Monday, October 17, 2011

B1A4 Becomes My Pseudo-Noona Guilty Pleasure


I'm not a big fan of cutesy boy concept, like the one used for Boyfriend. Well, well, well did I betray myself big time. I have come to realize that another similarly conceptualized band by the name of B1A4 has struck my heart in a very strange way. Nevertheless they accomplished joom joom-ing my heart like a locket for sure.

Just to be clear, I've never really been into B1A4 as much as I'm trying to admit from the start. Unlike my love for INFINITE, or my former obsession FT Island, which came at a later time of the respective band's career, I witnessed the growth of B1A4 from the beginning. Their "OK" go song was really cool. I know the lyrics are supposed to go OK girl but I'll be singing OK go till the end of eternity. It's super catchy and admittedly a really good song.


But deep inside I don't want to like B1A4, musically or personally. First of all their name. What kind of band names themselves after their blood types? Just goes to show Korea's obsession with blood types which I as a South East Asian with a splash of Western values and a scientific standpoint can never understand. No research can prove the correlation of blood types and personalities, and I personally don't believe it could be done.

Second of all they are hella pretty. Not in a pretty like a girl pretty but pretty like a perfect boy pretty, which freaks me out. I feel like they jumped straight out of a manhwa and I don't know if that's a good thing or not. I like my men to actually look like he's from earth, not from another galaxy far, far away full of perfect smiling angels.

Alas put that all aside and in the end I really like them. Enough to try to know their names. Not enough to follow their variety shows. But who knows, maybe I'll secretly search on YouTube and bam! I'm full on B1A4 train, which I might regret proclaiming to the world.

The thing is, they seriously make me feel like a noona, and that's an odd feeling. They're roughly the same age as me, okay maybe some older by a year, but all the aegyo and smiles makes me feel so much older than them. I thought, wow they really were manufactured to be noona killers. But I wonder. Behind their smiling faces, are they cursing at the cameraman or the MV director? I think I may be out of my mind but sometimes I can feel the little devil masked under all the rainbow, furry animal costumes. Just think about it. These boys are well into their adolescence and just a few steps short of young adulthood and they're still playing the cute card?

But the important fact is, this strategy worked. I myself who is not into cutesy boys, I tend to steer miles and miles away from them, actually found them endearingly cute. Even if, after all the sweetness, I just want to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth for a good hour or so.

And thus we have come to the end of the post with a little video that is just full of really odd and cringe-worthy English lyrics. Joom joom my heart like a locket, anyone? And what kind of sane lyricist call their song "Beautiful Target"? And that MV? Pft. Don't get me started. Truthfully, this song is what made me really like B1A4 after all the madness. I actually bothered watching their live performances a good 3 times or so. Or more. I'm not going to tell. Let's just say, as B1A4 themselves would tell you, I like it like it like it. And seriously, Sandeul totally rocked it. I mean, I think he is secretly a genius.

2 comments:

  1. As a BANA myself, curiosity forces me to ask: what do you think of their more recent songs and concepts with In The Wind and such?

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    1. I haven't really been following K-pop for a long, long time. It sucks, I know. But I think I've watched B1A4's attempt at being super chic, if I recall correctly. It's... different. I'll put it at that. It does feel awkward I guess since I'm so used to seeing them so cutesy and fresh but you know, I guess time's changed? I don't really remember much about the music itself though. A bit sad.

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