Things will still pick up this week, God-willing, as I await news about college and prepare for a test. Until then, I'll try to set aside time to blog whenever I can.
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This week's Ramble is about hip-hop duo Infinite H, new, established, style, tempo boy group NU'EST (pronounced "new east"), and cutie-boy-turned-manly-men Boyfriend! This post is more up to date than the previous Ramblings that attempted to bring back the older, but still popular, K-Pop tracks.
1.) "Pretty" by Infinite H
Ooh la la la la, ooh la la la la, ooh la la la la la la la la la la la la...
I don't consider myself a huge "fangirl" of Infinite H. but I am a casual fan. At first, I had zero interest in watching their music video. But one lazy morning, I became curious and decided to look into this song that was apparently sweeping South Korea's music charts! To keep it in simpler terms: I instantly LOVED it!
Song
The beat is catchy! I love the "Ooh la la la la" part, as you can probably tell. The meaning of "Pretty" is pretty self-explanatory. (See what I did there? Har har har.) The rap duo express how the girl they like is very beautiful. I'd go into more detail, but I recommend looking up the entire lyrics' translations instead.
Music Video
The music video is amusing with all the comedic, TV show-like sets. +Points for the usage of props! We see a courtroom, a "busy street", a grocery store, and a cafe. While the criminal cases are nothing serious, much less a "case" at all, at least the music video has some sort of story line. At the 2:04 mark, I feel like the scene could have been done a little better, though. So... Dongwoo just decided to fall because of his "feels"? The director could have had an obstacle placed in the way of cart-pushing Dongwoo as he tried to follow the girl around the grocery store. Over all, "Pretty" is meant to be a light hearted, funny music video. It kind of reflects the bumbles and blunders that happen to us when we spot someone attractive.
Costumes
Love love love love loooove it! I love the grey outfits in the courtroom scene. They're preppy and stylish. Hoya and Dongwoo are looking sharp! Those are the type of K-Pop costumes I appreciate the most. They suit the music video, but aren't so wacky that they can't be worn in everyday life. Those two are the most best dressed prosecutor/lawyer(s) I've ever seen!
Choreography
Infinite H, and Infinite as a whole, have some of the best dance routines out there in the K-Pop world. Much like the SHINee seniors, the members of Infinite never fail to impress me. The "Ooh la la la" dance move is probably my favorite. Honestly, I've found myself attempting to do it while the song is playing. Nevertheless, the choreography looks like pure fun! If you watch the Live performances, you can see the backup dancers having a great time, too.
Song: 4/5
Music Video: 4/5
Costumes: 5/5
Choreography: 5/5
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Final Score: 18/20
Gee Rating: Ecstatic!
2.) "I'm Bad" by NU'EST
Song
This is more of my style! "I'm Bad" is soft and smooth, following in the steps of the group's previous slow song "Hello". I must say I prefer their slower songs compared to their dance-able tracks such as "Face", "Action", and "Goodbye Bye". It sort of reminds me of Big Bang's "Bad Boy", which is another of my favorite songs. I'm definitely digging this toned-down sound of NU'EST!
Thanks to having Aron, who is a fluent English speaker, the beginning English lines don't sound awkward or out of place. The song talks about the boy regretting being a bad person towards his girlfriend. The girl put more effort into the relationship, while the boy didn't.
Another thing I like about this song is how the lyrics are, more or less, divided equally among the members. The rap isn't jarring, either. It provides a nice, subtle change in the song before going returning to its soft melody.
Music Video
While I love the song, I can't say the same for the music video. Quite frankly, I was becoming bored with the numerous shots of the members sitting in random places and looking sad. The ballerina was random, too. Is she supposed to be the girlfriend? What I would have loved instead is the members walking around the city alone while singing the lyrics. It would have showed how they're remembering the painful past while continuing on with their lives.
Costumes
The only thing that stood out to me was the ballerina's outfit! The skirt is so pretty! This is the first time I took notice of the actress more than the members themselves. There isn't much to say about their costumes, except that they pass for ordinary clothing, which I do appreciate. +Points for that!
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Song: 5/5
Music Video: 3/5
Costumes: 4/5
Choreography: N/A
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Final Score: 12/15
Gee Rating: Contained feels
If you have a thing for a softer sound with acoustic intro, I strongly recommend checking out the following track on their single album: "A Scene Without You".
3.) "Bounce" by Boyfriend
Boyfriend is back with yet again another fantasy concept! It's quite interesting to see the K-Pop interpretation of famous fairy tales. Boyfriend gave us "Peter Pan and the Lost Boys" in their hit song "Obsession", "Little Red Riding Hood" in "Witch", and now "Alice in Wonderland" in "Bounce"!
Great MV, nice song.
Song
Although I'm still not entirely sure what "Bounce" is about, even after I read the lyrics, I'm going to go ahead and say it's about a boy that likes a girl, but the girl isn't giving in yet. Perhaps she's just leading him on?
With it's thumping beat and trumpet sounds, "Bounce" definitely echoes the tune of "Obsession". I would probably like the song more if it didn't have that random "Bounce more, bounce more" that cuts in the middle of the chorus. "More" isn't even pronounced correctly (it sounds more like "morl" to me), which is why it took me a couple of listens to really figure out what this guy was saying.
Music Video
In the video we see a spectrum of familiar characters:Kwangmin and Youngmin (the twins) are Tweedle and Tweedledum
Minwoo is the Mad Hatter
Donghyun is the White Rabbit
Jeongmin is the Doll Maker
Hyunseong is the Cheshire Cat
According to a comment on YouTube, a clever fan put together an explanation for the music video's story: "Alice made them (Boyfriend) all crazy about her, manipulated them, and took control of the Wonderland. Later on, she shattered the wonderland (which is in her mind).
Now they are looked in small room=subconsciousness of Alice. And they seek for some sort of revenge."
The sets are gorgeous!!! It reminds me of 2NE1's "It Hurts", but this Alice in Wonderland theme definitely goes above and beyond. This is definitely on my list of favorite K-Pop MV sets.
Costumes
So the first thing I notice is the guy with red eyes. Like, whoa. Seriously, Boyfriend? "Witch" was as far as I wanted to go with the colored contacts craze. Nevertheless, they must look the part, and I commend the stylists for going all out! It wasn't long until I realized he had red eyes for the purpose of portraying the white rabbit. Most rabbits have red eyes, after all. My favorite costume is probably the Mad Hatter's.
Choreography
There are a couple of dance shots here and there. The routine isn't wowing me, but I expect nothing less from Boyfriend, who have come to show that they can pull off really easy to really hard choreography. The "Bounce more, bounce more" move also reminds me of a dance move in "Obsession".
Song: 3/5
Music Video: 4/5
Costumes: 5/5
Choreography: 4/5
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Final Score: 16/20
Gee Rating: Contained feels
Next "Rambling": Underrated girl groups
Upcoming "Rambling": The Maze Runner series (Warning: There WILL be spoilers.)
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