'Aggressive' and 'Adorable' are NOT Mutually EXCLUSIVE:
 | High4 is not a band I've been terribly enamored with I loved their debut, but most of what they've done since just hasn't struck my fancy. This one is extremely different; I like it so much that it's even jumped the queue of MVs I should be reviewing! From the moment I first saw it, my only reaction has been "Yep. That's it. We're done here. The most adorable song humanly possible has been produced. We can all go home, now". And that feeling hasn't dissipated at all in the two days I've been watching it while pretending to care about other things. And now I just HAVE to explain the full extent of its intricate weave of imagery, because there's much more than meets the eye to this release and it would be a shame for anyone to miss even the tiniest detail. What seems at first like a mess of contradictions is actually an array of perfectly inter-locking pieces that create a dynamic and accurate depiction of an enchanting reality. |
Kpop has done things were 'cute' and 'gangsta' overlap, there's been other examples of aegyo mixing with straight-up awesome, but nothing else I've ever seen does it quite like this; nor nearly this well. Most other versions of an attitude that resemble this one use aegyo to straightforwardly mix in a dose of adorable, but this release takes that a leap forward by avoiding straight-aegyo, for the most part, and using a more sophisticated weave of more traditional imagery to convey the idea that the object of the narrator's affection is a singular point of exception in his world. Every single detail in the visuals plays off the notions in the lyrics, leading to an achingly cute final product that takes its message more seriously than I would have ever guessed just by glancing at the colorful screencaps.
It also has something very important in common with Beyonce (but we'll get to that later).
It also has something very important in common with Beyonce (but we'll get to that later).
| The only way to do this right is to start off at the beginning, because right from the start the track and the MV present an extraordinary and very precise depiction of the exact sort of cuteness-in-contrast idea the track is aiming to incite. One of the very first images we see is Alex with his Fushigi. The mysticism in contact juggling is perfect for this MV because it has traditionally invoked the idea of other-worldliness, of magic and enchantment. It also implies an idea of total control, of dominance and mastery. In the context of the rest of the picture, the control that Alex displays is trapped behind glass, impotent, and more than that, it's in a window that's irregular. In plain English, the image represents that the control Alex normally has over the mystical enchantments of the world, the control he usuall has over himself in situations that involve a girl who stands as a living enchantment, is rendered useless and impotent, trapped behind glass in exclusively one particular, and highly irregular situation. |  |
 | One of the very next images we see is the car breaking down. It's a stereotype that men have total control over their vehicles, that they know the mechanical working of it. The fact that this one's broken down on them is a three-fold continuation of the previous image. First of all, the fact that we're first introduced to the scenario by zipping through the irregularly shaped window (which hold the same meaning her as it did for the Fushigi scene), is a direct link to the fact that the message of utter impotence in one particular scenario. That it's his car means he should know how it works, that he doesn't is odd. To take matters further, both cars and women are stereotypically referred to as a guy's "baby". So when he has no idea what's going on with the car, it's directly linked to the idea that he has no clue what's going on with the female object of his affections. |
The use of the car at the particular moment that comes up is especially perfect because of how perfectly it relates to the lyrics running over top of imagery. Now, the fact that the car in question is not a Range Rover notwithstanding, the idea in the lyrics ties perfectly to the imagery of the MV, at least once you know how the chorus goes. Even the fact that the car is NOT a Range Rover could be used to play into the idea that the suggestion of undeniable strength and competence and power that Alex is projecting in his rap is not actually the whole story.
| The fact that the overt display of confidence and strength in the lyrics continues until they get the car going and Alex emerges victories (with a hulk t-shirt no less) implies a dramatic edge of conquest and masculinity. It's a notion that stands firm, he knows who he is, what he wants and what he's capable of, at least inside the real and sensical world he's lived in for most of his life. They lyrics take us on the ride that over turns the notion of the narrator's personal competency. First, by swinging the feel of the song a complete 180, from hard-ass hip-hop to achingly cute pop, and then secondly by directly announcing that he's the strongest macho-manliest dude ever, except when he's with the girl he likes. |  |
This is actually a really good moment to switch over from exploring the imagery to taking a look at the lyrics, because it's with them that the true depth of the achingly adorable story is revealed. The imagery exposes and extrapolates from the lyrics, the words themselves tell the actual tale.
| One thing to notice before we even get to a detailed analysis is that all the verbs are 'Hae/해' not 'HaeYo/해요', which is a banmal method of endearment that was explicitly referenced in their debut follow-up track with Lim Kim. |
 | English Lyrics - If I start, it’s game over for you Wish for luck, four leaf clover I don’t wanna see all the fakers So I’ll step on them like a range over (vroom) I’ll keep the tension like a V8 engine Don’t have money but they always pay attention to me I’m a madman, Seoul city’s Batman You attack me and I’ll hit you with a back hand, eat you all up, pacman Ain’t no decision win, I only accept KOs You can fight me 100 times but you’ll lose all 100 times It’s you, it’s you, yes it’s you Strangely, I only lose to you I become a meek guy in front of you I become soft, I become soft Call me baby, call me yours When I introduce you, you’re my baby girl But when it’s just us two, I’m your baby boy Baby boy, baby boy, I become a baby boy Baby bay, when it’s just us two, do it Uh Uh Uh Do It Baby Bay, when I’m next to you, do it Uh Uh Uh | I've already explained most of what makes the first verse cute, because it's mostly how the lyrics relate to the imagery. The last line of the first half (Pay attention to me) ties into the fact that while she's in the hall of pictures she doesn't pay him much attention (it ties in later to the TV scene as well). The second half of the verse continues that same idea, specifically for it to be subverted by the chorus. The first half of the Chorus is sweet, explaining what happens to the narrator around his crush, and the second half is all the sweeter for it. He's still trying to project the ultra-masculine vibe, by saying 'when it's just the two of us' so that he doesn't get embarrassed in front of his bros, but in front of her, he's too soft to really want her to call him anything else, so long as the bros aren't around. The break between the chorus and the next verse serves mostly to connect the pop-bit back to the rap-bit and visually introduce the girl into the boys' world. |
| Y-Jun, 21 years old, I’m strong and fierce. A wild dog who will bite even his owner if he gets twisted. All the bunnies pretending to be lions get shocked. Hurry over, it’s your first time at a place like this, right? Hide carefully, I might see you. Hey step on it stronger I don’t ever kneel except when I bow on New Years. Look and see how far I go Whether I try or not, the result is the same. I can’t help it, there’s nothing that I can lose it. Except for one thing in the world [Chorus A B] If it’s not your words, I won’t listen (You’re My Only One Love) If it’s not your hands, I won’t hold it When I look at you, when I hold you, I’m up in the sky. I can’t hold it in, I burn up, you make me high [Chorus A B A] | YoungJun's verse continues the idea from Alex's rap that the narrator is strong and fierce and frightening, he's the hunter and everyone else is prey. The animal thing will come up again in a minute, but first, the sweetest line in the whole song. "I don't kneel ... New Year's" is achingly perfect because it proves the point of the chorus: the narrator is not nearly as bad-ass as he thinks he is. He's strong and powerful, but he's genuine and sweet and respectful when it counts, like bowing on New Years. It means that he was always going to be adorable to the girl that mattered, he just didn't know it yet. The point is hit home as YoungJun goes hard in the rap, putting on a hella impressive performance to prove his epic-ness. The last bit of new lyric comes in the bridge, giving a bit of additional confirmation that this once scenario is rather exceptional, but doing it in such a way that adds a childish petulance to the assertion (therefore subverting it, yet again). |
 | Where the girl was involved, the boys frequently had control taken away, from the moments where she was literally playing games with her little boy-toys to when she became the ringleader in their romantic circus. The sweetest lyric ever mentions that he never bows save on New Years, the first thing the boys do after YoungJun finishes the rap that announces the sentiment is bow. Also, the boy's bows are much deeper than the girl's. She controls everything about their universe, from the clothes they wear to the mechanics that show up to help fix the car, all of it happens at her whim or not at all. Looking back at the comparison to animals that YoungJun made, she claps her little hands and they jump to her heel, even with their petulant expressions, like well trained puppy-dogs. And there's hardly a second where they are anything but smiles about that fact. |  |
In the end, the girl has total control in her hand via the TV remote. It's entirely up to her how the boys behave and she's entirely able to spurn their affections if she so chooses. She is the perfectly typical adorable and sweet 'baby girl' but the way she affects the narrator is anything but ordinary. To sweeten the deal even more, there's one thing about it that is even more special. I'm not sure it was done on purpose, but having seen it, I can't unsee it and honestly I wouldn't want to. The chorus has been bugging a lot of people for how it sits in the mix, "there's something off about it" everyone notices immediately, but it's not that it doesn't sit well or it's awkward or anything, the transition is flawless and beautiful. What people are noticing is that it's familiar. The Chorus of Baby Boy is an arrangement that's exceptionally similar to the Verse in Beyonce's Single Ladies. Don't believe me? Listen:
The tie to Single Ladies, whether intentional or not, is just so perfectly suited to the idea of the track, being that the girl is the one in total control and the guys just have to deal with it as she rocks their world. All in all the release is absolutely fantastic. It's a method of presenting the adorable as existing alongside the aggressive in a way that rarely happens in music at at, let alone in Kpop. And if, for some reason, you needed things to be even more adorable there's a BTS reel that is clearly designed to make fans squeal.
The only complaints I have at all are the fact that the whiny sound at the beginning goes on just a bit too long and the video has no specifically active story. It's basically a pastoral, no forward motion, but a beautiful depiction of a static piece of scenery. I LOVE it, but sadly, it can't get a perfect score.
The only complaints I have at all are the fact that the whiny sound at the beginning goes on just a bit too long and the video has no specifically active story. It's basically a pastoral, no forward motion, but a beautiful depiction of a static piece of scenery. I LOVE it, but sadly, it can't get a perfect score.
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