GLAM Says It Doesn't Matter Who You Want To XXO

At long last, Big Hit Entertainment has unleashed their new girl group, GLAM. Despite the rookie machine sending in a slew of debuts, for me, the one to watch currently is Big Hit’s newest quintet. Ever since Big Hit took 2AM under their wing and did wonders for them, when the news dropped that they would be debuting a girl group, I eagerly waited for this debut. GLAM’s debut is the product of a buildup that has lasted quite a few years, with subtly adding members of what we now know as GLAM, into projects ranging from being featured on songs by labelmate 2AM, to leader Dahee being the voice behind Korea’s first Vocaloid, SeeU.

Much of their predebut work has made their debut sound very promising, my favourites being member Miso’s collaboration with Jo Kwon for “Heaven” on his solo album and the girls’ collaboration with 2AM for “Just Me” on their album Saint O’Clock. The vocal talent is there, and in seeing their practice videos prior to their debut, the dancing strength is there as well. So far, the standout rookie girl group of the year, in my opinion, has been Spica, who’s mature and vocal heft felt like the second coming of the Brown Eyed Girls. Although I don’t want GLAM to be exactly like Spica, I do want them to vocally strong and intriguing as their previous work has led by me to believe.

The MV starts off with a shot of an astronaut on what looks like the moon, with he or she discovering a jewel-encrusted purple rock. The rock has the word “GLAM” and at the astronaut’s touch, the word sparkles and implodes into a force that sets its course towards Earth. Space and aliens are becoming the trend of the year, but instead of GLAM being the extraterrestrial beings, they seem to be going with the flow of the aliens as they seem to be injecting unsuspecting victims with what can only be interpreted as love, from the cute pink UFOs. Although the alien concept seems like an afterthought in the MV, with everything else that’s going on. The MV is basically a party with a lot of quirky things going on, with cameos from the Gingerbread Man, a wolf and a duck to leader Dahee flying with a bike, carried by balloons, and Miso almost falling into a cup of coffee. Thankfully, the MV has really good editing as these quirky scenes look really well done and fit seamlessly with the flow of the song, so much so that I almost forgot the irrelevancy of the scenes.

All around, the colour palette of the MV was really pretty to watch, with all the pinks and purples, and wasn’t too loud and ostentatious with brightness, the lighting in the MV really helps to tone down the bright colours and are easy on the eyes. I especially like the scenes where people’s hearts were infected with the love virus and explode into a shimmery colour, which oddly gave me flashbacks of Sailor Moon. The MV is full of random, but still manages to be entertaining, with the randomness and the nice colouring, and the energy of the five girls–really four, since Trinity doesn’t do much but stand around or dance. I especially like the rap sequences done by Zinni and Jiyeon, which although a little grating upon first listen, it’s really fun to see the girls dance around to match the flow of their rapping. Other standouts are vocalists Miso and Dahee, who both sang beautifully, as I expected them too. The choreography is really great as well, making me happy to see another group with just as much dancing skill to match their vocal talent.

Another important aspect of the MV is the song, and the overarching message that brings with it. The lyrics clearly state that it’s love has no limitations, especially not with gender.

Can I kiss ya baby girl?
You know that? Look at your charm, it’s so great
Even if you fall down, beautiful smile
Are you a boy? Girl? I don’t care – passion is the key, a hot heart is your ID

And the ET aspect of the MV is incorporated into the lyrics with it being a metaphor of how people get “alienated” because of who they choose to love. This message is heartwarming, especially being a song coming from a country that doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to same-sex love. Heck, if teenagers sang songs that were so blatantly in favour of same-sex love, like “Party (XXO)” over in North America, I would expect most people to frothing at mouths from rage. It’s refreshing to watch same-sex love become so normalized in a pop song, a song that is extremely catchy and fun. See people, pop can be meaningful and fun to listen to.

“Party (XXO)” is a solid debut song for GLAM and the girls killing it with their music show performances. Their vocal talent and choreography are a breath of fresh air, and although not an earth-shaking debut, it’s a fun song to jam to and dance around with, so I’m not complaining. Although the MV for “Party (XXO)” is extremely random, the song gave a feel-good vibe that forgave all the nonsense going on in the MV. The energy and vitality of the girls were also a bonus, it’s been a while since I’ve seen such cuteness and spunk coming from a girl group. I absolutely cannot wait for what will come next for these girls. I also wonder what their fanclub name will be–Glamourous? Glamour?–and hope Big Hit gets around to releasing a full-length album or mini. B.A.P got 3, can’t GLAM get at least one?

Overall Rating: 4/5

So that’s my review for “Party (XXO),” did you get swept away by the good cheer and powerful message like I did? Or do you feel that GLAM’s debut was a little lacking? Comment away, Seoulmates!