Music / Idols
20111104_seoulbeats_wondergirls

Are The Wonder Girls Just Teasing? We Hope So

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Written by On November 6, 2011

The Wonder Girls have set the date for their first comeback stage: November 11th. It’s been a heck of a long time since Korea last saw JYP’s first girl group, which was when the girls did about a week of promotions for “Two Different Tears” and then disappeared again.

Amidst the buzz for their new song “Be My Baby,” JYP has released two teasers so far. The first one showcased this sexy, high strung compilation of emphatic hair flipping set to the tune of a heavy bass. Lights were flickering and the girls looked fiercer than ever–perhaps the fiercest we’ve seen yet with so many girl group comebacks to date this fall.

 Finally, the vintage polka dots are gone (for the most part), the cute is out, and high class sexy is in. I don’t think we’ve ever seen the Wonder Girls lead with such charisma, and needless to say, this first teaser left me wanting, needing more. I mean, for Pete’s sake, Ye-eun is booty shaking with one leg on a chair in a pair of bedazzled shorts–this look is fresh and exciting and never before done by the Wonder Girls. How can these girls be the same cute angels from years back cooing “Tell Me, Tell Me?”

I was so thankful for the breath of fresh air when the first teaser dropped. And I’m sure it caught everyone else’s attention just as much. But then JYP screwed us over, pulled a fast one, and released a second teaser that featured a hook that sounded too… too… too much like what we’ve already heard before. There’s a flare of old school retro Wonder Girls mixed in with sounds like some recycled miss A scraps that come together and confound the viewer–I suddenly, literally, was like whoa, Whoa, WHOA!  Where did the sexy go, what is going on? Granted the hook is still catchy and is by no means completely an abomination, but it is nothing like what I was expecting given the edgy vibe from the first teaser.

And that makes me sad. For a second, I thought “Be My Baby” was going to be full of angst and eyeliner like we’ve never seen before from the Wonder Girls. It would definitely have set them apart from miss A, in a crafty way that reestablishes their position as a JYP girl group without blending too much with the miss A image. And, more than that, it made sense to expect the sexy, at least that much, because they will going head to head with SNSD‘s ”The Boys.”  I mean, JYP knows all too well what the competition has brought, and the Wonder Girl’s image from the first teaser had win written all over it. If the Wonder Girls started dropping beats like that and rocked a stage with some foxy choreography instead of the usual girl group get up, they would have all their aces in the hole to trump SNSD.

But now I’m a little thrown off, and left wondering what it is I should really expect. Though I’m sure, either way the Wonder Girls are going to have a phenomenal comeback, just what kind of concept are they really dishing out? Are we going to be left with another retro, vintage, old school flavor in our mouths or will the Wonder Girls continue to surprise us and reinvent themselves so that they stand out not just from major competitors like SNSD, but from all girl groups, as they once did before their overseas activities? Nothing is set in stone yet, so we’ll have to wait and see just how great or how tragic this return to the k-pop scene will be. Until then, let’s cross our fingers, and hope for the sexy.

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  • saylor

    I really really liked Be my Baby.  Especially the english version.  That’s really good.  Their english is VERY impressive.  They all sound fluent, with the exception of Sohee who has a very discernible accent.  Yenny looks freakin gorgeous.  And Hye Lim sings well and her english is good too.  I really like the video for the song.  Especially compared to SNSD it’s much better. Yeah it totally reminds me of a Christmas song… very smart JYP.  Me, In is a really good song too.  Overall, I’m impressed.  They deserve the success, they all have grown vocally and as artists.  Nice job wonder girls!

  • Anonymous

    Okay, I’m listening to the full album as I type this, and the first teaser is Me, In which is why it feels like a disappointment that the first single is Be My Baby. While I agree that Be My Baby feels out of left field in context of the album as a whole, unfortunately (for most internationals), it does work. After all, this isn’t being promoted in the US where we’d want Me, In, it’s being promoted in Korea and they love cutesy “Oppa! Oppa! Saranghae!” songs and things that are more in the cutesy SNSD-ish *vomits* vein. At least for the Korean fans, it’s safer to go the cuter route for now and slowly build up to Me, In and beyond. This is what BEG had to do as well to get some recognition.

    They didn’t get noticed -despite being talented- until they got cute with an edge with How Come. How Come still had a mature concept despite the dresses and high pitched vocals. Then they waited a bit after giving a cute-but-still-growing-into-their own impression (in WGs case Be My Baby will probably be it) and them BAM! Abracadabra, Sign, and now Sixth Sense. It’s really best to transition in baby steps instead of having them do a 180 from being cute ‘little girls’ to ‘grown and sexy.’ Artists who transitioned too fast here in the US from kids to adults are proof of the fact that completely changing overnight from being kid friendly and safe to provocative and hot does not work. Look at Miley Cyrus. America’s innocent preteen sweetheart to Can’t Be Tamed and parents and fans alike dropped her like a bad habit. Same with Lindsay Lohan, Vanessa Hudgens, and anyone else from Disney.

    • Lordofreimes

      Ironically, a newborn baby has made more progress with their ‘steps’ than the Wonder Girls and SNSD have in the same amount of time.
      It’s been four freaking years.
      Stop making excuses and grow the fuck up.

      • Anonymous

        I’d take you seriously if you weren’t being such a repugnant a-hole. I’m guessing you had a bad day in kindergarden? Why don’t you ‘grow the fuck up’ instead? You don’t have to like my opinion, but you have no right to be a bitch/douche bag.

        • Lordofreimes

          The average ages for Wonder Girls and SNSD are pretty much the same (21.5). WG are pretty much seniors in the industry – they goddamn started the current girl group phase. Girl groups debuting these days are also much younger than when WG did.
          BEG transitioned three times during a three year period from cute to sexy to the current orchestral/big band sound.
          The big reason why Disney sweethearts get dropped is not because they transition too fast, it’s because they become irrelevant – their target group of 12-16 yos grow up alongside them and once they hit 17/18, realise how vocally bland their idols were.

          Transitioning itself, especially in kpop, is a catch-22 – smaller groups with less of a fanbase such as BEG, are able to experiment more (a big part is that they are also one of the better vocally talented groups in order to succeed in a new range, and they are technically not an ‘idol’ group) with mild rates of success in gaining new fans. Bigger fan idol groups are harder to change, or is afraid to change due to the perceived backlash from old-core fans, and are thus unable to expand their fanbase.

          Granted, WG has released far fewer songs than the other idol groups to ‘gradually change’ but these past 2 years in kpop have sped along so fast that any cutesy song will become irrelevant amongst the masses (look at 2DT – it was catchy, fun but ultimately forgettable due to its famliarity). Sure they will achieve their ‘all-kill’ and triple crown, but what top 10 group doesn’t get that these days. And really, does it matter what song they release? Their fan clubs are big enough to reach those no.1 spots as long as the song doesn’t suck balls.

          The promotional cycles are faster and attention spans are shorter than ever, and if we don’t see ‘Me, In’ as a lead promotion within 2/3 weeks, I think Korea would have moved on to some other song.

          I reiterate, WG needs to grow the fuck up, and fast, or be dismissed as simply a part of the crowd rather than one of a kind.

          PS. I think JYP has done a tremendous job with the album as a whole and has pulled off a true 180 (I don’t know what else to call Hyelim’s rap but as an experiment in ownage). It will be an absolute waste if the album’s quality is defined by their only retro song.

          • Mq

            This album definitely marked their maturity. They’re in their early 20s, where people enjoy the type of music presented in this album with the exception of a few. I think their current sound if very appropriate for their age. I expect for them to continue to grow, obviously, and do expect the next album to be a notch above this in sound/production/and message.

            BEG needed to make those transitions because they are mostly in their late 20s who prior to their reinvention of sound and image was much more serious and heavily RnB. They did cute because they were becoming irrelevant, transitioned to sexy and current image to suit their musical style and age group. 

            I think Wonder Girls is shaping out better than the average Kpop group. They’re much more involved in this album and is starting to emerge as artist (albeit a small step) rather just idols.
             

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Amanda-Bordin/1574959901 Amanda Bordin

            I agree, and I really don’t understeand why they need to grow up…
            I think JYP is doing it right, because lots os girls groups in korea are comming back with the sexy concept… you can see that in BEG, SNDS, T-ARA, 2NE1 (…), so we don’t need to say they are trying to do somenthing different right?
            Is really boring to see SNDS trying to be sexy… then look like childrens… with mom make up and dresses…the concept don’t suit… just don’t work.
            Wonder Girls is a group of mature, sexy and beautiful classy womans, their voices are pretty clear and awesome in this album. Or you want to see another fail super-sexy-I-hate-man-badgirl comeback?
            It work for BEG.
            It work for T-ara.
            It work for 2ne1.

            Don’t work for snds.

            And, maybe, will not work for wonder girls…that must to be a natural transition, not something forced. They are mature, at the same time they are sexy, and they are not bitches, so bitch concept will not work. Now. If you want to see some skin buy a playboy.

    • Anonymous

      I don’t think that’s necessarily true about all American celebrities, though Disney ones are more prone to it. From my standpoint, only preteens liked Miley Cyrus to begin with (not very many people over the age of 14 like Disney stars), and we all know how fickle they can be.I think Selena Gomez made a good transition from little girl to sophisticated woman. Dakota Fanning was once a sweet little angel but gradually matured into darker roles and no one batted an eye at that. Hailee Steinfeld is fourteen and seemingly wholesome but plays roles in older movies and is going to be playing Juliet in another remake of Romeo and Juliet soon. Demi Lovato had a hard time, but I’m glad to see that she’s back on her feet. (By the way, just in case anyone’s confused, I’m aware that not all the celebrities that I have listed are Disney stars). But I agree that too-fast transitions spell disaster. They need to be gradual or people are going to go, “Wtf?” It also depends on the person and how skillfully they work their transition. I personally don’t see walking around half-naked in revealing clothing as “growing up,” which is something Miley Cyrus tends to do. 

      I also don’t think Lindsay Lohan and Vanessa Hudgens are very good examples here. Neither of those girls are good actresses or singers (imo) and Lindsay created a bad name for herself through drugs, felonies, alcohol, and all sorts of other scandals, causing people to dislike her. Shame, because she was such a cute kid and had a lot of potential. Vanessa Hudgens isn’t a very good actress, a fact acknowledged by many people, and so that affected her career more than anything.

      Your “cutesy SNSD-ish *vomits*” made me lol. I agree with a lot that you said.

  • dt22

    I have never been a Wondergirls music fan, they do seem more genuine then some kpop groups out there though. I decided to give there comeback a try, while Be my Baby was nothing much to write home about, listening to the other songs on the album they have just gained me as fan, not a Wonderful but a fan/supporter of their music.

    The sound is mature and evolved and I feel it is overall a good album. I could make it through all the sounds, with SNSD I could only make it through 2. This is the kind of music they should be making for their age. I also like how each member got a song that played to their talents. That song with Lim (Act Cool) suprised me, it wasn’t that bad;)

  • Peantuz

    There’s not much stand out talent in this group so I have never been able to figure out why they’re the “queens” of kpop. I look at them and they’re pretty much like every other kpop group out there……except they had the fortune of being one of the first of the new idol generation.  It’s sad how the real talents in kpop is so easily overshadowed by mediocrity.

  • Daydream

    So, I just finished listening to their whole album. I can’t say I love all the tracks but there are quite a few gems in there. 08 두고두고 has got to be my favourite, I wish Sunye and Yeeun would at least do one live performance of this song. 

    Be my baby is decent, but I agree with the majority that Me, in would make a better title track.

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  • pikachu

    After reading most of people reasons for their disappointments, i kind of wonder if people care more about a title track that the girls will just promote for 1 month or a good quality album that is worth your money. I’m just curious why it is so disappointing for people to see a title track that they don’t like that it overtake every thing the girls put effort into. You can tell they put a lot of effort in this album and yet people tends to care more about the title song. Personally i don’t hate the title song, i thought it was fresh and cute (bearable cute), the dance is fresh for a Kpop group. Some even complain about Sohee having a lot of line, um… she sounds great to me. She’s more confidence now which is good. Every one gets to showcase their voice and sound and I’m truly happy that they get to do it. If you look at other girl group most of the member won’t even get 2 lines but for WG they work as a group that every one get to shine and this album did just that. I’m liking the direction they are going and I’m looking forward to more of them in the future which is what i rarely see in girl group now a days. I’m glad the girls are back and more better and they got me looking forward to more music from them.

  • I Vegotballsofsteel

    Hye Lim sucks. She looks like a back-up dancer with her half-hearted performance. It’s like she is free loading with Wonder Girl’s popularity. She is so SNSD. Heck, even in their concept photos, Hye Lim sucks. It’s like she is posing for a facebook wall photo WTH?

    • saylor

      I think she did great, in the mv at least. She sings quite well and is an okay rapper.  

  • rawrx3itslynn

    Instead of criticizing without anything to back up your reasoning, do some research first. Google is your best friend these days. Wondergirls/JYP/etc. probably answered your questions in an interview already.
    Eg: why Sohee/Hyelim sang more, why they came back with this song instead of something else, etc.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_TEPL6CASLIMV7J6P7NYA5PDJPI John

    Having quickly read all comments, I want to share some thoughts.. free to agree or disagee at will.

    Before we review a song or an album, we should always try to do it objectively regardless of  whether you like the artist or not.  Basically there are 2 ways to review
    - by profressionals i.e. pros in music industry
    - by people’s own preferences and enjoyments in music  i.e. music fans
    99% of people including myself are not professionals and therefore we can only review(comment) songs based on our own preferences most of the time.  Unless a song is so bad in all aspects even the deaf would not like it, otherwise, any comments is fine with like or dislike.

    The title track BMB, in my opinion, is a nice pop song to listen to. Some may like it and some may not or even hate it.  Again that’s fine as it is your own taste in music. Nobody is forced to like it or dislike it.  However some say JYP goes back once again to a retro concept without trying to listen to the whole album to begin with.  That’s not what I agree with.  This is an album with 12 brand new tracks which is rare for Korean Kpop market.  Consquently you should try to listen to all songs on this album before jumping to conclusions.   By the way, what is the definition of ‘retro concept in music’? Does it sound like oldies means it is retro concept?

    Why they picked BMB as the title track song?  My thinking is that this comeback is for Korean fans back home and Korean market. Choosing BMB is probably the right choice to do cuz it will most likely suit Korean Kpop fan’s taste in music and be a safe play for Korean market.  Kpop is entertainment but is also more business, that means JYP or any other Kpop agencies must consider everything from business point of view when they release songs/albums

    Does BMB sound like a Christmas song? It doesn’t really remind me of Christmas at all but some people’s comments saying this is a Christmas-alike song keep reminding of Christmas.  Of course, Is this a Christmas-alike song or not is really not a big issue here.  I am just saying.

    Will there be a MV for ‘Me in’?  My best guess is ‘Yes’.  The teasers has already told us that the MV should already be made and will be released following the MV of BMB if ‘Me in’ is next promoting track as speculated.   Since the teasers of ‘Me in’ have drawn so much attentions and expectations for this song, this is not unwise for JYP not to do something about the song.  This Korea comeback is to serve Korean fans in their homeland market and test the water.  Again if you really listen to the whole album to begin with (doesn’t matter you like the songs or not), you can see the sign of the transformation in music from typical Kpop style to American (Western) Kpop style for their upcoming US album.  That’s why we have ‘Me in’ and other songs.  If my guessing is right, their strategy is Releasing the MV of BMB followed by the release of the MV of ‘Me in’.

    People like to make comparisons for WGs with other group(s).  One of those comparisons is the past 2 years of WGs’ with other’s.  Before we make a comparison, we should always compare things or people that are equally matched.  If we keep taking the only official music activity WGs had in the past 2 years which is 2DT with other group’s consecutive activities in the past 2 years.  That doesn’t seem to a fair comparison.  In another word, WGs simply didn’t have enough materials produced in the past 2 years for the comparison with other’s.  Think about it.

    WGs’ve lost a big share of their homeland market since their hiatus (2 weeks with 2DT activity in the past 2 years almost same as nothing, even a rookie group can have at least a month).   They indeed lost the big share to others but it was not because they went downhill in competing with others in their homeland market. As a matter of fact, they voluntarily handed out their share in order to achieve a higher goal.  these are 2 completely different things and the end result would be the same or look to be the same which is losing the big share.  If they had stayed, all things would have been different.  Worse or better. By the way, will they achieve the higher goal? You don’t have to jump to conclusions at this moment, cuz we will find it out very soon in the 1st quarter of 2012.  A mass attack or all praise can be saved til then.

    There are 3 things dominating any music worlds and they are popularity, quality and sales (quantity). I always say- If you have the 3s, you will always win- If you have any combinations, you will often win- If you have 1 of the 3s, you will win or may winDo you think this album has the quality to become popular so that it’s sales will go high up?   To have a succes for an artist, a group, a song or an album,  it is always not a matter of how many people dislike but is a matter of how many people like.

    There should be more to say but I have to stop here cuz it is getting too long and nobody is gonna read it. I definitely have missed points here and there in this comment but that’s ok.  If I think of any, I can always come back and comment again.  I think all comments should be respected as long as they are being objective without any anti/hater attitude to start with.  Any dislikes or likes can be based on your preferences.

    p.s. JYP and WGs did give their answers to many questions in their most recent interviews if you care to google them.

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