Who is BPPOP, and why do people not know about them? That’s the question people will be asking after they hearing their latest release. BBPOP is a five-member group from BP Story Entertainment, and they actually debuted earlier this year with a light-hearted track “Today”. Thankfully, they’ve shed their previous sound and image, and have taken a different look and sound with their lasts track “Never Ever Let Me Go”. Listening to this the latest track by BPPOP will give you chills.
Just to run down the list of necessary cliches when it comes to music videos for ballad songs: Ballad about heartbreak – check, sad, swooping melodies – check, cliche lyrics about missing your boy – check, beautiful girls pining dramatically over furniture- check, white dresses stolen off Disney’s last Cinderella set – check, contrasting black schoolgirl uniforms because hey, naughty devilish schoolgirls – check. They don’t come in a more standard size than this, but despite all of that, and several insane moments with a huge wall mural of a zebra in the background, “Never Ever Let Me Go” manages to be something more than that.
It’s hard to pin down. The video doesn’t display extremely good cinematography techniques; in fact it features a very simple set that was obviously done on a shoestring budget. There isn’t any crazy choreography, because there is no choreography. There isn’t insanely well-designed clothing, because they aren’t wearing anything special. If anything, this is a clear throwback to the days of Fin.KL and such. By throwback I mean the sound, the clothes, the look of the music video, even the styling of the girls themselves look like they come from a much earlier era. I keep thinking of “Because I’m a Girl” by Kiss when I listen to this song.
And it works so well for them. Keeping things simple lets the focus remain on the girls and their voices, and they shine beautifully in this song. Their ability to express heartbreak and vulnerability will resonate strongly with anyone who has experienced anything like that before. It’s sincere, honest and enrapturing from beginning to end, so much so that it sounds like it could be a classic. In fact, if you can stand shaky fancams, you should check out this video of them singing live. It’s so good.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWryjte21fg]Who would have thought that one of the best ballads of the year – at least in my opinion – would have come from a rookie group? Perhaps it’s because the hitmakers behind this are Kim Son Yub and Lee Sang Min, who composed for the Japanese girl group AKB48 before as well. Either way, kudos to these girls for managing to pull off the song so well. These five girls are Siyoo, Yoojin, Inkyung, Jane and Pyunjin, and they are from BPPOP. Don’t forget them!
