LIZZY - NOT AN EASY GIRL

Lizzy, of After School and Orange Caramel fame, has released a trot song, trying to appeal to an older generation of fans. Korean trot, for those who don't know, predates K-Pop by quite a few decades, having its origins in the colonial period during the Japanese occupation (1910-1945). Some estimates trace the first trot song to 1926. Trot music is typically performed in a two-beat rhythm with traditional seven-five syllabic stanzas and a lyric song cycle accompanied by a chamber orchestra (Gagok vocals). Debates still rage over whether or not it was adapted from Japanese music.

"Not An Easy Girl" is sung with clean vocals and in a somewhat lower register than with Orange Caramel. I can't quite trace the instrumentation (almost an accordion), but it definitely sounds dated and retro. Perhaps predictably, the funniest part of the song comes not from Lizzy but her collaborator, comedian Jung Hyung Don.  While she repeatedly insists that she's not an easy girl, Hyung Don interjects: 

"You held my hand, you kissed me
You ate six portions of beef rib eye
And now you say you're not an easy girl?"

To me, it's hilarious. She plays the straight girl, he's the one cracking jokes.



I have to take issue with its being called trot. Trot, to the best of my knowledge, does not include a rap part. It is, however, sweetly sung, hilarious, and comically catchy.  This song would not be out of place as an Orange Caramel single.  I like it; it's a lot of fun to listen to, but being a purist, I'm not sure I'd call it trot. Trot-inspired might be a better term for it.

That said, Lizzy has yet to produce anything that I would deem low-quality. With one group or another and now solo, Lizzy makes me look forward to hearing more. It's an intriguing song, whatever genre it fits in. I can't wait to hear a full album. 
 

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