After months of waiting, Tiny-G (short for "Tiny Giants") has finally debuted.  We first met Tiny-G in April, when they recorded "Polaris", written by Jay Park and Lee Si Young for the show 'Music and Lyrics'. It was cute and showed off the members' budding, raw talent. On August 23, the group made their official debut with their self-titled song, "Tiny-G".



The girls have talent. Lead singer J Min has a heck of a voice, and lead dancer Mint totally owns the stage- in their video and live performances, I can't take my eyes off of her. It's a little difficult to tell how second vocalist Dohee and rapper Myungji are doing through the heavy processing on their voices in the official recording, though you can hear them a little better in this video from Arirang Radio. While both girls show a lot of potential, it's clear that the processing is there to cover up their very young-sounding voices.

As far as the song sounds, it's okay, if a little forgettable. I think part of the problem is that the song feels very long- it stays at one energy level throughout, which makes it feel repetitive and dragged out. In my opinion, it could have been cut down to about a minute long and used as an intro track. Something a little more dynamic for their official debut would have been better.

Aside from the semi-lackluster song, I feel like the tough-girl image is a bit forced. While it suits Mint and she really shines, I feel like the other girls are playing dress-up and don't really own the image. I think Tiny-G could have benefited from another six months to a year of training as well as some better material. Mint and J Min seem like they were ready to debut, but the rest of the band isn't quite there yet.

That's not a criticism of the girls, however. When I said that Myungji and Dohee sound young, it wasn't meant as an insult- they ARE young, it's how they're supposed to sound! Taemins, Minzys, and Zelos who are ready to debut when they're still munchkins are the exception rather than the rule. If we have to use digital effects to make someone sound older than they are, it's a sign that maybe we should let them get a little older before they debut.

On the plus side, these girls are all really good dancers, and you can see that in their dance practice video. Unfortunately, the MV focuses more on the strange storyline, in which the girls pick a fight with some basketball players and win, than on the dancing.

I really want to like Tiny-G. The potential is there, and they seem like cool kids, but with so-so material and not-quite-developed talent, I'm left a little underwhelmed. Plenty of groups have had mediocre debuts followed by stellar comebacks- SECRET and EXID spring to mind- and maybe Tiny-G can pull off the same kind of trick. Time will tell.  I'm rooting for them.