[Album & MV Review] Weki Meki � 'WEME / I Don't Like Your Girlfriend'

AKP STAFF

WEKI MEKI � WEME

Track List:

1. I Don't like your Girlfriend
2. Stay with Me
3. Pretty Boy (iTeen Girls Special)
4. Neverland
5. My World
6. Fantastic

During their pre-debut, they were the iTeens. Now, Fantagio's new girl group has officially debuted as Weki Meki!� 'WeMe' is their first mini-album, with six new tracks. The rookie group includes Choi Yoo Jung and Kim Do Yeon (both of I.O.I), as well as Su Yeon, Elly, Sei, Lua, Rina and Lucy.

"I Don't Like Your Girlfriend" is their title track and I have to admit I didn't like the main verses at first. They sounded very familiar, like the kinds of songs that Red Velvet and TWICE are being handed, songs that are instant-hits but don't make a lasting and deep impression. The chorus is where it grabbed me, though, as well as the dubstep inspired beat drops. It's totally a bop.

"Stay with Me" is a tropical house beat�and a more cohesive tune than "...Girlfriend." The chorus is the hook�and is okay for that. One thing I like about this tune is that it does show off their vocal range. I also love the ad-libs here, they make the tune more punchy. Yeah, I really like this one.

"Pretty Boy (iTeen Girls Special)" is a semi-majestic performance. Sometimes it sounds like a simple retro tune, maybe something that you would hear on the radio from the early-to-mid-2000s. But the vocals set it apart, as there are some flourishes that are distinctly modern. It's alternately cute and sweet, not unlike early Girls' Generation.

"Neverland" is a smooth R&B track, with some understated electronic effects. They harmonize beautifully during the chorus�and do a pretty bang-up job during the main verses. The chorus divorces itself from the R&B genre�and is more exciting for it. I like these hybrid tracks when they're done well.

"My World" is a straight-up ballad. The nice thing is that it keeps a pretty sweet beat throughout, and is a good tune, though it tries to fall prey to drowning in production at the end. Expansive, billowy vocals during the chorus make this a gorgeous song, and definitely soothing.

"Fantastic" has that girls chant that's becoming more and more common in K-pop. It almost ruins it, but there's more to this song than just a cheerleader's chant. The pre-chorus and bridge save it, not to mention the chorus. That's what it really picks up and gains some momentum and substance, becoming a decent dance track. It's also an awesome finisher�and left me feeling fantastic.

This is a solid debut. Part of what makes it that good is a sense of identity. They didn't choose a bland, light, overly cute sound. Very little of this sounds like filler to me. I still don't know what a Weki Meki is, but what I do know is that this album is good.

MV REVIEW

The girls of Weki Meki dance their way through this plotless MV.

I'm making it sound worse than it is, but that's essentially it. There's no pretense of a drama MV here, just two or three dance performances in different locations, punctuated by individual shots of the members. There's also quite a bit of aegyo.

The dancing is well-done -- confident and bold, with movements well-suited to the cadence. There's more than a little finger work here, wagging and pointing, but there's some good choreo too. Not all of it is original, but it's all gucci.

So that's it in a nutshell. The dynamic use of color is what stands out. There's nothing gray or bland, so what you get is a lot of eye-catching scenes. Even the clothes are used like this. If you're not used to bright, colorful scenes then you're headed to the headache zone.

But seriously, the song and MV go extremely well together. You get the sense they were trying for that effect rather than tacking an MV onto a song, so they get kudos for that. And it is a lot of fun to watch. For nothing going on, they sure packed a lot in here. It's definitely worth watching.