A Pink
"Good Morning Baby" Music Video
The ladies of A Pink have been around since 2011, but that doesn't mean I've had that much time to become a fan. I've been into K-pop a little over a year now, and, as with everything, real life intrudes and has to be dealt with first. So, in my free time where I occasionally sit down and unearth bands that fit my musical tastes, I recently happened upon A Pink.
What little I knew was that they are part of A Cube Entertainment, a subsidiary of Cube Entertainment. Various members appeared in some B2ST videos I enjoy, including Shock and Soom (Breath). They were embroiled in a scandal over the departure of one of their members. They were featured in the Cube Christmas video. They occasionally play A Pink songs on the internet K-pop stations I listen to, and I've never heard anything by them that I dislike. Their new digital single "Good Morning Baby" was released on January 13, 2014 to commemorate their 1,000th day as a band, as well as a thank you to the fans.
I'm sure most of this is obvious to many of you reading this review, but I include this information for those who do not know.
The video opens with the girls saying "good morning, baby" several times as various items are displayed onscreen: Otolaryngolotic (ear-nose-throat) medical journals, pictures on the wall, a tray with a bottle of wine and two glasses, a glass and a candle (also on a tray), updates to the same medical journals on a shelf, an open book, linguistics books in French, and finally a piano with sheet music. I couldn't quite tell if they were saying hi to someone (like the viewer) or to the objects shown. To me it sounded they were crowded around a cradle greeting a newborn, but that could just be me. The significance of this intro is lost on me, but I can tell those books are not light reading.
And I just know someone's going to turn this song into an alarm clock app, the "good mornings" in the video included.
After all that, the actual song starts, and the melody is a light, poppy one, in contrast to the rather austere surroundings we saw in the beginning. The video is set up as sort of a behind the scenes photoshoot, with the girls either posing or waiting, at times goofing around and just enjoying themselves, all with the occasional flash of an offscreen camera.
There's not really a plot I can poke holes in, but what I can tell you is that these girls are absolutely adorable. Every time the scene changes, focusing on a different gal, all I could think of was "cute." Eunji playing the drums, Bomi posing or bored, Namjoo in a midriff-baring sweatshirt emblazoned with the word "Masculine," which she is anything but. The girls were in fine form, every one of them.
I must point out two things about this video that I really liked:
1) No sexy concept. It is a sad thing that the K-Pop industry seems to sexualize all the girl groups. I mean, I'm a guy. I get it. But is it necessary? How hot they look has no bearing to whether I'm going to listen to the song itself. It's oversaturated, and nice to see something different. They all look lovely and have no need to appear cheap.
2) Lack of aegyo. Aside from the intro, there's nearly no aegyo. I have to champion that idea. Too often, the aegyo I see seems forced, like they were told what to do. And I have heard members of some bands saying they hate aegyo, although the ones that protest the loudest seem to be the friendliest and cutest and most likely to do aegyo, so your mileage may vary.
The song itself is nicely done. Penned by Duble Sidekick (I should get a token for mentioning them -- I've talked about them in both of my reviews), earwormy and cute, it's now on my playlist, and will likely stay there. At times it reminded me of a Sistar tune, unobtrusive and fun to listen to.
The MV fits quite well with the tone of the song, even if the concept wears a bit thin. I really would love to see a dance version as well, or at least some choreography practice around this song. That said, the overall sense of fun I get from watching and listening gives the ratings a tilt toward the high end.
After two years, four albums, and a thousand days, they're now on my radar. I think I'm a fan.
2) Lack of aegyo. Aside from the intro, there's nearly no aegyo. I have to champion that idea. Too often, the aegyo I see seems forced, like they were told what to do. And I have heard members of some bands saying they hate aegyo, although the ones that protest the loudest seem to be the friendliest and cutest and most likely to do aegyo, so your mileage may vary.
The song itself is nicely done. Penned by Duble Sidekick (I should get a token for mentioning them -- I've talked about them in both of my reviews), earwormy and cute, it's now on my playlist, and will likely stay there. At times it reminded me of a Sistar tune, unobtrusive and fun to listen to.
The MV fits quite well with the tone of the song, even if the concept wears a bit thin. I really would love to see a dance version as well, or at least some choreography practice around this song. That said, the overall sense of fun I get from watching and listening gives the ratings a tilt toward the high end.
After two years, four albums, and a thousand days, they're now on my radar. I think I'm a fan.
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