(Quickfire) GK:MUSIC — Alamat's 'Hiraya', Minnie's 'Her', Babymonster's 'Really Like You', Kim Wansun & Seulgi's 'Lucky'

I was able to binge on some pop music videos, so here's a diversion from my recent movie review postings.

Alamat's Hiraya —

For the song itself, it has been out for almost over two months now, so it's not necessarily a fresh review. If I must include my initial thoughts on it, I really, really like this sound, Alamat is able to interpret the song well; their voices gave the song a beautiful and lively vibe to it, much like their other Pop and Pop-R&B songs. My favorite parts were Alas' rap, Tomas bridge, R-Ji's second pre-chorus, and of course, Mo's first verse. I love the song in its entirety and I can't wait to see their Wish Bus live performance of it. I know they have one in the vault! It makes me excited for the album too; some of the songs have been spoiled in their year-end concert and I can tell they're bops just by the vibe alone (note that I have not listened to them at all, I just have that much faith in their musical talents).

For the dance performance MV, which I had just watched despite it being uploaded three days ago, I didn't have any expectations and although I had my thoughts about the editing, I don't think it takes away from the point of the video, which was to showcase the dance. In that regard, it's effective. Love the dance, though. Love their looks too!

Minnie's Her —

I have my suspicions about the lyrics (this and her other single, Blind Eyes Red) that it might be written by AI, 'cause none of it makes sense. Either that or she and her writers/producers dgaf about the English language, which, honestly, respectable. But I just don't get the lyrics, grammar-wise, but also, storytelling-wise. They just all feel random and nonsensical.

The songs themselves, music-wise, are good. I feel like I could listen to them and not feel irritated by it. Of all the other G-IDLE members' solo stuff, she's the one that perfectly encapsulated their earlier era (circa 2019), with their songs like Lion, Oh my god, and Hann. 

I think it could have been listenable to me if they just did something about the melody of that first to second ("I want to say, to say I love you") line in the intro and chorus. Something about the note and melody of that line threw off the entire thing for me. It could have been something reminiscent of 2nd gen K-Pop that has modern interpretations, but the way that line was sung makes it so unbelievable out of place from the rest of the song. Maybe they could made it more complex or added more dynamic, ie did some runs just like literally the next line that comes after it, or added more lyrics? It feels too simple, like maybe they wanted it to be the next viral hook or something like that, which makes it sound like a sell-out. I had chest pains every time they sang that line.

Lyrics, I didn't really read the entire thing. It's this type of K-Pop song that you can get away not knowing what they're saying that makes it enjoyable. I can't say if it's good or bad, it's just not my cup of tea.

Despite the MV's endearing simplicity, the song is actually catchy. Though it didn't have an English CC, I don't think it's really needed. It's a vibe, and that's all that matters. The song gave very much retro and nostalgia, but I don't think it's as watered down and "trend"-based like most of the songs that's being put out nowadays. Even though city pop or dance music isn't my favorite or at least, go-to genre of music, I still enjoyed this song a lot.