First Take: MYNAME's Message

New boy band MYNAME recently released their debut track, "Message". The five-membered band, previously known as "Hwanhee's Boys" decides to go for mega-bass and super edgy for this song. How will it fare against all the other boy bands out there?

First of all, before anything else, if anyone has noticed, I have been out for quite a while. There's a logical reason for that, which is my mid-terms. I actually have an essay due tomorrow but I'm quickly running out of words to describe a particular war. So, instead, I cam here, if you don't mind.

Like I've said before, MYNAME is a new boy band. They are the mastermind product of ballad singer Hwanhee and former (?) member of duo Fly to the Sky. My first impression: great voice, where's the color? and oh my God, here comes another song with an identity disorder. But the name. Why MYNAME? It'll be so awkward to say "We are MYNAME!" or "I'm a fan of MYNAME!" Trying to point out the importance of a good name here.

The beginning of the song, and the end, was weird. Not the video, but the song. It was "lalalala" or "lololol" but I keep on thinking someone was gagging, as in about to puke, which is not a good sign. Thankfully things became better when the song started playing. Nicknamed "Hwanhee's Boys", I was expecting people with good voices and thankfully they didn't let me down. Among them there are some good potentials, despite the lackluster song. Rap-wise, it's not so good. But it's rare for a K-pop band to have strong raps anyways so I'll let it slide.

Despite that there are a couple major turn-offs in this song, at least for me. One, the bass. Dear cows and dogs it was loud. It was annoyingly loud. It's true I'm not a big bass fan, but this is just too much. The bass covered up the whole chorus, muffling their voices. If the bass was turned down a little bit, or a lot, it'll be much better. And then the whole identity disorder thing. My impression of the verses was that it was an edgy, very cool image that they want to convey. But voila, the chorus told me otherwise. Minus the bass, it was very sweet and almost cutesy, like say Boyfriend's songs, except with 100 times more bass. It's not as bad as some other songs I've heard that completely went Jekyll and Hyde on me, but I'm someone who likes consistency. I liked where the verse was going and I didn't know why they would suddenly flick the switch.

Dance-wise it was okay. Ever since I've became a fan of INFINITE my standard for boy band dancing went through the roof. Not everyone can be INFINITE, and it truly is my fault for setting my standard that high. But if you've seen something excellent, you won't go back and probably can't. MYNAME's dance looked easy, at least to the naked eye. I mean for like half the chorus they were just stomping in an eagle formation. I guess the beginning and ending dance break was a little better, with pseudo break dancing and all. But overall it was just okay. On a positive note, I liked the little box/message hand gesture. Minute, but adorable.

The video was, again, nothing special. There was definitely a lack of color which I didn't quite enjoy. It was so monotone. I understand it's the concept, but it looks more dull and not edgy and cool or whatever they're trying to portray. The video didn't have any storyline. It was them dancing in different sets, no biggie. But I have to question about their use of the four back-up dancers. I almost thought the band was consisted of 9 people. The back-up dancers should be more easily differentiated with the actual members, especially because this is a rookie group and I don't know who's who. Better yet, skip the back-up dancers. It's cheaper, and we get to see the boys in action all by themselves. Hitting two birds with one stone!

I'm definitely looking forward to their debut stage. This is where the actual game begins. In the spotlight with a live performance. I think they'll do fine if they have the endurance it takes to complete a full song on stage. Talent-wise, I can see it. They have a pretty solid vocal line up. One was a former Superstar K finalist, which is like Korea's answer American Idol. Well, I just wish the boys good luck. There's so many fishers out there but only so few fishes. Bad metaphor, but I hope you get the message. Pun unintended.