EVERGLOW - FIRST

Having dabbled in loud and heavy electropop with a lot of bass for their first three titles before diving into retro for their previous comeback, EVERGLOW are back after slightly over 8 months with  their third single album "Last Melody". Yuehua Entertainment's rookie girl group has returned to their original style of girl crush, with title track FIRST being very "masculine" and incorporating a ton of beat drops and trap in there. I've always been on the fence about EVERGLOW's music, only really liking two of their four titles thus far so let's see how FIRST compares to the rest. 

Meaning: The concept that EVERGLOW went for with this comeback was "warriors from the future" and this is fairly evident through many scenes in the MV, with the opening shot showing us the girls in futuristic garb and teleporting down to Earth. Lyrics-wise, FIRST sort of corresponds to the idea of the girls coming from the future to save someone, with the chorus going "it's the last melody to save you". In fact, taking the song at face value gives us the impression that this victim is being hunted by some dark external force, almost like a monster, as we can see from the line "the howler has swallowed you". Of course, this song has a deeper meaning and is actually about the girls reassuring their past selves that everything will work out. How do we know it's a song about themselves? Well there's a reason why the chorus has Mia going "I come first/I'm the winner" and the use of the first person perspective coupled with other lines in the song support this idea. 

For instance, we get the post-chorus lines "together we will dream a dream that's never been seen before" and in the pre-choruses Sihyeon sings that "your past is making you scared but know your power". There're more than enough hints dropped throughout the song that the members of EVERGLOW are going back in time to "save" their past selves from the dark and depressing reality that many K-Pop groups from smaller companies are saddled with, and join hands with them to bring them to a brighter future, where they'll always "come first". Underneath the insane amount of trap and the tough-sounding lyrics, FIRST is actually a strangely uplifting song with a very supportive message as the girls move on to greater heights in future. 

MV: As I watched this MV, there was one thing at the forefront of my mind and it was that the special effects are sick. It was absolutely amazing to see all the sparks and electricity added in, and it genuinely felt like I was watching a film. EVERGLOW has always had pretty eye-catching MVs with tons of attention to the set pieces and background, and FIRST is no different in that aspect. Now here's where things get interesting. Most of the time when we talk about K-Pop MVs, you'll get the usual dance sequences combined with visual shots, with the occasional storyline scenes thrown in there if the MV is meant to tell a story as well (see some of my previous K-Pop reviews if you want a better idea). Oftentimes groups will release a normal MV as well as a performance MV, the latter of which purely showcases the choreography for a song with changes in styling, set pieces and whatnot. This is also something that EVERGLOW has done in the past and that's why FIRST's MV is so unique in that it's essentially a very well-made performance MV. 

With the exception of the very first shot with the girls entering a time travel machine and going back to the past (as is the concept they're gunning for), the entire MV only showcases the choreography coupled with the aforementioned special effects. This makes the MV very dynamic and extremely entertaining to watch because your attention isn't focused on one spot for too long while at the same time still allowing you to appreciate the members' visuals and dance skills, which is made even better by the music show-like camerawork. This is a very interesting move on the MV director's part because it sets FIRST apart from the usual K-Pop MV trend and will definitely get more people to notice EVERGLOW. 

The sets for FIRST are also nicely divided into both real world locations and set pieces. The former are generally used in wide shots of the entire group without focusing too much on one member while the latter gives us more close-ups of individual members. Again, very similar to how music shows film live performances. We see the girls dancing on a beach with an aurora in the sky as well as in a shipyard reminiscent of many K-drama filming locations, which add to the grandeur of the MV and make the special effects all the more awesome. The manmade set pieces are also far more contained and allows us to get a better look at the performance. Some of these sets are super familiar to me, such as when the girls dance on a flat fiery plane floating in space as well as the MV's final shot where they're in that white room, both of which were very much like DREAMCATCHER's Odd Eye (especially the second one because of their red-and-black outfits). Overall, FIRST's MV is a breath of fresh air amongst the K-Pop MVs of today and is an absolute joy to watch. 

Styling: It's not news that EVERGLOW has always been a girl crush group and their styling in this MV definitely matches that. In line with what I said in the previous segment, MV outfits are generally split into the dance outfits and "everything else", where the idols need not showcase choreography in visual and/or storyline shots, so the latter styling will be more restrictive. In FIRST's case, since the entire MV has the girls dancing, all their outfits are dance-suited and they look pretty damn good. The girls are decked out in five specific styles in this MV, three of which are purely solid colours (black, white and red) and the last two being a little more unique, one giving off somewhat tribal vibes and the other being the red-and-black outfits I mentioned earlier, with each outfit corresponding to one particular set piece. The black outfits, quite fittingly, are in the darkest filming location which is the shipyard. EVERGLOW also employs the use of backup dancers for FIRST and they're dressed similarly to the girls. When they're are in black, the dancers are dressed likewise and because of their full body garb, they give off a ninja vibe, befitting the MV's "warrior" concept. 

In comparison, the girls' brighter red outfits are paired with the backup dancers' white ones, which match the open beach set well, being the brightest "natural" set. Remember that the MV's first shot has the girls in front of their time machine? Well they were dressed in white then and that same outfit is also used in a dance sequence, with the backup dancers reusing the same white outfits from earlier to match the girls. Moving on to the last two outfits, the first of which are the "tribal" ones I mentioned earlier. When the girls are dressed like that, it's the only shot that doesn't feature backup dancers for the most part and also has the girls in a manmade set (which I mentioned earlier). Having the girls in this particular outfit while in a set resembling outer space makes a ton of sense because like the otherworldly nature of the environment, EVERGLOW are similarly dressed to look out-of-this-world. Finally, we get to my favourite outfit, the red-and-black ones (probably because they look similar to something DREAMCATCHER wore in the past). Easily the best ones in this MV, they accentuate the girls' visuals perfectly and also give them a strong presence. 

While all the members look good in this MV, there're undoubtedly those who match the concept better and also look better in these outfits. Personally, I think Sihyeon and Aisha look the best in this MV, partially because they're the tallest members of the group (Sihyeon being 168cm and Aisha being a whopping 174cm). It also helps that they have their hair down for the entire MV and anyone who knows me knows that I think female idols generally look better with their hair down, with Sihyeon and Aisha being proof of that. On the flipside, there are idols that look good with their hair up but unfortunately, we don't get that too often in FIRST. Taking a look at Mia and Yiren, there're certain shots in the MV where they have their hair down and they look far better like that but the styling team has chosen to put their hair up in very unflattering styles for many scenes. Mia has weird braids in her hair and Yiren has pigtails, both of which really don't suit them. To me, the only one who looked ok with their hair up this MV was Onda, who managed the space bun look well among others. It's another big reason why I like the final red-and-black outfits the most, since most of the members have their hair down in that sequence (less Yiren). 

Song: With previous title track LA DI DA, EVERGLOW reinvented themselves with a retro concept but FIRST brings them back to their roots, with an extremely loud instrumental and a chorus that is more music than singing. There's also a lot of trap in the song, something that I do have a little bit of a problem with. I won't deny that this song is very much their style since the group has had very powerful titles since debut but at the same time, FIRST does feel a little lacking compared to its direct predecessor (in terms of style) DUN DUN, which I personally consider EVERGLOW's best title. Tonally, FIRST is similar to the kind of noisy music that many boy groups put out, something that people call "hype music", a term often associated with hip-hop, and unfortunately it doesn't really pan out too well. There're just way too many beat drops and over time, the song feels predictable and uninspired. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with girl crush concepts, some of my favourite groups dabble in that concept, but FIRST just isn't holding up when compared to them.

Of course, there're some bright spots in this song, foremost being the post-chorus. Sihyeon's vocals really shine through in those lines and lead up nicely to the beat drop, which in this case makes sense to have there. Also, while I'm not the biggest fan of rap around, I do think that Aisha and E:U's rap in this song does elevate it a lot, and I daresay that they're some of the better girl group rappers in K-Pop now. Overall, FIRST is loud and ostentatious but doesn't really go very far in terms of sounding like anything new. 

Line distribution: I've been following EVERGLOW since pre-debut and let me tell you if there's one problem with them, it's their terrible title line distributions. This has been plaguing them since their debut title and it's no fault of the girls too. Generally speaking, main vocal Mia usually gets top honours and usually by a huge margin as well, and while it does make sense since she's the best vocalist in the group, it's definitely a little sad when you look at the lack of lines for the other girls. It's also a huge problem for Mia herself since her vocal cords are under a lot of stress from the almost excessive lines she gets and as main dancer, she gets majority of the dance breaks as well as center positions. Things are changing a little bit this time round though as there're some line distribution changes that I definitely didn't foresee. 

Coming in 1st place for FIRST is actually lead vocal Sihyeon at a little under 32.8% and I'm living for it. She's definitely my bias in the group and so I'm really happy to see her get so many lines. She has really great vocals and puts them to good use primarily the pre- and post-choruses of the song, serenading us with her high notes. Sihyeon's had a tough road to debut, having participated in both Produce 101 and Produce 48 but never making it to debut both times so I'm very happy to see her getting more appreciated. As you would expect, if she's not 1st then she's 2nd, with Mia coming in at slightly below 22.8%. Now this is a fairly big gap between her and Sihyeon, and I'm actually really surprised by it, considering how I thought Mia had the most lines as usual. As I mentioned earlier, Mia's undoubtedly the group's ace, being both main vocal and dancer as well as having had rap lines in the past, so having her take such a huge chunk of lines is totally expected. Even though she doesn't take the top spot this comeback, she still has a ton of center time so it more than makes up for it. 

In 3rd place we have main rapper E:U at just over 13.5%, a nice surprise since she's usually in the bottom half of EVERGLOW's line distributions. The bulk of her lines in FIRST comes from her rap in the second verse and other than that, her only other lines are opening the song with the group's name, something she does for the other titles anyway, and then a couple one-liners in the bridge. As you would expect, really not that many lines for her and that's why she only has about half of Mia's lines. Coming in close behind is Yiren with a little over 12.6%. It's not hard to figure out that Yiren was the most popular member of EVERGLOW pre-debut and even after a few years, she's still definitely one of the faces of the group and that's in huge part due to her participation on Produce 48. Considering her position as not just a sub-vocal but also the only non-Korean member, this amount of lines makes sense for her but in Yiren's case, her popularity gives her a ton of center time so it's all good. 

Now we get to the last two members, Onda and Aisha, with slightly under 9.2% and slightly over 9.1% respectively. Onda is generally the most underappreciated member in EVERGLOW, getting squat for lines and often being pushed to the background many times. FIRST really isn't too different in that aspect since Onda continues to have very few lines but what's different this time is that she gets a lot of center time in the dance break near the end of the song. It's a very good opportunity to showcase her skills as lead dancer and I'm very happy that Yuehua's at least making an effort to push her forward. I was a little surprised at first that Aisha comes in last (although she's not that far behind Onda) but in hindsight I probably should've been able to tell just by listening. She's definitely had more lines in previous comebacks like Adios or DUN DUN but with FIRST, our lead rapper only gets a short few lines in the first verse and then gets to rap in the second verse. I'm fine with that though because her presence and charisma is definitely still felt in those lines and at the same time, she also stands out with her height. All in all, it's not the best distribution in the world but it's definitely a marked improvement from the past, with each of the girls given their chance to stand out. 

Final thoughts: As is the single album's name, this "Last Melody" could very well spell the end of an era for EVERGLOW. Things are changing for the group and we see that very clearly in the leadership transferal from E:U to Sihyeon. The end of FIRST's MV also showed the classic group logo breaking and dissipating so what does this all mean? Could it be a change in concept for future songs or maybe even the addition of a new member? Ever since debut people could tell that the group's choreographies tended to have a weird space indicative of an odd number of members, although EVERGLOW is a sextet. It has long been rumoured that ex-IZ*ONE member and fellow Yuehua trainee Yena would be joining EVERGLOW post-IZ*ONE disbandment and with the potential directional change we're heading towards, this could very well be the case. 

At the time I'm posting this, EVERGLOW has already gotten their first music show win for FIRST (hah puns), making this their second win in total after Adios 2 years back. So far, EVERGLOW's music has flipflopped for me and FIRST definitely isn't one of my favourites but moving forward, I do hope that the girls will become more popular and their sound will continue to develop, making EVERGLOW one of the pioneers of the 4th generation of K-Pop. Thanks for reading.