About a month after the release of their comeback track Falling In Love, 2NE1 are back again with the second song from their four month promotion plans, Do You Love Me.
Concept
Do You Love Me has quite a different MV concept than I’ve seen before, as the entire MV is self-filmed by the members, which gives it a unique and almost personal feel. It’s quite a simple yet interesting concept, as you see them spending time with each other and with friends, like you’re getting an insight into their life as they’re having fun and not taking anything too seriously. (I heard whispers that this was 2NE1’s first attempt at creating their own MV, and if that’s true then this is a real treat for fans!)
Unlike most MV’s, there is no dance routine in this MV or even any kind of storyline; it’s just shots of people having fun! Throughout the MV we see the members in various locations; at a pool party, on a beach, and in a bathroom among other places. No matter where they are, they are clearly having fun together as they are smiling and laughing while playing around. At many points throughout the video, you see 2NE1 holding up phones showing a video of their mouths singing along to the track, and they hold these up to cover the mouths of their friends around them. It makes it look like their friends are singing the song and it looks unusual and amusing; it adds to the fun and carefree feeling of the MV, as they’re fooling around with their friends.
The clothing and style worn has 2NE1 written all over it (coughJeremyScottcough), as they don bright patterns, gold jewellery, and absolutely nothing is toned down. Most of the outfits worn in the MV are definitely not typical MV clothes, which tend to be purposefully over the top like going out clothes, but for this MV most of the clothes are more like fun, stylish yet comfortable casual wear; sweat suits, oversized jumpers, etc.
Do You Love Me boasts a plethora of cameos from other Korean celebrities, such as Dara’s younger brother – Thunder from MBLAQ, Noh Hong Chul, other YG family members, and others. Aside from Noh Hong Chul, the majority of these cameos aren’t going to be recognisable to potential viewers, but this is definitely a treat for people who are already fans.
I think despite this video probably being most meaningful for fans considering the amount of interaction between the members, the pure and undeniable fun and lively feel of the MV would probably appeal to quite a lot of people, whether they are fans or not, because the girls are clearly having fun here and that is understandable and appealing no matter what language you speak.
UK Potential: 4/5
Choreography
There is no official choreography in the MV for Do You Love Me, but a video of a dance practice for this track was released the day before the official MV dropped and this routine will be seen in performances. The choreography matches very well to the fun and lively sound of the song, as the dance is playful and energetic. The routine is pretty cool looking, but some of the moves are quite a bit cuter than we usually see from the ever-charismatic 2NE1.
I think one of the most notable moves is one of their slightly cuter ones; they shuffle quickly forwards in a line while making cute gestures, before turning around and going back the other way. It’s quite unexpected but helps add to the overall fun vibe of the song, and it’s just cute enough that you can’t help but smile! I think that this is probably one of the most easily replicated moves, whereas the rest of them are quite energetic and visually complex.
UK Potential: 3.5/5
Song
Do You Love Me is a solid electro pop song that’s so relentlessly energetic and fun that it just makes you want to move. The beat is bouncy and lively, and yet the song still holds a true 2NE1 feel to it as the song has a touch of trendy 90’s house which gives it a charismatic edge.
The track contains a great mix of rapping and singing, and CL’s rapping skills combined with Bom and Minzy’s powerful vocals should impress many potential listeners, and Dara’s sweet voice levels them out wonderfully.
As per usual, the English used in this song was perfection. With three members who have very high level English skills, the fact that everything is pronounced well and makes sense is really no surprise. Some of the English used is ‘Do you love me?’ ‘Do you love me like the way I love you, babe?’, and ‘I say no’. The fact that there is quite a lot of English in this song (as the English phrases are repeated quite often), Do You Love Me would probably hold an instant appeal to potential listeners in the UK as there are parts of the song that they can sing along with easily. This will help make this track memorable and help people get more comfortable listening to music in another language.
Do You Love Me holds a lot of qualities and similarities to some of the music we hear in the charts here in the UK, and this track doesn’t sound a far cry from the kind of music that artists like Rihanna are releasing. As such, I can imagine this track appealing to people quite easily by sound alone, as it’s not that much different to what many people probably listen to already, and so hopefully people will be able to get past the language barrier more easily.
UK Potential: 5/5
Highlight: – It’s all one big 2NE1 party, and I want to know how to get an invite!
Overall UK Potential: 12.5/15 – I will always maintain that 2NE1 are probably the kpop band that would have the best chances of success if they were ever to promote here in the UK, and this is due to their excellent English skills, distinctive and edgy style, and even that their music tends to sound more western than other kpop bands. And considering that Do You Love Me has a similar sound to music that has been and currently is popular in the UK and the English is very good, I really can’t see why this song wouldn’t do well here!
What do you guys think? Haven’t watched the MV yet? Check it out below!
