Say Yes is the latest pop-rock band to enter the K-pop scene and while they don’t offer anything groundbreaking, their debut song is fun and catchy. The band is comprised of five members — Ho-kyung, Si-on, Su-bin, Jun-hyoung, and Sung-kyu — who just want to make you “Feel Good.”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL1JhuqAARo]After brief introductions to the band, the music starts and we open to the members playing their instruments. As the singing begins, the camera cuts between different shots — the boys nicely dressed in an apartment, a woman in a dress and the boys in white suits. The shots change so quickly that it’s hard to establish what is going on besides Say Yes following this woman. The lyrics are about falling for a girl and wanting to make her theirs but the music video doesn’t substantiate the connection between the lyrics and the video well.
As the chorus kicks in, the MV shifts to the boys just casually playing on a catamaran. You know, normal band stuff.
We get more close-ups of mystery girl and the MV suggests that Su-bin is after the girl. After more shots of the boys in the apartment and on the boat, the song slows down for the rap. I found this part very interesting because throughout the MV, the rapper has only been in the background playing his drum. This is also the only part of “Feel Good” where the drum can be heard clearly; it’s present throughout the song but the other instruments tend to drown it out.
Jun-hyoung spies on the girl through a crack in the door; it seems like the girl knows he’s there and is teasing him. The MV then goes back to the apartment and we get close-ups of Ho-kyung and his full-bodied hair. “Feel Good” switches to the band playing together for the chorus, at the end of which they have cute synchronized dance movements.
There’s a brief mellow part in the song where the boys are sad and one clutches a pillow to his chest but they instantly cheer up and the girl reappears, happy and smiling. The MV ends with the girl walking down a dark alley and the boys following her, which isn’t creepy at all.
First, let me get my fan-girling out of the way. After noticing their dance, I watched a live version and their dance movements were adorable. Their shoulder wags and pelvic circles are just too cute. I also love the song because it’s super catchy and instantly puts me in a good mood.
However, “Feel Good” is by no means perfect. The music video is not coherent and it was hard to understand what was going on half the time. “Feel Good” tried to do several things at once but didn’t really succeed at any of them. The MV tried to give us some semblance of a story with the girl but it wasn’t clear whether all the members were pursuing her or just one. In addition, the MV tried to show us the band playing as a unit but it cut away so often that I didn’t even know the boys had a mini-dance until halfway through. I was, however, intrigued by the inclusion of the rapper. Having a rapper isn’t surprising, but having one that contributes to the band the way Jun-hyoung does is.
Say Yes is being compared to C.N. Blue and Led Apple solely for the reason that they are a pop-rock band. This is unfair because pop-rock is such a broad definition and even though C.N. Blue and Led Apple are staples in the K-pop scene for pop-rock, they don’t own the genre. Rather, Say Yes should first be judged on the merit of their music. Comparisons can be made after.
“Feed Good” is a great first single because it’s likeable and catchy. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about the MV. While not horrible, the MV could have been better if it had a clear direction. Perhaps in the future, Say Yes’ music videos will improve. For now, though, only the song makes me “Feel Good.”
Score: 2/5
