The K-pop summer has truly begun, with the specific sound of summer songs starting to saturate the stage. One such comeback is from Fiestar, who are following up their tragically underappreciated A Delicate Sense with a slice of tasty “Apple Pie”.
“Apple Pie” is, of course, an innocent song about the most wholesome of — ha ha ha, no. “Apple Pie” is about sex. It is, in the grand tradition of summer songs, a fun tongue-in-cheek song about sex, and it sounds like it. Synth-feuled and hook-driven, “Apple Pie” is more than a little cacophonous, but it works here. The contrasting synth layers provide a bite that keeps “Apple Pie” from being laden in sugar. It has a whimsical, almost folksy sound that balances with the vocals of Fiestar, which are thankfully front and center and not buried in the mix.
The lyrics of “Apple Pie” are a poignant discussion that will stimulate intellectual — yeah, that’s a nope. Here “apple pie” is long and blatant extended metaphor for sex. Specifically, oral sex, going by the repeated usage of “hot and sweet” and references to tasting and scent. However, there is a smart, sex-positive undercurrent to “Apple Pie”. They insist their boyfriend be patient and wait for the pie to finish, but when it’s done, it’s done, so enjoy it already. Fiestar won’t be pressured into sex before they’re ready, but neither will they refuse sex once they are. They are neither virgins nor whores, but individuals making their own choices.
This is all backed and enhanced by the MV, which is a feminist masterpiece; full of symbolism about the importance of a woman’s control over her sexuality and how there’s no one correct way to approach sex. I am completely serious.”Apple Pie” is a pink, light-hearted romp with a powerful message intertwined with its whimsy.
Each member has her own story — Yezi‘s a scientist, Hyemi a maid, Jei a homemaker, Linzy a flight attendant, and Cao Lu is Snow White herself– but more importantly, each member has their own relationship to pie, and thus, sex. Yezi takes the role of a seducer, having her pie down to a science. Her verse backs this, as she gives tips on pie eating before straight-up telling her boyfriend he can be her toy. Jei is the opposite, trying over and over to bake a pie, but burning it every time. Yet when Jei takes her own initiative and takes her pie out of the oven early, she ends up with a perfect apple pie. She may have broken away from the prescribed recipe, but Jei found what worked for her. Soon, she’s happily surrounded by flawless pies.
Hyemi has no pie of her own. Instead, she focuses on her job and repairing a mistake she made earlier, as well as helping Jei clean up her plethora of burned pies. Because sometimes, you have other obligations, and pie has too much drama and takes up too much time for it to be a priority right now. Linzy forms a friendly bond with a customer on the job, but he quickly decides he wants some of her apple pie. Linzy is hesitant and unsure, at first acquiescing, but she changes her mind and keeps her pie under her own control.
Cao Lu, like Hyemi, doesn’t have her own pie, but prefers apples. She tries to eat Jei’s pie, but is knocked out by it– she tries to live vicariously through her friend, but finds she can’t handle it. Instead, she is found by her Prince Charming (a cameo by her We Got Married husband Jo Se-ho) who notably does not attempt to kiss the unconscious woman. Once they’re both awake, they form a silly bond, the lack of pie a non-issue.
“Apple Pie” presents five different relationships to sex: Yezi’s all about sex, Jei has it before she “should” but ends up happier for it, Hyemi has other priorities, Linzy refuses to cave to pressure, and Cao Lu has a happy relationship with no sex. More notably, “Apple Pie” presents all these paths and perspectives as equally valid. Hyemi, Cao Lu, and Linzy aren’t demonized for not having sex, and Yezi and Jei aren’t demonized because they are. “Apple Pie” is a summery sex jam that’s all about doing what’s right for you, no matter what form that takes. And it’s a decent song, too.
Song: 3.5/5
MV: 4.75/5
(Images via LoenTree, YouTube)
