Sequels. They are almost never better than the original. For the most part, they are made to cash in on the popularity of the original. They have become highly common in the movie industry with a box office hit usually spawning into a trilogy, a string of three films which progressively devolve from the original until the audience’s patience eventually flames out by the third film and there is simply not enough financial backing or logic to produce a fourth.
Luckily, this never happens in music. The music industry is all about being authentic and creating seemingly original pieces of work. No way would any artist dare to make a sequel just to piggyback off the popularity of a previous chart-topper. That is until the Electroboyz did it by hijacking Sistar19‘s 2011 summer hit “Ma Boy” and churning out its two subsequent sequels: “Ma Boy 2” and the recently released “Ma Boy 3.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrKPgYlac80&w=560&h=315]Like most trilogies, the sequels fall flat due to the lack of effort or creativity put into progressing the original formula. Sure replacing Bora with the Electroboyz brought in more musical talent while her sexy charisma was largely compensated for by the use of models and actress Bahn So-young in the resulting MVs, but the main component that made the original “Ma Boy” a success was that it was specifically a showcase for the powerhouse vocals of Hyorin. Whereas “Ma Boy 2” still has her singing the chorus, “Ma Boy 3” totally cuts her out of the formula and replaces her with a far less talented singer.
Nothing against Nana. She does a great job in “Ma Boy 3,” but she is no Hyorin. Nowhere even close. Nana’s primary role in After School/Orange Caramel is that of visual, meaning that her greatest asset is her looks. And she is not even featured in the MV! That’s like making Transformers 3 without Megan Fox. Wait, that actually happened? And Transformers 4 is already in the works?
Needless to say, major fail on the part of Brave Entertainment for not securing Hyorin in the third song and not even getting Nana to appear in the MV. Nevertheless, there is still potential in this production. People remembering the awesomeness of the original “Ma Boy” will appreciate this as a fond tribute. They will perhaps overlook the lack of a power vocalist in this latest release and enjoy it as a nostalgic reminder of Sistar 19’s masterpiece and its accompanying dance practice video seen across the world. After all, “Ma Boy 2” brought the Electroboyz the most success they’ve seen in years. Will their latest take on the “Ma Boy” franchise make them slightly more relevant? Will we see more song sequels in the future? And most importantly, which songs would you like to see a sequel for?
(YouTube, Images via Brave Entertainment, Starship Entertainment, Pledis Entertainment)
