CLARA - "GWIYOMI SONG 2"


Riffing off the original by Hari, "Gwiyomi Song 2" is a modern and more updated take of the charming original. In doing so, it's lost some of its innocence and cuteness.

A short history for those who don't know: Ihoon of BTOB performed a series of cute gestures dubbed "Gwiyomi Player" on BTOB's reality TV show. Singer Hari wrote her own song based on Gwiyomi Player. Ilhoon uploaded a video to YouTube that was literally a response to Hari's song, good-naturedly performing the gestures and singing his own version. Hari then was interviewed by Sports Seoul, performing the Gwiyomi pantomime while singing her "Gwiyomi Song." This whole thing went viral, and numerous celebs and netizens began uploading their own Gwiyomi Player footage. So now we have Clara's version.



Opening with Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik K. 525" and transitioning into "Gwiyomi Song 2," Clara goes through the by now familiar motions in a high school and in the street while changing outfits and hairstyles. All of this is punctuated by bizarre scenes and animated effects. I think her backup dancers are particularly funny, and their antics reminded me of Danny Zuko's friends in 'Grease'�during the musical numbers.



The video certainly is slickly produced with bright colors and aegyo Gwiyomi player gestures meant to remind you of the original pioneered by Ilhoon. I have to say it was a good move to release a video relying primarily on aegyo and not a sexy concept. Since the whole song is essentially one giant hook married to a viral dance, anything else would just be distracting.

The wardrobe person must have been obsessed with eyes. Every outfit Clara wears has these hallmark cutesy stylized eyes somewhere; collar, belt, shoulder pads. An odd choice, and I caught myself looking for the eyes on her outfits in some surreal game of "Where's Waldo?"



The last minute-and-a-half consists of clips from a blooper reel in which the music plays behind various botched takes where everyone eventually erupts in peels of laughter. The standout segment there was an appearance by Stan "the Man" Lee of Marvel Comics fame, doing his own version of Gwiyomi player.



Overall, it's not bad, but watching it, I was just left with one question: Why? It's not that I dislike Clara or the MV or the song, really. But beyond a marketing gimmick, I'm not sure why they felt the urge to do all of this. The things that inspired this grew organically, spontaneously, and went viral. This looks like an attempt to cash in, and leaves me cold. Sorry Clara, but I feel there are better ways to grab the spotlight.

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