Music / Idols
20111018_seoulbeats_secret

Sexy Is In, But Who Comes Out On Top? Secret vs SNSD

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Both Secret’s MOVE and SNSD’s The Boys were released this past week, and both girl groups are showing off a different sides of their charisma. The mainstream image of the pop princess has gradually shifted to the ‘strong, sexy woman’ concept as of late, and both groups seem to be owning up to it. Kind of.

Secret made explicit statements about their new image: the song and the music video were crafted around the idea of a balance between feminine power and female charm. When posed with questions regarding their comeback coinciding with SNSD’s, Secret responded somewhat confidently:

“If SNSD accentuate their nine member synchronized choreography, we will be emphasizing our healthiness and individual charms. The individual attractiveness that each of our four members portray will be our weapons for our upcoming performances.”

Regardless of confidence though, no one can deny that overlapping comebacks with one of the most successful pop acts industry is a serious gamble. All the same, in their new song MOVE (Love is Move), Secret put forth from strong vocals, plenty of spunk, and vivacious choreography. At the same time, however, it seems like Secret just stuck to their guns–their previous song Madonna and even Magic has a similar feel to it, something a little hollywood, flashy lights, and plenty of dancing, though there is a little more attitude in Move than usual.  The execution of the concept was definitely sexy, and much more light-hearted when compared to The Boys. But is MOVE doing sexy right, or just very typically?

On the other end of the ring is the long awaited Girl’s Generation, or “GG” as Jessica refers to it. The girls are back with The Boys, couture gowns, new hairstyles, and  a bird, but do they deliver? This is definitely a new look for SNSD, as they haven’t really played the sexy card since Run Devil Run, which paled in popularity against other singles Gee and the later Oh! Though the girls aren’t necessarily aggressive with their choreography, this concept is definitely more hardcore princess, and I appreciate not having look at another ‘cute’ production, especially from SNSD. But all I’m feeling is a lot of angst, and it’s still a little ‘teenage cheerleader’ angst-ish, not womanly fierce or sexy. There is no doubt the attention will come either way–for Pete’s sake, this is SNSD, we’re all going to watch even if we don’t like them. But bearing concept in mind, does SNSD bring enough sexy?

Personally, I think both Move and The Boys lack a storyline, and I think both songs were prime material for a story. With a story scenario going on, I think the ‘sexy, strong woman’ image could’ve come across a little bit more literally, and would’ve ultimately been a bigger, more dramatic change for both groups.

All the same, SNSD and Secret did sexy two totally different ways and as the groups go head-to-head, it will be interesting to see whose ‘sexy’ comeback will reign supreme.

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  • jewlia

    Korea Music Chart All Kill~Melon “The boys” #1Soribada “The boys” #1Daum “The boys” #1Monkey3 “The boys” #1Mnet “The boys” #1Cyworld “The boys” #1Dosirak “The boys” #1Bugs “The boys” #1

    • Leejenny

      please this is not AKP. bring something worth reading for! we all know snsd will slay the chart.

  • dazzlebling

    SNSD is no1 on all charts in South Korea.

  • Pg13247

    Regardless of the quality of the song, SNSD will most likely reign supreme for at least the next two weeks or even more depending on how the general non-Kpop fans take to the song.

  • IZ M

    It’s obviously a marketing strategy of Secret’s to gain popularity by releasing their new song the same week as SNSD. And it worked.

    • Naia

      Perhaps this is the way to go about getting some recognition in a market where the already established big names get to win no matter what it is they release.

  • Tigana

    So… where is the conclusion to this article? You wrote quite a bit, without actually saying anything. Seoulbeats is supposed to be funny, clever and opinionated – just like SNSD, you fail to deliver.
    On the other hand, if the only point of this article was to spark up a debate; then you did your job. YOu didn’t even have to write anything, you could have just put a poll.

    I actually like MOVE, but it’s got the exact same vibe to it as Madonna. Where is the dark angel theme Teddy Riley’s Dr Feel Good, even tho it wasn’t a top quality song. But this is just… the song suffers from severe ADD. It is all over the place, there is no cohesion, no melody, no nothing…

    Conclusion:
    KARA owned.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XZMSVOCJOA7ZA47SDPHNBVFNWM Lizzie Heart

      Kara ?

    • Nabeela

      Thanks for giving your input here. As the author, the intention of the article was to leave the conclusion open-ended to provide you guys a platform to give your own opinions, not give you mine. Every article here at Seoulbeats is structured to allow for discussion. Please keep in mind your opinions are always welcome, however cynicism is just a bit tacky. 

  • Ndncuttie02

    i actually like both secret and snsd and both of their songs are very good. I would be really suprised if secret won. Im just saying for once i want secret to win over snsd and that is my opinion so no bashing please. It seems like snsd is well recognized in korea, they need to give other girl groups a chance. All im saying is i want secret to win! :)

  • Anonymous

    The sad part about popular and established groups like SNSD or SUJU or even TVXQ/JYJ is that no matter the quality of the new songs they release, they will still rank first at least for couple of weeks. That is why SM can afford to give SuJu the same or similar MVs for their come back album and songs. Or JYJ can afford to release an album with only 4 new songs. 

    • Naia

      I agree that more established groups will get to the top no matter what kinds of songs they release. Do artist release singles anymore or is that only in the Japanese market?

  • Yaya

    I love Secret’s song, but it’s nothing new and I must say they look hotter than ever and yes very healthy!  
    As for SNSD, I think this will be one of their strongest comeback.  For me, the song lacks a climax, but the solos made up for it.  I was really surprised and impressed with some of the vocals and thank god they finally got a song to show off those vocals!  I’m lovin’ the dance too!  The ladies may not be shaking and jumping around like Secret, but I love that they’ve incorporated more dance in their choreography and it fits the song so well!  Good luck to both groups!  

  • Naia

    For SNSD’s song I really wish there was a narrative in their MV, I got bored halfway and just stop the song. Like someone else mentioned there is no climax, it’s just repetitive. Personally the only thing I even like about the MV is the beginning the shots with the petals and Sunny’s new haircut. I wish all the members would’ve chopped off their hair. SNSD didn’t bring enough sexy, they were playing it safe. But then I’m the one who think that their “Oh” song was sexy though in a more under the radar way.

  • Gnattie

    I prefered Secret over SNSD but believe that BEG outdid them both. “Sixth Sense,” though slightly similiar to “Run the World,” was more entertaining to watch and listen to than “The Boys” and “Move.” I reallly didn’t care for “The Boys” at all and all the hype about it is causing me to really dislike it. The choreography in it was boring. It was all visuals and those were done very cheesily. The English lyrics were lame and the song was an overall let-down. I don’t really care for most of the other songs on SNSD’s new album, either. I find this comeback to be their weakest, despite what SONEs and the charts say. I don’t find “The Boys” music video any more provocative than previous videos. The only reasons why they appear so mature is because they’re not doing aegyo. At least “Move” is upbeat and fun to listen to. Though not as popular as SNSD, I think Secret actually has more talent.

    So I came to this realization today and I probably should’ve realized it awhile ago, but SNSD isn’t going to reign forever. I can’t see them still being superstars in their mid-to-late twenties. They’re SM’s hottest group at the moment but as soon as something else comes along that they can make a bigger profit on, SNSD is going to get the same treatment as Super Junior. In a year or two, I doubt they’ll be the queens of Kpop as they are today.

    • http://twitter.com/00erica00 Erica Chan

      No one is kpop has ever reign long. SNSD is still on a roll, probably for the next few years to come. I doubt they would want to promoting as SNSD for the rest of their lives anyway. Just look at BoA and Hyori, they were Queens of kpop as well ( and they still hold the title) but their popularity has decreased over the years. It happens to even the biggest stars, so as a Sone, I support the girls because of their talents in mass media, let it be singing or acting or DJing or whatever, they don’t have to be Queens of kpop for us to like them 
      The Boys isn’t even a kpop song as it is mostly targeted at the American market and yea the chorus sucked so bad ( i blame teddy riley on that) but the choreo is actually quite powerful if you watch it carefully, even when they did the motion for the chorus part, they had a different walk every time, which is more impressive if the cameras don’t zoom it. The Boys is much more focused on vocals and the live performances are just amazing
      I am disappointed in the song choices in the album, but the girl’s singing just made my day, I tend to focus on their voices rather than the lyrics and just listen to how they deliver the style and beat of the song
      They will be remembered as the top girl group even if they not longer hold the top position in the future because they have already achieved much more than expected (think back when they were despised by everyone when they debuted, they had to start from the first step even though they came from a big company. Look at where they are now). They actually manage to hold their ground amongst top boy groups and emerge victorious. It’s also rare that SNSD’s fandom is quite even distributed as to male and female ratio. Also unlike previous generations, like S.E.S vs Fink.L, they are actually recognized as the only girl group on top. Not to mention they are cultural icons.

  • asianromance

    Both got great songs and videos! 
    But i have to say SNSD’s got the edge for me due my surprise at how much I like The Boys.  I had expected to hate SNSD new song since they’ve just been getting worse and their videos, moves, and costumes were getting cheaper and cheaper looking, but I ended up being blown away.  It almost felt like watching a new girl group rather than SNSD doing their usual, boring thing again.  (now i feel a bit bad for suju – so this is where all of sm’s money went this year!)

    • http://twitter.com/00erica00 Erica Chan

      At least SuJu is getting their GDA that ELFs are so freaking obsessed about with SM delaying SNSD’s release so their sales would be too late to count for the daesangs…

  • nehhad

    i dont think secret is competing with snsd at all, actually they are bringing up snsd alot… my guess is they are doing to get the attention and it seems to be working. Even if the come second more people will be paying attention to “The group that thinks they can compete with snsd”. That can be good or bad but it is a smart move even tough i dont like name dropping. all groups did well but i love snsd <3

  • Anonymous

    Secrets song is okay but they seem to only have two types of tittle tracks.

    I really don’t like the Boys its a a disjointed song and its boring, the chorus is awful aswell

  • Zoomies

    Secret is officially the retro queens!  They always come back with something catchy, but similar to their previous songs.  It doesn’t wow me, but I like it nonetheless.
    SNSD’s new song isn’t the typical kpop “hook song” so it kinda threw me off a bit,
    but now I find myself listening to The Boys more then any other song.

  • http://twitter.com/ovenfreshhhhh ovenfreshhhhh ☆

    Looking at how the other comebacks recently have been just so great… BEG, Davichi, Tablo… Secret and SNSD both don’t make the cut—although I prefer Secret’s song (even if I never really liked them) because it reminds me a lot of “Grease Lightning” for some reason.

    Ugh… SNSD rapping. That, in and of itself, is at about 75% of the reason why this song is terrible.

    If I had to rank the girl idol group comeback songs:

    Sixth Sense > Step > Move > The Boys

    • http://twitter.com/00erica00 Erica Chan

      lol some of the girls in SNSD rap quite well but the short verses don’t really show them off do they? SNSD’s the Boys is a disappointing song, not being really kpop-y so fans and non-fans may not be used to that style (though for fans, we kinda expected worse when we knew teddy riley was producing the song, so it was a bit better than most of us expected) However, this boy really shows off their vocals and the choreo is amazing. Their live performances stunned everyone, the mr removes are on a roll with haters not even commenting because they are just too good live now

  • rani25

    i think the onli sexy is yurii .and maybe hyosung a bit.but srsly these grps cant pull off sexy weell.not like after schoool tho.weell even then in aftaer its uaualyy gahi who pulls it of .sooo

  • Anonymous

    let’s be real, secret may have a better song (in my opinion) but snsd is going to win cause they are snsd. 

  • Anonymous

    let’s be real, secret may have a better song (in my opinion) but snsd is going to win cause they are snsd. 

  • Mgflutie87

    Secret has the most potential to be better-I’m not going off sexy-since all their girls can sing and dance effortlessly. As for SNSD Yoona’s not only ugly as an asscrack she can’t sing for beans. Tiffany’s a dumbass who can barely sing and is the shittiest dancer. 

    • Hsolis428

      got a hater in the house.. regardless if secret did have more potential, does it matter? who can beat out snsd these days. like them or not, you know all nine members and can pinpoint one each and every one of their member. and that much, can not be said about secret and we all know in the kpop world, popularity rules over talent. 

      • http://twitter.com/00erica00 Erica Chan

        SNSD has so much talent it’s not even funny…
        The girls are no.1 in popularity and have the talent to back it up
        They just keeps on surprising us with their special stages in concerts and their immense improvement in live singing

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dennis-Aguilar/100000265317969 Dennis Aguilar

    Secret album is much better than the boys though…