Jan 16, 2014

GOT7 - First Impressions



One would think that with as many acts that JYPE has under its belt, the last thing that should be done is debuting a new boy group. However, that hasn't stopped them from doing it anyway.
Meet Got7 everyone, a 7-member martial arts and acrobatics influenced boy group, and their debut single Girls Girls Girls. I can't help but think that JYP is trying to recreate the same interest that sunbaes 2PM recieved when they debuted with a similar concept, because that interest is vital at this point for the entertainment company. With the Wonder Girls basically disbanding (Sunye living a married life and Sohee abandoning the sinking ship), 2PM's failing comeback after two years of hiatus and a bunch of rookie acts (15&, Baek Ahyeon) that are still relatively unknown, it's not hard to see why they're trying to create a new senastion. The question is, is it a good idea?




My answer to that would be no. I feel like JYP has been getting worse and worse in promoting and marketing their acts, and what once was one of the top three entertainment companies in South Korea has now fallen far behind the other two. My opinion, which I know other people share as well, is that JYP should just stick to what they already have and try to increase the quality instead of quantity.
However, I still felt like I should give the boys an honest chance, because while the teasers didn't intrigue me at all, one can always hope to be pleasantly taken back. I also saw them on YG's Win when they competed against all the YG trainees (along with other JYP trainees that are also supposed to debut as well later this year) and was really impressed with their skills.


Girls Girls Girls was released on January 14th (at least where I live) after multiple teaser photos and videos, and I am so underwhelmed I don't know if I should be angry or sad. Everything about this song and video is plain and mediocre. The singing and rapping is sup-bar, the dance (leaving out the acrobatics) was nothing special and the video was awkward. Not to talk about the styling, because that was horrendous. I feel like I've seen this a thousand times before, and coming form such a large company I expected a lot more originality.

It's basically a hip hop song, or it tries to be, but it just fails completely. It contains a heavy electronic sound and beat, but the vocals are completely mismatched in terms of strength and tone. Nothing much really happens either, it never builds up or down, just keeps going in the same way throughout the entire song. This results in a really monotone melody, and the singing from the members doesn't really help either. Overall, it just feels like a really lazy attempt, like there has literally been no effort put into making this song even a little exciting. I know this because there have been some good JYP releases in the previous year, but now it's almost like they're not even trying.

For the video, well let's just say I won't be watching it again. It starts off with the members riding on these kind of scooters, which just looks ridiculous, and they ride past a girl dressed in a school uniform (a JYP trainee, most likely) who follows them into some kind of secret club for teenagers. There they are seen playing games, chatting and dancing before they break out in song. Now, this is the only set that they perform in, and the rest of the video takes plays in this club. People are standing around the stage, awkwardly putting their hands in the air and moving to the rhythm. That's all there is to it. Nothing else.
I just cringed at the entire thing, basically, because they try so hard to be all cool and stylish (not missing to mention the word "swagger") and just fail so miserably. The clothes look really bad and unflattering and some of the haircuts just make me want to hunt down the responsible hairstylists and demand them to resign.


As a final word, I am very disappointed with this debut, because I know it could've been much better. This is just another example of how JYP has no idea how to make use of talent and showcase it in a justified way. I don't blame the boys of Got7, because like most groups they probably didn't have much hand in the making of this concept, but I do blame their management. If JYP wants to continue being successful, they need to step up their game and deliver something better than this. 

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