But I just stumbled upon Supa Love, or Supa Luv, depending on who's posting the song, by Teen Top. I've seen only one other song by Teen Top and it was ok, but the boys looked so young that I couldn't get into it. This one is only marginally better in my opinion, but you'll have a chance to see for yourself, of course.
Today's song, Supa Luv by Teen Top:
I only found this music video about 20 minutes ago so I'm still reeling from my first impression. So I'm going to share that before I get down to the actual review. There's a freaking lot of make-up. Way lot of make-up! And the first few seconds of dancing, 0:24 - 0:30 or so, reminded me, spot on, of a work out video. (By the way, I had no idea what he was saying during those 6 seconds. "I'm Michael J. I'm Michael J?" Is he comparing himself to Michael Jackson?? But no, he's actually saying, "I make them say, I make them say") And what the heck is that move where they're bending backwards with their hands on their stomachs doing that shoulder thing? That looks so weird!
Ok! Now that I have that out of my system, lets get onto the review in a slightly more controlled, professional manner, shall we?
I really liked how the music video put all their names on screen. They did it in the secret agent way that made the overt attempt at personalizing the merchandise (ie the boys) very comfortable and convenient. And now that I've seen the video a couple times, I'm going to be able to use their names in this blog. But don't worry, I'll still include descriptions and time stamps for those who aren't as psycho as me and only watch the video once or twice.
I liked all of the costumes except the shiny track suit/jump suit get-ups with the silver strap, looking stripe things. In case that was not an understandable description ~laughs~ I'm talking about the costumes that the boys are wearing when they first drop onto the stage, and are most clearly seen at :20 into the video. The others were good though. You can't go wrong with pure white. Their street clothes were fashionable and wouldn't attract snickers or pointing fingers if actually worn out in public. Their black and white costumes were unique and attention grabbing without being ugly. I didn't really like the gloves, but I'm seeing more and more of them in Korean music videos so I'm starting to think I'm just going to have to get used to them. I'm also not super taken with the glasses that one of them is wearing with his white costume. Those always remind me, no matter what color they are or what the frames have in them, of Geordi's visor from Star Trek.
(I looked for a very long time but there is no bigger or better pictures of Changjo in those glasses, so either deal with this little one or just watch the video again!)
(Oh, and Veronica, really likes these glasses. She says she wants them because they're shiny.)
About the make-up... is there a single inch of them that wasn't subjected to paint-thick make-up or unholy amounts of hair dye? I thought the amount of make-up on each boy would look over-done on a woman, much less these young men. In my shock, I nearly fell off my seat the first time there was a zoom in on Neil's face at :19. His crazy hair and the eye make-up made him look like a street-walker. Do you see all that silver eyeshadow? And the eye liner on the boys isn't the usual "guy-liner" where it's thick but in what has been deemed a 'masculine' way. Teen Top wears their eye liner in the really feminine style called 'cat eyes' that just floors me every time I see it. And if you've paused the video at :19 to really appreciate the severe weight of make up that these boys had to dance with, you'll also notice a rather incredible amount of lip liner too, though that is inevitably dwarfed to the point of being inconsequential next all that eye liner. Having looked around for hours in search of a picture of Changjo in his Geordi visor, I found comments by other people that indicate Neil's hair was the biggest gripe for the video (in the hair department) (and Neil is still the :19 guy). The only one who retained a semblance of normalcy when it came to their hair was Ricky. I personally found the light pink hair the most distracting.
I mean, it's not just me right? This is like, bubble gum pink? Anyway, so Hair and Make-up? A lot. That's the sum of it. Just, a lot.
There were a lot of great dancing moments in this video. They showed off their acrobatic skills when Changjo did that no-handed cartwheel at 1:45 and one of my favorite parts was that folding wave thing that looked really cool at 2:37. The group released a dance version of the song a couple weeks after the original music video. The song didn't change but the new version is all dance instead of the super spy plot line. Here, let me dig it up for you so you can see.
I don't know if I'm easily amused or what, but I actually really liked the visual affect of the move they did at :20 and the more I see it, the more I like the move I've decided to call, 'kiss your shoulders.' See example at 1:00. My least favorite dance move is at 1:10 and ends at 1:13. I'm not sure what they were trying to do there, but it just isn't very impressive. And lastly in the dance section, I really didn't like the dance move that they do when they're singing the 'Lu-uh-uh-uh-uh-uv' (see 1:33) until Veronica pointed out... quite loudly, and right in my ear... "They're doing the Sprinkler!!" And you know what? She was right! Take a look, they're totally doing the sprinkler!
So, now I love that move every time they do it.
A large part of the chorus is English, so there's plenty of it throughout the song. I can't tell you precisely why, but my favorite English line is the, "la la la la la, tell me that you love me too." I think it sounds just the slightest bit Arabic, which is what makes it so different, which might be what I like about it so much. Also, it may just be the least slangy English of the song. I'm not opposed to Americanized (read 'butchered') English in Kpop songs, but Teen Top really used the word 'Supa' a lot in this song. A lot, a lot. Kind of like their make-up. *Ooh, ow!* It gets just the smallest bit repetitive after a while, but that may be only because I've seen it about 15 times within the last 12 hours. Maybe. But there's enough English that I get to sing along in fits and starts all the way through and I really appreciate that, so kudos!
As for the meaning of the song, it's a guy trying to convince a girl to go out with him when she's hesitating. He's telling her that he has that 'supa luv' and can make all of her wishes come true. He knows her better than anyone else ever will and she needs to accept him instead of over-thinking it and losing her chance. He's telling her that he loves her more than that other guy can, more than the sky and ocean are big and wide. It's kinda cute in that 'full of yourself much?' kind of way boy bands have.
All in all, I really like the song. It's catchy and as soon as it comes available as an mp3, it's going on my phone. This is just another song that's better as audio only. I don't think the music video will be making an appearance on my personal music players anytime soon. Yay Teen Top! (boo the make-up artists)
Alright, some days later Eatyourkimchi puts out their review...which turned out to be so much better than mine. ~sighs~ With more practise I may get better. Maybe?
1 comment:
I dont think your blog is boring or is ever going to be in danger of becomming boring. Thank you for all your Kpop reviews! I will be putting this song on one of my cd's
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