Today we’re going to take a look at 4Minute’s super cool comeback track, What’s Your Name.
Concept
What’s Your Name sees 4Minute going back to a more eclectic and vibrant concept that they have been well known for in the past, such as their track Hot Issue. Everything about this concept, from the sound of the song to the outfits worn and even the choreography, is flirty and a little edgy – considering most of the chorus consists of asking for someone’s name and number!
Neon colours are quite prevalent in this video, and they are integrated into the sets as well as one of the main styles of outfits. This fits in well with the fun feel of the concept and is just plain visually awesome. Most of the outfits combine the neon colours with bold, bright prints and metal accents, and this ends up giving an edgy street vibe. At first glance, the styling’s a little outrageous, but it works so well. Plus, neon clothing is one of the high street trends right now; it’s something a lot of Western artists, such as Nicki Minaj, wear in music videos too. Another bonus is that some of the outfits look like they could have come straight out of Top Shop, which would undoubtedly appeal to many potential female viewers as they would be able to emulate the style relatively easily.
The MV itself seems to be nothing unusual for the most part, very similar to most other MVs in that the group is dancing in a few different locations. This music video takes an unusual turn though, as the storyline seems pretty self explanatory with 4Minute leaving what seems to be their house to go out on the street and mingle, and then get hit on by various people. It’s all pretty normal until they return back to the original room and go about their business until Ji Yoon sees on the news that, well, zombies seem to now be roaming the streets. All of a sudden these zombies are invading their room and 4Minute seem to be in danger. Then the zombies become their back-up dancers. There is no dance break like a normal MV, but instead they have a zombie attack break. It’s actually pretty sinister considering it’s so unexpected and doesn’t really seem to make sense in the slightest. It’s kind of cool and different, and I briefly wondered whether the zombies were supposed to symbolise anti-fans and haters, but maybe I’m just reaching for a reason.
I think a neon ‘zombie apocalypse’ is edgy, eye-catching and nothing if not memorable, so if this was officially released in the UK, it would probably be quite popular!
UK Potential: 4/5
Choreography
What’s Your Name has a fun and slightly sexy dance routine that despite containing relatively simple dance steps, it is by no means plain. The dances for kpop songs in general seem to be getting bigger and more complicated as time goes on, so it’s quite refreshing that there aren’t really any massively complex parts to this choreography. The dance matches the sound of the song very well, and it really seems like the members are having a lot of fun with the choreography.
The main dance point of this routine is during the chorus of the song; there’s a cute shoulder shuffle, but at this time they mostly stand on the spot and extend their legs and arms out in time with the music, and even make the hand sign for a mobile phone. This fits in very well with the song seeing as at this point in the lyrics, they are asking for someone’s phone number.
Another quite focal part of the routine seems to see the members bending over quite a lot, and unfortunately with HyunA’s fairly revealing outfit, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are made to revise this part of the dance soon to be able to keep promoting What’s Your Name on music shows.
I think the routine being simple and a little sexy makes it easy to enjoy for a wide variety of people, and it means that some of the dance steps would be easily replicated. It also allows potential viewers of the MV to concentrate better on the concept of the video rather than trying to keep up with intense choreography.
UK Potential: 4/5
Song
What’s Your Name is a very catchy and cool song, and with its minimalistic electro-pop sound, this will make an excellent summer jam! You hear a lot of sound effects throughout the song, such as smashing glass, sirens and even dogs barking. My personal favourite of the effects that you can hear throughout the song are the video game sounds, which works very well and gives the track an edgy feel to it.
The English used in What’s Your Name is fairly basic, and I was pleasantly surprised that from what I can tell, it’s all pretty much correct. (I only say this because I often find songs coming from Cube Entertainment can often contain some dodgy Engrish) The English phrases are mostly used during the chorus, such as; ‘What’s your name’, ‘What do you like’ and ‘You know my name’. This English is repeated pretty often which would work well if they wanted to release this song here in the UK, as potentials listeners would have plenty of chances to sing along.
HyunA’s edgy sounding rap alongside the vocals provided by the other members combines well to add to the cool vibe of this song, and I think it has the kind of sound that would appeal to quite a lot of people.
UK Potential: 3.5/5
Highlight: When So Hyun tries to use a hairdryer to fend off zombies!
Overall UK potential: 11.5/15 – This is a pretty good rating, but with an unusual video, cool dancing, and an overall edgy sound, What’s Your Name would probably appeal to most people who are into the UK Top 40.
It’s just one of those songs that’s fun and enjoyable; it’s got a flirty concept, sexy dance moves and very memorable English. Trifecta!
(And if nothing else, you have to be a little impressed that Perez Hilton has blogged about this track)
What do you guys think of this song? Let us know!
