April has been a popular month for comebacks. From long-running groups like APink to the chart-topping IVE, Kep1er, too, return with “Giddy” after half a year. 

In comparison to their most recent single, “We Fresh”, which drew mixed reactions, “Giddy”, fortunately, seems like a crowd favourite. Drawing from the disco-punk genre, the title track is promoted as a song “composed of addictive lyrics and melody with Kep1er’s signature energetic chanting”.

Auditorily, “Giddy” is a fresh, funky, and cute song. This is a sound that Kep1er excels in, with previous releases such as “Up!”, “Wing Wing”, and “I do! Do you?” receiving positive feedback from fans. On first listen, the song structure of “Giddy” stands out. To break up the otherwise slightly incantatory chorus, “Giddy” presents an unexpected dance break one-third into the song shortly after their first chorus. While the 90s-inspired hip hop style dance break takes listeners by surprise–presenting an interlude instead of swiftly advancing into the second verse–it becomes a pleasant surprise on the subsequent listens. 

Moreover, in an otherwise cute MV, this dance break provides not only an auditory change-up, but also a visual one: Yeseo, Chaehyun, Hikaru, and Mashiro strut down a narrow corridor, and a subtle fish-eye effect brings out the 90s aesthetic. While initially appearing ill-suited, it grows to become one of the most memorable parts of the MV. 

Lyrically, Kep1er recount a simple and innocent story of the giddy and euphoric moment of falling in love for the first time:

Give me that courage just once, Let’s go

If you feel the same, don’t say no

Let’s take on a journey together

You make me

Giddy Giddy Giddy Giddy all day

Giddy Giddy Giddy Giddy all night

Picturing you and me all-day

In other words, their infatuation causes them to experience euphoria to the point where their minds become clouded and they can only think of one thing: their crush. This feeling, however, is so intense for them that it wears them down and even overwhelms them, causing them to feel “giddy all day” and “giddy all night”.

An interesting aspect of “Giddy”’s lyrics is the numerous references to opening up, keys, and doors, which are compared to the act of opening one’s heart. At one point, Yujin implores her crush to welcome her into his life (“Take my hand and join me, if the door opens”). At other times, Youngeun describes her heart as a “door” and expresses her uncertainty about whether her crush will reciprocate her feelings. 

Oh say hi The door you’re opening

Isn’t wide enough for me yet

Go in or out? 

Thinking thinking stop it

Open them widely

Take a big step to me

A Little bit more

Open up, Come to me now

Dayeon’s verse even uses the door motif to represent a push-pull dynamic in a relationship, urging her crush to open his heart while hers is open, for if he sits on his feelings further, she would be “locking” the door to her heart. 

If you hesitate, the door to my heart is Locking

Before it’s too late Uh

Visually, the above serves as the MV’s overarching plot in a rather literal take on their lyrics: Kep1er are imprisoned in a maze of their own confusing emotions, running through tight spaces and mazes. With only a key constantly passed back and forth between the members, it points at one thing: Kep1er are looking for the perfect door to the key they have to someone’s heart.

Another interesting lyrical choice is the link between the words “Giddy” and “kitty”, coupled with their two point dance moves, is interesting, to say the least. Youngeun shares in an interview, “One is doing a fist punch like cats while moving our hips, and the second one is putting our hands up and down in a cute way like cats”. 

In contrast to AOA‘s “Like A Cat”, where the cat motif highlights AOA’s sexiness and submissiveness towards their lover, the cat motif here exists to represent a girl’s shyness and cuteness towards her lover, just like a cat. Unfortunately, except for the (nearly) homophone of “Giddy” and “kitty,” this motif is largely absent from the lyrics. In fact, if not for Yeseo’s cat ears and their cat-like choreography, this point may easily go over our heads.

As such, the cat motif lacks cohesiveness without a clearer storyline and link between the lyrics and visuals. Considering that their teasers teased many references to cats, nearly none of these were found in the MV, with the exception of Yeseo’s cat ears and the choreography moves mimicking a cat. Kep1er even created a cat named “Ke Nyang-E” to visualise a girl falling in love for the first time; disappointingly, it is nowhere to be found anywhere in the MV. 

Despite that, Kep1er’s “Giddy” is not bad. In fact, in terms of sound and visual quality, it is undoubtedly the best title track they have so far. As a sweet, cute, and funky track, with an earworm chorus and an eye-catching choreography, “Giddy” almost perfectly encapsulates a girl’s shy first love.

(Youtube[1]. The Korea Herald. Lyrics by Colorcodedlyrics. Images via WakeOne.)