4Minute's "First"... erm, what exactly are they talking about???!

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to my first (and maybe only) 4minute post!



Okay, so I'll just come out and say it - to me, this sounds like they're inviting a guy to help them lose their virginity. At first I was like, "aww cute, a song about first love." But then I watched the choreography (which is pretty cool, by the way) and I was like "Oh, is THAT what they're singing about???" LOLz I'll need a translation of the lyrics to confirm, but this will forever be The Cherry-Popping Song in my head.

It's not just the choreo though, it's also the insertion of the cute in the video. 4minute are NEVER cutesy. They're like the other fierce girl group in k-pop, aside from 2NE1. So why the cuteness? They've finally found something to be coy about? Something that they're not precocious about? Maybe the Japanese fans wanted them to be cute (or sing about sex... either is possible). The entertainment companies always say "They wanted to show a different side of themselves," but usually it just means they're doing something different to see if it'll sell more albums. I won't knock them for it though: somehow, the combination of cute yet fierce works for me. They appeal to me more as a girl group in this video - all their other more hip-hoppy, "I'm a hot chick, you can't touch this" stuff seemed so fake to me. They go through the motions well enough, but I don't look at them and think, "Oh, that's hot! I wish I was as fierce as these chicks." I think 2NE1 sells it better (despite what they actually experience in real life) and so I prefer them. But this seems real. This I can get with. The song itself is also more musically appealing than their other material (Look Ma - it's a melody!), and the video isn't out to rob me of my eyesight with its crazy effects. I like to listen to the music of Korean artists crossing over into another market, because the change in country, language and audience presents challenging conditions that can make artists produce better material. In 4minute's case, I guess I was right.

As individuals, I really like these girls. They're talented and they work hard. I think Hyuna's a little overrated, but that's because I feel like she could be so much more than the sexy rapper with the hip-thrusts - it's just that no one gives her that chance. You ask her to dance, she wiggles her hips and everyone's happy. Granted, she wiggles her hips with more stage presence than half the girl groups out there, but still - someone give her some decent choreo, please! Gayoon's got a lovely voice which really adds quality to the groups vocals. And I love Jiyoon. She's the triple threat in the group (vocal, rap, dance) and she BRINGS it, every time, no matter what. I know Sohyun is supposed to be an awesome dancer, but again, where's the choreo? I have yet to see their Dance Battle from this summer, though, so maybe I'll see it there. And Jihyun does nothing for me, but she's got the attitude necessary for the group, and somewhat rounds them out, so I'm okay with her. I really hope they get new people (management, choreographers, songwriters) in the future, or else they'll continue to lose out to 2NE1 and Secret in the fierce girl group category. I wish they released this in Korea though - I am NOT looking forward to SNSD's comeback... I already hear too much about them and they're not even releasing any new material. Unless it's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, I'll pass. (P.S. Love how spell-check recognizes that word!!! I am an awesome speller :D)

... actually, I take that back. With all the recent announcement that new laws will be written to protect minors in the entertainment industry (FINALLY) and the crackdown on inappropriate material on network television in Korea, they'd probably just get banned with this song. lol.