So I was looking through my blog search terms and saw this:
Which made me realize that 1) People still find my blog through searching for SNSD related stuff and 2) SNSD had a new song out and I had no idea. Probably what I deserve for unfollowing allkpop on Twitter. Anyway, I went on Youtube, searched for “I Got A Boy”, watched the video, then noticed “Dancing Queen” on the sidebar. Both surprised me but in different ways.
SNSD in white tees and blue jeans! Oh, the good old days…
When I first clicked on “Dancing Queen” I assumed that the song may have been inspired by the song “Dancing Queen” by Abba. Turns out that SNSD’s song is actually a remake of Buffy’s 2008 hit “Mercy”, one of my favorite songs of all time. Apparently SM planned to release “Dancing Queen” back in 2008 but had to replace it with “Gee” due to copyright issues – they even filmed the video and mastered the choreography, which luckily they were able to use four years later.
I noticed in the comments section of Duffy’s music video that SNSD fans had started some sort of uproar/war/apology fight. I honestly think that this remake is just a cute, catchy version quite similar to its original; it’s not anything to go crazy over, even though it’s a great song on its own. Continue reading →
I’ve said this before, but SNSD is the one girl group that everyone loves to hate. I think they get the most attention out of all the girl groups, even if they aren’t necessarily the best girl group out there. Due to their ultra-popular hit “Gee” followed by a string of successful singles the name “Girls’ Generation” has been solidified in the K-Pop industry and rookie girl groups will always try to live up to the standard of SNSD. Yes, if one were to name the five most well-known girl groups you would probably hear “2NE1”, “Wonder Girls”, etc., but SNSD would definitely be mentioned. Definitely.
And now they’re taking over the world.
Three features of the same live performance? Dang...
Okay, not really. A myriad of SNSD fans (and anti-fans, I suppose) were upset that SNSD produced an English version of their single “The Boys” (Korean video here, English video here). I understand that it seems like a wasted effort for them to spend their time promoting in a country where many, including their biggest followers, believe they won’t succeed – however, at this point, SM has simply released an English version of “The Boys” worldwide for others outside of Korea to purchase and listen to. They haven’t taken over the world. Yet.
When they promote (or if they promote) I think that “The Boys” will be a great song for them to start out with. Can you imagine them singing “Oh” or “Gee” to an American audience? They wouldn’t be chased away with torches and pitchforks, but I don’t think the response would be very warm either. “The Boys” offers a unique blend of K-Pop and a more westernized sound – courtesy of Teddy Riley – and shows an edgier side of the girls without taking them over the top.
Hyoyeon kills the bridge of this song. Kills it.
I was happy upon first hearing the English version of “The Boys”. I could discern most of what they were saying without reading the lyrics, and for a nine-member girl group with only two members fluent in English, that’s pretty impressive. Yes, their accents are easily identifiable, but that was to be expected – hopefully by the time they begin real promotions they’ll have the kinks ironed out in their pronunciation.
As for the song itself, I like the verses, love the bridge, and am lukewarm regarding the chorus. The verses allow the girls to display their improved singing abilities, the bridge has a crazily catchy beat, but the chorus feels more like a chant than something you would catch yourself singing in the shower. To me, it takes away the momentum the verses build and sends the song in a simple direction as opposed to taking it above and beyond. Still, “The Boys” does not disappoint – I give it a thumbs-up.
I honestly expected at least one of the members to mess this move up during their live performance - I guess my expectations of SNSD are too low!
I can’t say I have a preference between the music video or their live performance (live performance, here). While I appreciate symbolism, the random bird at the beginning of the video did not actually represent anything meaningful, so besides that I thought Teddy Riley did a decent job with it. To me the live performance brings out the girls’ voices during the verses more so than when one watches the video – in both, the middle eight is spectacular.
On a random note, one thing I would like to know is why SM removed the English version of the video from their channel – if Youtube had featured that instead of the girls’ live performances maybe more people would have gotten the song stuck in their head. I guess I should be thankful Youtube promotes K-Pop at all… unless they promote SHINee, because then there would be too much competition for Key. Although I could easily eliminate other fans by… I’m kidding. Kidding.
What do you think of “The Boys”? This song seems to have a wide range of positive to negative reviews, so, as always, I’m curious!
I don’t know what happened here. This video is so… messy.
I almost decided not to write this post because everything has been pointed out by fellow SNSD fans, but I’ll share my two cents. It seems that SM produced this video just to make some quick cash as opposed to giving SONES quality material. The song itself isn’t that catchy but it isn’t bad, either, so the video could have given it that edge to make it more successful.
However, unlike Miss A’s “Bad Girl Good Girl”, “Bad Girl” lacks conviction. After the 1:00 minute mark the girls appear frazzled and uncomfortable. The obviously poor editing doesn’t help, nor does the even more sloppy arm-flailing dance (and SNSD has made arm-flailing look good before). Nothing really came together with “Bad Girl”, and as a result, the video just looked… bad.
The middle eight of "Bad Girl" was so awkward, it was almost painful to watch.
What do you think of “Bad Girl”? I liked “Mr. Taxi” more, but what I really miss is this.
Here’s the full PV for SNSD’s new single “Mr. Taxi”:
They also released the dance version a couple of days before the full one:
The song is about how the girls want some guy to chase them, hence the “Mr. Taxi” thing. It references Tokyo, Seoul, London, and New York, which implies that they’re all around the world (their fans are, at least). The music video depicts them dancing in front a changing background with slight variations to the actual setting.
There are a lot of English phrases in this song, and most of them are correctly utilized – “Mr. Taxi”, “I’m so fast”, “You take me”, “Shooting star”, “I don’t know why”, “I’m so sure”, “Anywhere”, and “I don’t want to say goodbye”. I smirked when I heard “Supersonic hypertonic” though…
hypertonic (adj.): 1. of or relating to hypertonia, 2. noting a solution of higher osmotic pressure than a solution which it is compared
I suppose it’s not as bad as the “fantastic, elastic” of “Ring Ding Dong”. It even makes sense if you think deeply, but I can’t help but wonder if they simply used the word for the purpose of rhyming.
Anyway, their outfits are attractive and mesh well with the theme of the song – so does the dance, which is slightly more intricate than “Oh!”, maybe more than “Run Devil Run”. My favorite part of the video is Hyoyeon’s dance solo followed by Yuri’s arm motion that just screams “get out of the way, the true princess has arrived”. The song itself is quite catchy and I’m sure it’ll hook Japanese listeners even if they don’t like SNSD as a group.
All of these new girl group songs from SM have me anticipating SHINee’s return… why, you ask?
One more school day until spring break (which lasts a week)! Oh, how I have eagerly awaited this overdue caesura of cruel school assignments. Then again, I will be working throughout the break on schoolwork as well as preparing for my AP World History exam and my SAT… I noticed that I tend to contradict myself when I have a thought that is too positive.
“What a nice day outside!” “Yeah, I wonder how nice it is for those homeless people on the street over there.” Ouch. And no, I don’t talk to myself. Well, maybe.
So to add more meaning (er, detract meaning?) from this post, I’ve decided to include updates on SNSD, aka Girl’s Generation. How much more gender-specific can a group name be? Girl’s Generation? Really? I feel sorry for the males who like this group for more than their bodies – it must be embarrassing.
“What are you listening to?” she asked him.
“Oh, uh, SNSD,” he replied.
“SNSD? Isn’t that Girl’s Generation?”
“NO – er, I mean yes,” he stuttered,” I was listening to their duo with that other group. Uh, 2PM.”
“2PM? You mean the group that has two raging homosexuals and a flamboyant cross-dresser?”
JUST KIDDING – I have nothing against 2PM at all – they were just the first group that popped into my mind. And I really don’t hold any grudges against guys who listen to SNSD, homosexuals, or cross-dressers, considering that I am one (one of what? I will leave that up to your imagination).
Here’s the Japanese version of “Run Devil Run”:
I love this version – even though it’s the same beat and meaning as the original version of RDR I feel like it’s a new song. It might be because of the language, but either way I don’t know Japanese of Korean. It’s quickly climbing to the top of my IPod’s 25 Most Played List – or should I say, running. I would like to say that pun wasn’t intentional, but it was. Fail…
The video also appears more refined. The girls are stylish as always and their dancing is tighter than the Korean version. Taeyon looks stunning with short hair – surprisingly I recognized her. (:
And here’s the one minute high quality preview of “Mr. Taxi”:
When I told some of my Korean friends that SNSD’s new single would be called “Mr. Taxi” they literally burst out in laughter. A few months ago I probably would have done the same, but now it’s like I’ve assimilated to K-Pop culture. Sort of like how the Indians assimilated to the Aryan caste system and eventually used it as their own… am I right or am I right?
Back to the song – “Mr. Taxi” sounds like Girl’s Generation’s attempt at a techno/pop song, with a few dance beats thrown in. I’ll see how I like it when the full song is released on April 27th. A portion of their revenue from the release of these songs will be donated to the earthquake victims of Japan.
So once spring break starts I’ll try to go back to writing posts that aren’t all about K-Pop and books. Having more time should help, if I don’t waste it ogling Key use it studying diligently for all my upcoming exams.
Did someone say Key? Have a great day everyone! (image via LiveJournal)
the quiet voice 