Shampoo- After School

This MV is really nothing more than the lead in to their new main song, but the MVs are connected, so I’ll review this one first.

Lyrics: 2/5
This is a love song. It’s a message to the boy you love telling them to notice the girl and let her be their only love. The girl talks about how much she loves him and how she wants to be with them, but they aren’t together yet in the lyrics. I took points off because the approach to this love story is kind of weird, the girl tells the guy she wants to be like shampoo to him… here:
“If you, star star star, ever make me sad/ I’ll make your eyes sting/ but if you, star star star, make me happy/ I can cover your whole body so even the mirror can’t see you/ I’m going to cover your whole body with white foam/ I’m going to bury myself into you so no one else can take you/ You can’t erase my scent”

Dancing: NA
I’m not giving this MV any dance points, even though there is dancing in the MV, because it isn’t part of the song. It’s part of the story. You see the girls learning a tap dance routine, but you don’t actually see the final product until the next MV. And you don’t even see any of the performance, just the practice.

Story: 3/5
The story is totally a lead in for the next MV, but I took points off because it doesn’t seem to have ANYTHING to do with the song. It almost feels like they filmed the story and then chose the song later.

The story shows Raina looking at a large stage like she’s imagining herself on it. She goes back stage and watches the other After School members rehearsing a tap-dance. She auditions on the spot and impresses the director, who starts to see flashes of her as a performer. She falls in love with the director, and him with her. She is admitted into the practice, but can’t seem to get the hang of the steps, so he starts to help her practice. The other members watch her relationship with the director, seeming to almost pity her. They welcome her well enough though.

The director suddenly seems to abandon her as she becomes stronger a performer, and it is the members who pick her up and help her to do well. By the looks the members give her it almost feels like they also might have been in the same place once, in love with the director and he with them, but the relationship is over for everyone and they kind of understand each other better because of it. IDK. It had a very “Black Swan” feel to me, minus of course the whole insanity and stabbing people in the cheeks.

Other Things

I’m not sure they could have made Raina look more like a 14 year old (she’s 22 in real life… tomorrow actually).

I don’t like Raina’s hairstyle when it’s just down (it looks good pulled back). I’m not a fan of the long hair and perfectly straight short bangs, though it’s probably just supposed to represent her turning from a child into a woman, since she looks older as the MV progresses.

The new member, E-Young, is featured only a little more than the others in this MV, they tend to keep her in the back of shots, my guess is so that the fans could get used to her.

With this album After School announced a graduation concept, like what Super Junior debuted with and what Xing eventually adapted. They said the members comprise 4 generations. Gahi is the fourth, Uee, Bekah, Jooyoung and Jung-Ah in the third, Orange Caramel in the second, and E-Young in the first. It sounds like they’re going to start rotating members out with the next album, and bringing in new ones (how the generation style is supposed to work). I think this is going to crush the group and stop them from really achieving any huge level of fame like SNSD, Girls Day, 4 Minute, or any of the other more popular groups. If After School was ever a stable group they stood a chance, but with members changing every single CD, fans won’t keep paying attention for long.

**The second MV “Let’s Step It Up” is just the performance of the tap dance, there aren’t enough lyrics to review and I won’t write a review just for a dance, so “Let’s Step it Up” won’t have an MV review**

Diva- After School

I don’t like arrogant songs, and this one makes up for the lack of depth in the chorus with the verse. It is a bit disjointed, but it was a good debut song for After School.

Lyrics:
The song is about being with the guy you love. They know he’s the one and are just saying they constantly thinking about them and they are also thinking of the guy. The words are a little disjointed, so I can’t really say much about it…
“Tonight, tomorrow night/ I keep thinking of you/ I’m your diva diva d-d-d-diva/ tonight, tomorrow night/ this electric moment/ I’m your diva diva d-d-d-diva”

Dance
The dance is upbeat and preppy. It kind of looks like a cheerleader thing

Story
The set is all natural. They film in a parking lot, an alley, on the road, and mostly at a tennis court. It is kind of reminiscent of H.O.T.’s “Full of Happiness”. You also see badly jointed shots of them in the recording studio which really have no purpose whatsoever.

Other Things

Expression patrol: UEE needs to work on her faces. She tends to have one great expression that quickly falls into a blank stare, she needs to continue the emotion longer.

One member left after this song was released and After School added 2 more, so far I think just about every other MV features new members of After School…

Bang!- After School

Uh~ I can only sigh looking at this MV. After what I think was a brilliant run with “No Ttaemune (Because of You)” they came out with this new song…

Lyrics: 1/5
This song feels like a rookie group’s song, not a group like After School. The song has no content, and they say their group name seriously like thirty times. It’s made to be a cheer song, and it sounds more like one than an actual song. The only point where it actually sounds like a song is in the bridge. Otherwise it is repetitive and annoying. The lyrics that aren’t part of the chorus are disjointed and confusing. The beat is nice, but the song has no depth. If a group came out with this song as a rookie they wouldn’t make it past their first single.
“We are After School~up/ All of you, step aside/ check it out/ take it all/ aha aha aha/  right now/ oh~ After School up/ Everyone go crazy/ scream/ Again like this/ aha aha aha/  T.R.Y. Do it now/ can you follow me?/ Yes, un-hun!/ T.R.Y. pick it up!/ You’ll never catch me/ oh~no!”

Dancing: 2/5
The dance is more of a cheer too. You don’t see much of it in the MV, mostly it is just walking and bouncing. Some of the movies are really annoying (the bounce one at the beginning), but some look good. I just really can’t get past the annoying lyrics…

Story: NA
There is no story in this MV.

Other Interesting Things
I’m starting to learn more about After School finally. I honestly like their other songs, but this one is just awful. It isn’t them, it’s the lyrics.

There are some shots I like, such as when it cuts between them dancing in blue and red.

I really don’t understand the model walk they do, it makes no sense.

So After School lost one of their original members and replaced her with two new members. This MV is the last in the promotions from the CD with the new members. Now before their third CD they are adding a 9th member… This group seriously needs to settle or they will be left in the dust of the other girl groups.

I hope when After School eventually comes back they have a decent song. I really don’t like this song. It’s annoying and doesn’t showcase member’s talent at all.

No Ttaemune (Because of You)- After School

This MV is perhaps one of the most addicting. But not all of it is particularly excellent in my opinion. I’ve broken it down to review it in full-

Lyrics: 5/5
For those of you who haven’t seen, “No Ttaemune (Because of You)” is a song not about falling in love, not about breaking up, but about reflecting back on the person you loved and realizing you still love them. The lyrics beg the mystery man to return, as well as lament about loosing that love.  I think the song is good because it is fresh content you don’t see often. While personally my mindset is “Move on!”, I like the tone the music takes.  Unlike many songs of this nature, “No Ttaemune (Because of You)” does not go with a soft slow beat, but has a fast pace and an almost angry tone, though the lyrics do not often reflect this.
“Because of you I cried a lot/ Because of you I also laughed a lot/ Because of you I believed in love/Because of you, because of you, I lost it all/ It’s really o-o-opressive, s-s-suffocating, a-a-asfixiating/The world without you/ It chewed out my heart, it crushed my pride/ It ripped my heart apart, why did you leave me?”

Dancing: 4/5
More than the lyrics, it is the dance of “No Ttaemune (Because of You)” that earns the MV constant replay. The dance itself is strong and precise, reflecting the pain the lyrics reveal. My personal favorite moment is during “o-o-opressive, s-s-suffocating, a-a-asfixiating”. The dance is together and powerful, and conveys extra meaning to the song. It looses a point however for being a bit leader-focused, as she is the center of almost all the action in group shots.

What does this have to do with a broken heart? I have no clue~

Story: 1/5
While the song is good, and the dancing is good, the MV story takes on a very “Wait, what?” attitude. After watching it the viewer is totally confused. While it seems initially to have been about a love between two of the members of the group, it is not clear what exactly drew them apart, or if they are moving on from this love together or what the hell is supposed to be going on. Also, in the end is a man sitting in front of his TV watching them with pictures all round of members, as though he is the one they were singing about. While each shot individually fits the story (for the most part) as a whole it does not fit together and seems under-developed.

Overall: 2/5
The dancing and the lyrics gave this MV points, but what is holding it back is the story. It just doesn’t make sense to me. The song and the video go closely together, so you can’t help but link them. However, when the video part makes absolutely no sense, it just ends up confusing.

Other Interesting Things:
I liked the costume changes between the black background and the white. You have to watch the MV to get it, but each members costumes are similar, they are just reversing the colors. They are not exact, but it looks good and doesn’t distract the viewer.