Now that we’ve reached 2024, it’s hard to believe that we are fast approaching Itzy’s fifth anniversary. It feels both like it was only yesterday that “Dalla Dalla” took the K-pop scene by storm–a whole lifetime ago. Whilst debates over when different generations start and end (and who leads each one) are inevitably unanswerable, Itzy’s breakthrough certainly heralded something fresh and dynamic among K-pop girl groups.
So, where do they stand now? With the pre-release single for their upcoming album Born To Be, it seems like they are no longer at the forefront. “Mr. Vampire”, also their first track as a quartet while member Lia is on hiatus for anxiety, is an underwhelming slice of incredibly slight, soft pop. Whilst being programmed to release before the main album suggests that this song is only designed as an album taster, it is still thoroughly underwhelming, missing the potential for impact that both its themes and its performers could have provided.
The audio and visual style of the song and MV are both surprisingly minimal, given the expectations of its title. This is not to say that using the word ‘vampire’ requires a gothic castle, sweeping violins, or excessive velvet. This is a pitfall that K-pop music has so often been vulnerable to, and it feels here like Itzy and their team wanted to avoid that ‘dark and broody’ mode. This is admirable, but it is unfortunate when it leads to something so forgettable.
The backdrop of the song is filled with soft beats and gentle piano samples, signalling an almost mellow. This changes slightly as the snares amp up in the chorus, accompanied by a sound effect that is somewhere between a flute and the tweeting of a bird. While the verses are inoffensive enough, the chorus reaches a point where it is almost irritating, not helped by the abundance of talk-singing. Thinking back to the power behind the singing in the chorus of “Wannabe”, or the drive of the beat that underscored the chanting in “Icy”, “Mr Vampire” feels low-effort in comparison.
The choice of setting for the MV does nothing to counteract this. Again, it’s good to see that they haven’t opted for the most Halloween costume-level of backdrops, but the sets used here are, mostly, incredibly bland. Of the two main performance stages, the first is a white and grey space that looks like a cross between an empty art gallery and an empty office. The second is only slightly more exciting, a circular room with floor-to-ceiling (covered) windows, a sunken floor, and randomly-placed lamps. Again, in shades of bluish-grey.
The gallery space is filled at various points, with heart-shaped artwork, blue-splattered sofas, and even Chaeryeong on a swing, but the colour palette remains drab, and the space so minimal that it flattens out the members’ performances. Even the graffiti-style graphics over Yeji and Ryujin fail to add any real drama. The size and uniformity of the spaces has the unfortunate effect of making the members swallowed by their surroundings, like a performance that hasn’t been attended.
Ironically for a song and MV that seems to want to avoid the obvious with its central metaphor, the most exciting backdrop is the random flashes of a dark forest that we see each member wondering in. The lighting is highly exposed, making the members seem almost caught-out à la Blair Witch, with the darkness looking all the more ominous behind them. These particular scenes are also filmed solo, adding to a sense of threat and danger that is otherwise completely absent.
Perhaps this resistance to leaning fully into a horror theme comes from the tamer story within the lyrics. Rather than anything melodramatic, the song speaks more to a sense of love being revived by something new and exciting.
Have been buriеd deep in the ground
Ayy, love, that kind of thing
I was getting tired of it before I met you
Come on and bite me, Mr. Vampire
The emphasis is more on the allure and intoxication of the love than any kind of fear invoked by it. It’s a neat little twist on the idea of vampiric love, but it is still not matched by anything particularly sonically exciting. The bridge of the song tries the hardest to tackle this, giving Chaeryeong in particular the chance to show off her belting ability.
Shall we dance together
Till the pale skin
Gets scorched by the sun
Till the sun-kissed skin dazzles
Feel this tremble at this moment
These lyrics accompany shots of each member spinning around in the dark forest, and almost combine to an exciting climax. But then the MV pulls back to the bland indoor sound stages from earlier, and all impact is lost.
It’s also surprising that the choreography does little to embellish the more exciting lyrical moments like this. Itzy have always been known as exceptional, scene-leading dancers, and combining their talents with a vampiric concept could have led to something really playful. Instead, we get simple neck touches at the line “bite me”, crossed hands above the head to start off the chorus, and body-pumping that just feels out of place.
The point of the choreography seems to be a clasping together of hands to mimic a biting mouth, which is disappointingly literal. The dance also seems to stay entirely at the level of standing, taking away even the excitement of floorwork. Whilst this is only a pre-release, and the girls are having to work without one member of their team, this routine feels like a waste of their skills.
The styling, too, leaves a lot to be desired. The hair choices are great: Yeji’s bright orange is especially impactful when styled in a light wave, and Yuna is similarly striking in a darker red. However, the outfits here can be added to the sadly long list of copy-paste female K-pop styling—put everyone in crop tops, hot pants, and miniskirts and call it a day.
There is the odd extra touch, as there seems to be throughout this MV: Ryujin’s powder blue-dipped fingertips were an unexpected highlight. But the earthy tones for the first look are dull, and the second look of plaid, punky studs, and huge boots is positively tired by this point. Much like with their dancing, we know Itzy can deliver exciting fashion choices (“Loco” anyone?), and the lack of interest here adds to a sense of this song as lacklustre.
In the end, as brave a move as it is to invoke a symbol as well-known as the vampire, but to then use almost no tropes associated with it, “Mr. Vampire” ultimately fails to showcase Itzy’s full range of talents. Nearly five years on from “Dalla Dalla” and its infinite energy, this pre-release feels tired and uninspiring. Moving away from a trope that is naturally dramatic and dark does not have to mean that the song and MV becomes inert. And yet, that is what we have here. Hopefully the brief flashes of innovation across the shooting, singing, and lyricism are the true hints of what is to come in Itzy’s second studio album later this month.
Maybe they should have just gone for the castles and the velvet.
