key points aren’t the most spectacular things seen (ley points are the major dance maneuvers repeated, such as the one-foot bounce during the chorus). There may have been a copious amount of different dance parts, but none of them have the needed spice to really stick out. Furthermore, another issue is, as expected, how chaotic it became. As mentioned earlier, this derives from the sillier tone/mood of “Go Crazy”. This issue is most vivid during the post-chorus (the part of “Go Crazy”, so seems reasonable). During the post-choruses, they were all over the place doing minuscule, uncoordinated dances.
Overall, above average. Their choreography comes off as quite fun and upbeat, but it lacks some needed cohesion to place it at a stronger score. Not necessarily the idols’ talent are fault (they’ve proven to be quite adept at dancing), but rather, due to the song’s nature and style.
Overall Score: 7/10 (6.5/10 raw score) – So in the end, 2PM’s “Go Crazy” comes out with 7/10 or 3.5/5, so slightly above average. Do I agree? Not necessarily. This song, in my opinion, comes off as average.
Anyhow, “Go Crazy” definitely does induce some insanity into people. The issue, though, is this isn’t the type of “Go Crazy” that means, “do your best, take a shot” as my awesome Freshman math teacher says. This type of “Go Crazy” is the one that induces annoyance. In conclusion, 2PM’s latest comeback doesn’t prove to be too amazing. Average is what it comes out as. Personally for me, ZE:A will probably remain my favorite male group forever. Especially after Junyoung’s brave and respectable act (refer to my Blog Opinion post with him), I deeply appreciate ZE:A even more. If the charming, friendly, and handsome idols aren’t enough, then their incredible singing and dancing talent should be sufficient.
Anyways, for this review, I managed to topple it in two days. Yes, two. For me, that’s a feat I am happy about considering these days it has been taking me 3 to 4 days to finish a review. For the next review, I will be posting (hopefully) a fully completed show review of “The TaeTiSeo”. If things work out, I won’t need to add “[WORK IN PROGRESS]” to it, since it should be already finished by the time it’s pasted onto my blog. In terms of what’s after that, I have plenty of ideas. Another male group is in mind along with a really interesting song by a female group. Interesting as in it’s a very strange concept.
As I always do, thank you so much for reading this. Hopefully this proved to be entertaining, insightful, and of course, thought/anger provoking. This is obviously purely my opinion of the song. Feel free to disagree. I hope to instill some thinking into my readers. Anyhow, thank you very much for sticking around. I truly appreciate it, thanks.
The end has come, so it is now time to conclude this review. Stay tuned for a show review of “The TaeTiSeo” and for other songs to be reviewed. Next review will hopefully be put out around Monday, so keep an eye out for it. Continue to “Go crazy” since “it’s still not over”; more reviews will keep coming out. Thanks for all the support and feedback, check back later for “The TaeTiSeo”.
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