More than a year after the massive success of their previous title track Nonstop, OH MY GIRL is finally making their return with their eighth EP "Dear OHMYGIRL". WM Entertainment's resident girl group is known for their bright and cheery vibes, something that they've maintained for their previous two comebacks and their latest title track Dun Dun Dance is no different. Without further ado, let's dive in.
Meaning: Dun Dun Dance has a pretty simple and straightforward meaning, it's primarily a love song. The girls sing about wanting to dance with someone under a "sky covered with raining meteors" and in the chorus itself, we hear that they want to "float into the sky with the Earth on [their] back" together with their special someone. Alongside their professions of affection, there's also an underlying idea brought about by the MV itself (which I'll touch more on later). In the MV, the girls are depicted as aliens who come to Earth to have fun and frolic around, and the lyrics sort of support that with some space-themed lines like the aforementioned "meteors" and "Earth". There's also a line that goes "[we're] all [a little bit strange], strange existences disguised as people". Bottom line, Dun Dun Dance is a love song that has some references to the MV concept of OH MY GIRL being aliens.
As for their EP title itself, the members divulged in an interview that "Dear OHMYGIRL" is meant to represent the group going forward after achieving success with their previous EP and is sort of like a self-reminder for the girls to continue improving after receiving so much love from Miracle (their fandom name). That's a pretty nice sentiment and will probably give their fans a lot of relief that they'll continue to see their idols growing as a group.
MV: As I mentioned in the previous segment, the MV's storyline revolves around OH MY GIRL's members being aliens that have presumably come to Earth to frolic around and have fun. The first thing that you'll probably notice is how bright this MV is, from the sets to the outfits worn by the girls, everything is just oversaturated with colour, befitting the song's happy and chill vibes. In fact, I find it quite interesting how the colour grading in the MV makes everything look just a little unreal, merging the real world with very much otherworldly elements and perfectly reinforcing the idea that the girls are aliens. There're a bunch of CGI additions throughout, like the UFO that appears multiple times, a giant bear in the background or sea turtles swimming through the air as Seunghee zooms around on a go-kart.
Another thing that immediately called out to me is how similar Dun Dun Dance's MV was to WJSN's I Wish MV. A huge part of this is probably because both MVs were shot on Jeju Island, which fully explains the similar aesthetic and scenery. Side-note, OH MY GIRL has shot one of their previous MVs in Jeju as well, specifically the one for Windy Day so nice to see them return there. The members of both groups were also more or less depicted as aliens having fun and the colour grading of both MVs is also the same, adding to the unreal factor of everything. This comparison isn't a bad thing because the backdrops are sets are shot beautifully. Some of OH MY GIRL's previous tracks have dabbled in a more ethereal concept and their MVs reflected that by having a very dreamy vibe but I find that Dun Dun Dance's MV might genuinely be their most visually pleasing one yet, probably because it's shot outdoors.
A creative choice that I found pretty interesting was the use of the fisheye lens effect, something that the group used previously in their MV for Nonstop. This effect has also been used in other groups' MVs such as fromis_9's Pitapat (Dkdk), and adds an extremely fun and vibrant vibe to everything. That leads me to something I really appreciated about this MV, that it looks like the girls are having loads of fun. Again, it's not something new to K-Pop, there're lots of MVs showcasing groups having a whale of a time doing various activities but it's always nice to see idols having fun or at least look like they are, especially in the demanding and mercenary industry that they're part of.
Styling: I absolutely love love loveeeee the styling choices for this MV. In both individual and group shots, the girls look absolutely stunning, with their outfits befitting the song's bright concept. For majority of the MV, the girls are generally decked out in bright colours with lots of sequins which perfectly match the happy atmosphere that the MV is presenting but there're some darker outfits like the ones worn by Hyojung and Jiho in one of the group dance sequences. Even then, it doesn't actually detract from the MV's vibe and mood because they're perfectly complemented by the bright pink grass (which was a post-production effect by the way) and sunny blue sky behind. It goes to show just how important it is for the girls' styling to work hand-in-hand with the set backdrop and the styling team has managed this well.
Something else I would like to point out about their styling is that it facilitates the girls while they're frolicking around and I'll specifically be taking a look at the two outfits worn during their group dance shots. When they're dressed in the brighter outfits, nothing is too revealing or short, and it accentuates the fun vibe of the choreography and song. Even when their darker outfits do feature shorter dresses, with the ones worn by Seunghee and Jiho probably being the shortest, it's still not too short to the point where it's hard for them to dance. Most importantly, you can have comfortable clothing but the killer for dancing properly is what's on their feet. That's why I'm super pleased to see that this is one of the few times I've seen all the members of a girl group in comfortable footwear, in this case trainers or sport shoes, during their dance sequences. I'm sure the girls themselves are more appreciative of this change than we are because it probably makes it infinitely easier for them to dance. It also doesn't detract from the members' overall fashion because everything still fits well.
Finally, I just want to take a moment to appreciate the girls' visuals. In recent times, OH MY GIRL has been featured in a couple of web articles where they're described as a group where each member is a visual and this MV proves that fact because they look absolutely gorgeous throughout. Personal favourites are of course my bias Arin, who continues to look better every comeback, and Jiho, who's the group's official visual. Speaking of Jiho, I really loved her hair colour this MV, that purple colour perfectly accentuates her stunning visual. On the topic of hair colour, can we pray for Seunghee's scalp? Honestly, that hot pink hair must've done a number on her but it looks great, if a little bit distracting from everything else.
Song: Compared to OH MY GIRL's previous two titles, Bungee (Fall in Love) and Nonstop, which were fairly fast-paced songs with more dynamic lyrics, Dun Dun Dance adopts a far more chill approach with a nu-disco sound. While the previous two songs made you feel like getting up and dancing, the girls' latest title is more relaxed. Even though it's definitely still a bright and happy song, Dun Dun Dance is a song you groove to calmly rather than wholeheartedly dance to. Interestingly enough, this song was co-produced by Ryan S. Jhun, who also produced Weeekly's After School, so I find it no coincidence that both songs adopt a far more chill and groovy vibe than the groups' previous titles.
A standout to me for this song is hearing main rapper Mimi actually sing. Now I could be entirely wrong because I only started stanning OH MY GIRL after their 2019 title The Fifth Season (SSFWL) but I'm pretty certain it's a rarity to hear Mimi sing in their title tracks, especially since she's the only official member of the group's rap line. Naturally, most if not all the rap lines in any title go to her (with Dun Dun Dance being no exception) but it's really refreshing to hear her get some "sung" lines in the verses. I really like her voice and I hope she does get the chance to sing a little more in the group's future titles.
Lastly, I also really liked how the chorus was split amongst all 7 members. Generally speaking for many K-Pop groups it's normal for the vocal line to take the entire chorus, usually the main vocal and their strongest lead vocal will tank it, so it's a breath of fresh air for Dun Dun Dance's chorus to include every member at different points. Out of three choruses throughout the song, two of them have the main bulk shared by main vocals Hyojung and Seunghee, while lead vocal YooA and sub-vocal Binnie (the latter of whom gets a lot of lines despite not being part of the vocal line) take the bulk of the post-chorus. Mimi also gets short rap lines in all three post-choruses and in the final post-chorus, Arin also joins in with her adorable voice. The final chorus is also really interesting to me because instead of our main vocals, lead vocals YooA and Jiho share it instead and I thought it was an awesome change that includes all the members.
Line distribution: Dun Dun Dance's line distribution might seem a little unfair on the surface but let's break it down a little. Naturally, majority of the lines goes to main vocal Seunghee, with almost 23.7%. While not the only main vocal, it's understandable for her to get the most lines because she also has a pretty big variety presence and might actually be the "face of the group" so we'll definitely see her getting pushed a lot. Mimi comes in 2nd with a little more than 18.1% and in truth, that's quite a big difference between her and Seunghee. That's fine though because as main rapper she's immediately allocated the rap lines in the song, on top of other lines, so it makes sense. 3rd place YooA isn't far behind as well with around 16.7%, something she definitely deserves as lead vocal, but the surprise is Binnie, who's 4th place at slightly over 12.8%. You would expect a sub-vocal to get fewer lines than other members but in recent titles, Binnie has definitely been pushed a lot more and gets quite a number of lines.
It's a little surprising that main vocal and leader Hyojung comes in 5th with 10.8%, putting her below members who aren't even part of the vocal line. Lead vocal Jiho is 6th at 9.3% and sub-vocal Arin comes in last with a little under 8.6%. As you can see, there's a considerable divide between Seunghee and Arin, a difference of over 30 seconds worth of lines. Dun Dun Dance's line distribution might look pretty bad on the surface but if we look at how the entire title track is structured plus the choreography and the entire MV, it makes sense. Even though Jiho and Arin have the fewest lines, they still shine in their own aspects and it never feels that they have as few lines as they do. All 7 members also get center positions during the song's three choruses so they get lots of exposure regardless of their lines.
Final thoughts: OH MY GIRL is more or less a veteran in the K-Pop industry, with 2021 being their 6th year as a group, so it makes me very happy that they're finally getting their due "respect" with the success of their previous comeback. While it's only been a couple of days since their comeback, I fully expect that Dun Dun Dance will reach new levels of popularity, with the girls constantly striving for improvement and hoping that they'll grow as a group together with Miracle. Thanks for reading.
Comments
Post a Comment