[Song & MV Review] Shannon � "Love Don't Hurt"

AKP STAFF

SHANNON � LOVE DON'T HURT

Track List:

1. Love Don't Hurt (Feat. Lil Boi)
2. Love Don't Hurt (Feat. Amber of f(x))

It's been more than 2 years since the British-Korean songstress released her first mini-album 'Eighteen,' and now she's back with the single "Love Don't Hurt." The track comes in two flavors: one in Korean with� Lil Boi of Geeks, and an English version featuring�Amber of f(x).

The song itself is a soft pop number, with the billowy style we've come to expect from Shannon. Each version is a bit disappointing in its own way, and some of that can be attributed to the respective guest stars. In the Korean rendition, Lil Boi's entrance is jarring�and ruins what could have been a halfway decent tune. In the English song, Amber doesn't rap (which she's really good at) but sings instead. Yes, Amber's part meshes far better than Lil Boi's, her vocals a nice complement to Shannon's but I still would have preferred to hear her rapping.

On the positive side, Shannon's voice is still quite amazing. I've always felt she was a virtuoso vocalist, and here she proves it once more. She doesn't need any guest stars to prop her up, despite this particular single. The tune isn't a bad one, either.

I really wish they hadn't gone the featured artist route, for reasons I've already mentioned. Sometimes I wonder if the company has any confidence in their artists when they do that. Shannon is fantastic, her guests and the melody are okay. So, to my ears, this was not as good a comeback as I would have hoped for.

MV REVIEW

Note: the Amber version is truncated, and appears to be a behind the scenes MV. Therefore, only the Korean version gets a review.

This one of those sad MVs where it has Shannon with this guy. They're happy... until everything disintegrates. The only thing I see is the guy looks kinda sketchy. There are scenes in a smoky bar, and there's even a shot of him giving her a rather painful tattoo. This is a completely different image for the singer.

Some of it almost looks like a different video. There are scenes of Shannon, alone, filmed in soft light. Scenes where she looks absolutely radiant against the city at night, and shots of her with (or inside) a car. It's interesting�because you probably could have done this video without all the other stuff.

That's not to say that it's not interesting. It's not like you're likely to be triggered by anything, and even the lighting in the bar makes an interesting frame. Lil Boi does his rapping here, juxtaposed with scenes of Shannon and her MV boyfriend making out. And as I said, Shannon looks absolutely fantastic wherever she pops up.

Ultimately, I was prepared to be unimpressed, and it doesn't really break new ground. Breakup MVs are not uncommon, and this doesn't show us anything new at all. But it's definitely interesting, and kept me watching til the end.