In the first half of 2012, hardly a week has gone by without the debut of a new rookie group. While a handful of male groups are showing some strong performances, girl group debuts have been a little... unremarkable. Six Bomb and BTSwing haven't made an appearance since their initial debuts, EXID has fallen prey to injuries and member change-ups, She'z hasn't garnered much of a following yet, and Gangkiz hasn't either. Hello Venus and SPICA are the only two groups that have shown any staying power, and I think brand-new rookies Crayon Pop could join them.

The five members of GLAM, the newest girl group to join the fray, are unique in that several of them have already debuted outside of the band. Maknae Miso has been seen on Birth of a Great Star and was featured on Jo Kwon's solo album, 'I'm Da One', on the track "Heaven". Oldest member Zinni is already an accomplished b-girl, and Dahee debuted last year by providing vocals for the promotion of Vocaloid in Korea (GLAM performed a special collaboration stage with Vocaloid character SeeU on Inkigayo's July 22nd episode). The group was revealed through a TV show, Real Music Drama, which started airing in early June.

If I'm being honest, I was not impressed the first time I listened to GLAM's debut song, "Party (XXO)". I thought the melody was a little sleepy after the dramatic rapping in the beginning of the song. The lyrics, which claim that the girls are "aliens from the Mars" and "ET that came to earth", make GLAM the third rookies to debut with an "alien" concept (the others being B.A.P. and EXO) in 2012. Now that I've listened to it a few times, seen the video, and read the lyrics more closely, the girls of GLAM have won me over.


This group boasts two talented rappers, Zinni and Jiyeon- who kick off the track by trading lines through a surprisingly expressive verse. Their exaggerated, almost conversational inflection reminds me of Baro's raps in B1A4. The two girls strut down a hallway with confident attitudes, trading lines and moving in and out of frame with ease. After this, the video starts to get really weird, with Dahee riding a bike through the sky (held aloft by balloons), Miso floating on a cloud of steam from someone's cappuccino, and sparkles bursting from people's chests. The song and video build to a rowdy party atmosphere, with explosions of glitter and fireworks all over the place.

One thing that really makes this group stand out in the sea of rookies is their athleticism- the choreography in this video is no joke, and is a really nice change from the more reserved dances we've been seeing from girl groups this year. B-girl Zinni pulls out a few tricks, and I have the feeling she's got a few left in her arsenal for the next round of promotions.

I do have to say that the song lacks originality in some ways- the melody at the beginning of the singing portion of the verse is reminicent of Dara's lines in 2ne1's "I am the Best", but with a cuter, sweeter feel to them. The melody of the "party's a heartbeat away" breakdown toward the end of the song is a dead-ringer for the prechorus of G.Na's Top Girl (the "seven days, all day" part). There were other parts of the song that seemed familiar to me, but I couldn't exactly place them. I still feel that while the singing is good, the melody didn't quite live up to the rapping.

The lyrics are kind of strange for a kpop song, mixing Sunny Hill-lite social commentary with demands to "get party party started". The first line of Jiyeon's opening rap is, "Can I kiss you, baby girl?" Zinni follows up soon after with "Are you a boy? Girl? I don't care!", and later says "Girl, I like ya, really really like ya!" (which is repeated throughout the song), and asserting that "anyone can be a Romeo... [or a] Juliet". Under the ever-watchful eye of the ban-happy Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, it's a bold move for a rookie group to debut with a song that so blatantly celebrates same-sex relationships. Beyond that, the song celebrates female friendship and cameraderie, with lyrics such as "You and I, we are the same girls, maybe there's no need to win," and reminds us that "opposition for opposition won't work".

While I could have done without the recycled melody lines, I believe that this group has the potential to bring a new and interesting face to kpop girl groups, and I'm excited to see where they go from here. Be sure to check out their debut performance, which shows that they can take their cool, confident attitudes from their video and onto the stage. I have high hopes for these rookies.

So, what do you think? Does GLAM stand up to the other rookies this year, or will they get lost in the crowd?



What are your thoughts on GLAM's "Party (XXO)"? Leave an honest rating and your thoughts in the comments below.

Note: this article does not reflect the opinions of allkpop, only the author.