SECRET NUMBER – 'WHO DIS?'

Track List:

1. Who Dis?

2. Holiday

Girl group SECRET NUMBER has just debuted with their single album 'Who Dis?' Formed under VINE Entertainment, the group consists of five members: Denise, Dita, Soodam, Jinny, and Lea. The single album has two tracks.

Despite having a hip-hop-inspired title, "Who Dis?" is not hip-hop. There is definitely a brassy presence here, though. The song is actually fairly fierce and melodic all at once and you hear a lot of horns in the tune. There are the skirling high-pitched horns, and what sounds like tuba bursts. It's probably all synthetic. But it's no less fun for all that, add sharp vocals along with catchy and danceable on top of that and you have a great title track. Some people say they get BLACKPINK vibes from the group and I can see that.

"Holiday" starts out cool and then tries its best to fail. Initially it's done to acoustic guitars, and has a nice soothing tone to it. It's sort of folk-pop. Everything goes well until the chorus, where some techno invades. It's kind of jarring and I'm not a fan of the techno part. Denise does her best to save it with some angelic breathy asides. It sounds best when they turn it down some and let the vocals control the bridge.

So one of the songs is great. The other isn't bad, but not my scene. Actually, I wanted to like "Holiday" a lot more than I did. If they just kept it consistent I think I would have enjoyed it more. One thing's for certain though -- these girls have talent. I love their voices, and the harmonies you hear on the second track. Do we have a glut of girl groups? Yeah, it kind of feels like 2010. Do I think these girls might rise to the top? Also yes, they have a ton of potential. However, a lot of groups over the years had potential but unfortunately didn't execute, which is what matters most. "Potential is nothing, execution is everything."

MV REVIEW

This is one of those music videos that combine both good and cringe elements.

The good: pretty girls, neon-lit environments, some unique backdrops, the forceful choreo, that gorgeous CGI-enhanced cityscape at 1:52.

The cringe: Sitting in a shopping cart, singing behind a sheet of plastic, sitting in a tub full of shiny space blankets. And yeah, it would be better if the cringe elements weren't overused, but they kind of are. Except for the space blankets -- that's just kind of a WTF moment. I guess I can be grateful it's better than "Latata?"

But I digress. Wouldn't you know it, but it gets better at the dance break around the 2-minute mark. Well, except for the rapping, but we'll agree to gloss over that for now. When they all come together, it's a magical thing. They look like they're having tons of fun, and it makes you want to be there.

That's the thing about this MV. It has its ups and downs. And while I can mock it for not being consistent, at least it's not consistently bad. In many parts, it's actually quite enjoyable. It's not a bad debut, but some elements keep it from being a great one.

Score

MV Relevance...........8

MV Production..........8

MV Concept..............8

MV SCORE: 8.0

Album Production.....9

Album Concept.........9

Tracklisting................9

ALBUM SCORE: 9.0

OVERALL................8.5