Even though I love it when girl groups take on a sexy concept, Secret can pull off cute much better. They know how to balance the higher pitched singing characteristic of bubblegum pop, with just a touch of variety, so it’s not grating. While “Yoo Hoo” stays in the higher range for a little longer than expected as Miyoko pointed out her in album review, it works for me because of the music video.
The music video takes the cute factor to another level entirely. It’s so high up there with all of its saccharine silliness. At this point, we can either complain about disliking the over-the-top aegyo or embrace it. I’m going to go with the latter and roll with Secret over the waves at high sea.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0sVjn5DGrc&w=600&h=360]Let’s get this out of the way though: the video has absolutely nothing to do with the lyrics. The song is about romance, of which there is none in the music video. No, this is simply about summer, fun, dresses, and pigtails.
Our cute foursome start off their adventure when they go out on an enormous yacht that no one seems to be operating, but, hey, it’s summer. Who cares? The girls simply giggle and laugh on deck. I’m not sure what they’re laughing at, but they look so cute that I’ll just laugh with them.
Just when things couldn’t get any funnier, they suddenly start panicking. The sky and ocean are brilliant hues of blue, but the camera is shaking and the girls are screaming. Cut to the girls washed up on an island.
I guess since no one was steering, they’re paying for it. But they’re all alive. After some aegyo-laden tantrums, they start searching through the things they didn’t pack (since they all carried nothing onto the boat) that managed to make it with them to shore. We have a half-empty suitcase, a hand mirror, a water gun, a teddy bear, several paddles, a compass, and dry clothes. Hmm. Sounds about right.
The girls search the island, Ji-eun logically leading the pack since she has the flashlight despite it being broad daylight outside. They encounter such dangers as a spider but manage to make it through safely and find a treasure chest with a map. They sit at the shore and read it, and when they follow it, they are stunned to find out that they were right by the road this entire time. It doesn’t take long for them to strike poses that get enough attention for someone to pull over in a bright yellow truck and take them back to civilization. Secret then rides off into the sunset.
Yes, the plot is silly, but it’s also ridiculously adorable, which was their purpose, so full points for that. Even the dance is perfectly cute, complete with hearts and skipping. While I love their hula dance at the chorus, my favorite move is at the drum break when they pretend to bang their bongo drums. I mean, who doesn’t love bongos?
The styling too suits the concept perfectly. Except for the head-to-toe white outfits, which remind me a bit too much of wedding dresses, their outfits are complete with polka dots, gingham, cute hats, and so much color. Even the selections for their castaway scenes are pretty congruent with the plot, albeit a cute version with perfectly disheveled hair.
I don’t get one particular moment though when Hyosung changes clothes. I’m not going to argue the logic of her making a wardrobe change because I’m sure my clothes would start to smell after being castaway on an island, though I find it strange that she’s the only that we see actually change. What threw me for a loop is that the scene is shot to look almost sexy, which isn’t part of the concept, and so not quite necessary.
The few other things I don’t like about the music video are just me nitpicking (like the fact that in one shot, Hyosung wears a green dress whereas everyone else is in pink) when this video is wonderful. It aims to amp the aegyo factor off the charts, and does exactly that, and all of it in time for summer. 4.5/5 from me.
(TS Entertainment, YouTube [1])
What do you think, readers?
