Morning Musume Needs Your Help!! - "Help me!!" Dance Shot

Morning Musume has released the dance shot for their upcoming single "Help me!!", the debut of the 11th Generation.

This song combines the new electronic dance sound of Morning Musume with the more familiar sound that Hello! Project fans might recognize from album songs. Similar to their previous two singles, they have decided to release the dance shot before the regular music video. Personally I don't think this is a good idea as it tends to lower the views that the regular MV gets, but I'm sure many fans are happy to have a sneak peek. With Morning Musume having a stronger focus on choreography lately, releasing the dance shot is a good way to get fans excited.

While the choreography isn't as strong as something you'd see from a group like Fairies, it is pretty impressive as it's very eye-catching and makes you want to pay close attention to every move. The fast movements in the intro invite you to dance along, and the unique formations allow you to focus on all the members. Following the intro, the girls move low to the ground, which combined with the quiet vocals gives a bit of a sneaky and mysterious feel. Near the chorus, we get to see our new member, Oda Sakura, shine with great vocals and all the members dancing around her.

What really makes this dance shot is the backgrounds in the city. Though it starts out dark, with only the enormous moon lighting the area, the lights all burst out in neon colors to give an energetic start to the chorus.

The outfits are quite interesting as well. Leopard print on top of hot pink tutus, and every member has a unique hair piece, with Kudo Haruka's sideways cap probably being the most memorable.

The only thing I don't like about this dance shot is that it's clearly edited, and the random "jump" in footage can get pretty annoying. Of course, this is a minor complaint when you're enjoying everything the video has to offer.

Fans can only hope that this will not be another let-down like the overly-sparkly "One Two Three" or the finished "Wakuteka Take a chance" that was worse than the temporary version (which is exactly why I didn't review it). But if my observations are correct, I think we'll be getting a more fair line distribution and screen time in the future. 2013 will definitely be an interesting year for Morning Musume!

Girls' Generation Goes Back in Time...5 Years

Girls' Generation, my second Kpop group, will always hold a special place in my heart because of their song "Gee". That song just wouldn't stop showing up in my recommended videos on YouTube, and that's why I'm a Kpop fan today.

Well, get ready for a bit of nostalgia, as they take us back in time a full five years in their newest video, "Dancing Queen".

Honestly, I thought when they pulled out that time machine they would go back to like the 80's. Not that you could blame me, since I actually was pretty convinced it would be a cover of the ABBA song (technically from the 70's). Well, I was partially right, because it was a cover. A cover of... Duffy's "Mercy"? ...what?

This is the last song I would ever imagine Girls' Generation covering. The vocals are great, but it's just not the same.

According to some comments, this was actually filmed back in 2008, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was. If it wasn't, then whoever did their hair/makeup is pretty talented.

The whole video is reminiscent of "Gee", especially with the dance scenes with the jeans, white t-shirts, and white background. The café scenes remind me more of the Japanese version.

At the end of the video, they transport back to the future/present (2013) and reveal their outfits for their upcoming single "I Got a Boy". Personally, I think these outfits are quite ugly and overly complicated. What happened to Girls' Generation, anyway? They're definitely not the same girls as the ones who sang "Into the New World". It's not that I hate the new GG, I just liked them best before last year.

Back to "Dancing Queen", there's not much to say about this song since it's a cover, and the video looks exactly like something we would've seen in 2008. But hey, I'm not complaining. At least we got a Korean song in 2012!

"Orion" (KARA) Review

It's been a while since I have done a review, so let's do a review for a new music video! Due to some issues I've been having with YouTube, you'll have to excuse the fact that there are no screen shots.

Today KARA released their PV for the B-side of their latest single "Electric Boy" (another song I was going to review but never got around to it). Of course when I saw a screenshot for the PV, I assumed "Oh, this will just be another incredibly boring sad song music video." And in a way, it does have a few of the ingredients for a mundane, forgettable video: sitting around, looking sad (yet pretty at the same time), slow motion "acting" scenes; and yet, I found this video totally captivating.

The song is a bit typical, but I'm sure after a few listens it will grow on me. In fact, it was actually a bit hard to pay attention to the song because I was distracted by the sheer beauty of the video:

In the first half of the video, KARA keeps it basic with beige and white filling the room. This simple beauty actually interests me, as I wonder how it will be used in the video. I think simplicity often allows you to pay attention to the intention behind the song and video, and really become absorbed in the story.

If I understand the lyrics correctly, the girl in the song is missing someone, wanting to tell him she loves him. As Hara peeks through the telescope, she sees the constellation Orion, hoping that he'll see it, too. (Okay, well she probably can't actually see anything since there's light coming through the window, but you get the point.)

I love their outfits in these scenes, with the beige and pink looking lovely and calming together. But the real beauty is in the next scene, in a white and silver sort of winter wonderland where they wear gorgeous long gowns: some sparkly, some frilly, all totally regal. The best of all is Gyuri's dark blue dress. I mean, it's just absolutely perfect, from head to toe.

Somehow, KARA always manages to look perfect in all of their videos. Hair, make-up, outfits; everything is flawless, and I think this visual appeal is really what captivates me in videos like this. Very simple, yet elegant at the same time.

The only part of the video I didn't care for is the crying at the end of the video. I don't care how heart-wrenching the song is, I just can't stand to see people cry in videos. (There are a few exceptions, but not many, I think.)

Of course I didn't expect this to be a monumental video, as it's just for a B-side, but I think that they did a good job with it; I don't feel like it was time wasted for a pointless PV, you know?

I hope you enjoyed my review! I'll continue to work to improve my writing skills, and I hope you continue reading!