This week we’ll be looking at the powerful and extravagant comeback by 2NE1, with their fresh new song, ‘I Love You’!
Concept
Everything about this concept just blows my mind and I’m struggling to know where to begin. So, I guess I’ll just start from an overall perspective. Everything about this concept just screams ‘2NE1’, and yet it seems that they’ve taken a slightly different and interesting direction. What I mean is that when you think of 2NE1, what do you think of? Do the ‘I Am The Best’ and ‘Clap Your Hands’ concepts come to mind? These are powerful and fairly unfeminine concepts (Punk style and baggy clothing) but they pull it off so well, but for ‘I Love You’ they have gone for obviously feminine looks that are still tinged and twisted with their trademark style.
After watching the MV a few times, it struck me that if you took a screen shot of any part of this MV it would look like a still from a movie; it looks like they’ve recreated old love films in a way. It’s almost as if the members are stuck in old love clichés and romantic scenes from Hollywood movies; waiting at a lighthouse for her love to come home, waiting in bed alone, alone in a taxi on a rainy night. They seem pretty lonely as the girls are always alone in the video (except the little dance section at the end); CL alone in the room dancing for an empty chair, Minzy waiting outside of a room, Dara alone in a street walking past faceless people and Bom waiting in bed all alone.
Lady Gaga has movie-worthy videos and Rihanna works with intense imagery, and both are massively popular in the UK. This video and the whole powerful concept would be needed to make an impact on the UK market, as we are so used to sexualised and strong images in the media that something as equally eye catching and memorable is required to catch people’s attention. If nothing else, they’ll remember Dara’s hair! (Which she totally rocks, by the way.)
Everything about this concept is vivid and intense, from their style to the incredible imagery used throughout the video. Everything is so elaborate, from their nail art (3D butterflies and intricate patterns) to their quirky-yet-feminine hairstyles (dip-dye, undercuts and massive volume), and everything in between. Everything has a vintage touch to it; old style hotel corridor, old steam train interior, old taxi cabs, contemporised yet vintage-style clothing, etc.
I cannot get over how extravagant everything is, from the luxurious clothing to the elaborate detail to the scenery. Just take a look at the live performance as well, they have swans on stage! The whole set for the performance and the sets for the MV are intricate and beautiful. I tend to over think a lot of things, but it seems to be a slight commentary on how wealth can make you lonely. I mentioned earlier that the girls appear to be lonesome, and it seems that they have expensive looking clothes and homes but are unhappy because they don’t have the person they love with them; without them the money means nothing. It’s also quite striking that despite being surrounded by such beauty and wealth, they remain quite expressionless throughout the video. I thought that it was a very simple and clever way of showing that they weren’t happy with their wealth alone, and without the person that they love they keep a chic facade which makes them appear distant and cold.
The fashion and style for ‘I Love You’ is hot, no other way to describe it. On anyone else it might not work but in conjunction with the song, the sets and the whole 2NE1 image, it all matches to perfection. The clothing is quite refined with Luxe style (gold accessories, classic scarf prints, classic and chic clothes) which is then contrasted with flesh-revealing mesh inserts, radical hairstyles, and contemporary versions of classic styles which gives the whole concept a really cool and fashionable element. There is nothing style-wise that isn’t some kind of fashionable in the UK; Luxe and vintage have been big trends for a while now, and even Dara’s undercut isn’t unusual in the UK, as other celebrities such as Cher Lloyd have this haircut too.
There is some mixing of old-Hollywood glamour and traditional Asian images; the frequent use of lotus flowers in the decor, beautiful and intricate almost Geisha-esque hairstyles, lanterns and parasols mixed in together with Hollywood scenes and style (throwback to Audrey Hepburn and contemporised 50’s fashion) which creates the perfect mix of cultures as they complement each other beautifully.
UK Potential: 5/5
Choreography
In the actual MV, we only see a small part of the choreography at the end of the video, but it fits well with the song and it made me genuinely excited to see a live performance of this song.
Also in the MV, there was the occasional bit of sensual dancing from CL and Minzy, but this isn’t part of the official choreography. It wouldn’t really matter if it was though as this is something we’re very used to in videos here in the UK. It is nothing that would make us uncomfortable, in fact, compared to what is usually shown to us, this is very tame.
When you watch the live performance of this song and see the choreography in its entirety, the dance has incredibly sexy elements and they even use scarves as props. With these two factors combined, at times it seems like a seduction dance, but it never fails to be powerful and commanding. It flows really well and the scarves add a really interesting visual throughout the routine. Perhaps a bit more intricate than we’re used to, as here in the UK backup dancers tend to be just that, whereas in K-pop and this dance routine they are more prominent and perhaps a little distracting.
UK Potential: 4/5
Song
‘I Love You’ is a solid dance track with 2NE1’s signature and unique sound, and it has also been described as ‘trot’-integrated electronic pop song’. A distinctive and awesome beat starts off and carries on throughout the song, which has an intense and fantastic sound with a real sexy edge that just makes you want to move.
When the song starts to get too intense (beat wise, as it builds up and gets heavier) it cuts away and switches to a slightly different tempo. This could be jarring to listen to but instead just adds layers and depth to this song; the slightly more minimalistic parts of the song create a real sense of longing, even though we don’t quite understand what’s being said and kind of backs up how lonely they seem at times in the video.
I was really glad to find that there is a really good division of song parts between the members in this song. At times Dara can be sidelined and only given a few lines per song as her sweeter-in-comparison vocals don’t quite fit with the tone of the track, so I was happy to see that she had been given a bigger part this time around. I did find it a little odd that despite Bom being the lead vocal, CL is still given the large note during the song. CL has an amazing voice and pulls the note off to perfection, but I was still disappointed that as lead vocal, Bom got a little sidelined.
The English used in this track is impeccable, as usual, the fact that CL’s opening monologue is in perfect, accent-less English would act as an amazing buffer for non-K-pop fans. ‘When you feel like there’s no way out, love is the only way’, this might help them get past the language barrier as her English is good and also gives a clue as to what the song is about . They use a variety of one-off words and phrases throughout the song, but mostly they are part of CL’s lines; ‘I say yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah’, ‘We can’t go wrong, bring it back’ and ‘I love you every day, don’t get away, take me away’. Clearly CL has the best grasp of the English language in the group, but it would still be beneficial for all the members to have equal English lines in the song; it would be an indication to UK listeners that they are all somewhat proficient in English and as such people might not be so put off listening to their music.
There isn’t much (if any) auto-tuning or anything like that in the song which will help showcase their singing capabilities; this might not matter to some people when listening to music, but if this song was used to break into the UK of course it’s advisable to strongly demonstrate their talent and capabilities. Considering some people would try to write them off because of being Korean, this song could help prove their considerable talent and why they deserve to be where they are.
UK Potential: 5/5
Highlight: Undoubtedly in love with the lighthouse scene from the MV. Definitely never seen something like that before, and it’s such a wonderful thought that she could be singing and waiting for her love to return. I’m not a romantic, but even I think that’s a beautiful image.
Overall UK Potential: 14/15 – This is beyond a doubt the highest score I have given a song, but ‘I Love You’ has all the right ingredients to make it popular in the UK, not to forget that it has already been played on BBC Radio 1! With 2NE1’s powerful image, unforgettable style and ability to speak English well, they have the most potential to break into the UK market successfully than any other K-pop group. Plus, everything is just so right about this song…I really think that it would appeal to a lot of people.
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What do you think of this song and video? Do you agree with our review? Let us know in the comments.
