k-critique

Okay, I’m sure tons of people will be using this headline…may or may not, since they’re not promoting it (though YG might change his mind if this song explodes) so maybe not a lot of articles will be on it. If anything, the headline will be “2NE1 is NOT lonely” once the song hits an all-kill. Anyway, I just saw the MV and…well, could anyone hate it?! 

Hits:

1. No drums, just plain guitar

The song, is loved by all Blackjacks because like will.i.am said, “I was waiting for the drums to come, but it didn’t. It was very refreshing.” Rare case of 2NE1 music where even though produced by Teddy, featured just guitar acoustics…I couldn’t even hear even the slightest hint of drums! In other words, this is just like Park Bom’s version of “Don’t Cry” on YG On-Air. Simple and beautiful. Really able to showcase their vocal ability.

2. Chorus

Love love love how this time, although Bom is in the chorus as usual, Minzy also has a solo part in the chorus. Really is a fresh new switch since Bom almost always has the most dominant part in the chorus. I always felt Minzy has a really nice soulful and mature tone to her voice, that wasn’t showcased enough in “It Hurts”. Thank you for giving her the chorus part, Teddy.

3. Vocal

Also a little point here, but I like how Dara took on a challenge and if you notice, her parts in “Lonely” is not just the same soft, quiet, short part like in “It Hurts”. She starts off soft and slowly builds up the volume at the end of her part, which is something that the other members usually do, and not her. The uniqueness and pitch of her voice doesn’t really suit that type of singing 100%, but it was definitely a bold attempt and shows that she can also be versatile in singing.

4. Wardrobe and hair

Their wardrobe was amazing. I could not stop oohing and aahing over their outfits. Can’t wait for Big21, haute issue, 21bangs to review their clothes. Not only their wardrobe, but their hair! Usually in MVs, 1-2 wardrobe changes occur. But in this one, not only do their wardrobe change way more often, but their hair has such a dramatic change too. Dara’s mohawk, fauxhawk, whatever you want to call it, was so surprising. I thought she was going to have that throughout the whole MV, but next thing you know, she has long hair tied to the side again. That’s one of the most obvious, but all the other members have hairstyles changed also, even Minzy, though hers is very subtle. 

5. Lyrics concept

Even the lyrics are refreshing. Instead of the same old love song about either breaking up or as some people may have thought, about being lonely, because of the song title, this song is about being lonely even when with their other half. Definitely a refreshing twist.

6. MV concept

This whole entire MV is basically like Big Bang’s “Love Song”. If you think about it, both MVs consist of them simply walking throughout the whole entire thing. Though Big Bang’s has a small choreography part, but you get what I mean. The thing is, both of their MVs are not boring even though it’s walking for the most of the song. With 2NE1, their wardrobe changes, dramatic hair style changes really really helped in my opinion. Because there’s not much happening in the MV, besides their clothes, you really concentrate on the song and their vocals, which is the main point to be achieved I think. The misty vintage set, with several beautiful sets both depicting indoor and outdoor really helps set the mood too. They could even save money hiring a male actor for the male lead, because this song is called “Lonely”, so no male lead is no biggie.

7. Most unique promotion/marketing ever

Some of you may or may not know, Dara, has recently released her phone number to the public through her me2day blog. She was writing how she was so lonely in the wee hours of the morning, so she went ahead and released her number. Of course, fans were crazy and yeah, it’s a wonder her phone didn’t explode of the incoming calls and text messages. Well, looks like troller YG has stuck again. This was not Dara’s real number (although she did really make it seem like it was legit), but a special way of promoting their song “Lonely”. Apparently when you call “Dara’s phone number”, you will hear a part of “Lonely” replaying over and over again. Awesome awesome way to promote the song without using much money. All Dara did was post it on her me2day (which is for free and is essentially like a Korean version of Twitter) and all they had to spend was little money setting up the song to replay over the phone and wow, it probably generated more word of mouth than ever existed within one day.

Misses:

1. Pronounciation

I know not all of 2NE1 is fluent in English, and I really give props to them for trying really hard, and as a Blackjack, I don’t mind their hardly noticeable accent at all. But I’m not crazy about how some of them pronounce the word “lonely” in here. They pronounced it like “lon-ly” instead of emphasizing the “e”. Though I understand this pronunciation could’ve been deliberate due to vocal and singing purposes. 

2. Dara’s bobby pins

With Dara’s shocking mohawk style hair revealed right at the beginning of the MV, of course people will be noticing it even more. So…shouldn’t they have been a bit more careful about hiding the bobby pins? You can clearly see it thanks to the incredibly high HD quality YG has nicely provided. 

Little notes!

1. Seems like the storyline/concept of the MV is that all members of 2NE1 are acting as one person. If you see the filming technique, for example when CL slightly bumps into a random passerby, she turns into Bom, who turns and looks at who she bumped into. 

2. The highway bridge actually has “sexy, pin-sharp, in flawless”  (I think they meant ‘n flawless?) written on it at 1:32, but at the same time the building behind the bridge has the huge words “FREAK” written on top. Does that symbolize the irony? i.e. they are in a relationship with their boyfriends, but at the same time, they feel lonely.