B.A.P are back with their fifth mini album Carnival, and its lead track Feel So Good.
Feel So Good is the polar opposite to previous release Young, Wild & Free. Their last single saw the members once again take on their bad boy style that founded their brand; with their visuals full of rich dark colours, and edgier fashion choices.
Feel So Good however sees the group in plenty of bright and pastel colours, their bad boy image traded in for stylish and mischievous boy-next-door vibes.
There’s a constant battle in kpop between the two kinds of visual amongst male groups – meaning it can be particularly hard to find a group with a consistent brand and image [only Block B comes to mind].
Despite not bringing a solid B.A.P brand to the table, Feel So Good certainly has many popular Kpop trends within its three and a half minutes.
Much like SHINee’s View, Feel So Good allows for the group to show off their fun loving side, whilst also acknowledging their growing maturity through their interest in the females in the video. By including no love line narrative; using subdued colours; and youthful style B.A.P are able to be presented as young and innocent. Given how long it feels they’ve be in the industry, and their emergence with a gang-like image, it’s easy to forget that B.A.P are at their oldest twenty five, and at their youngest just nineteen!
Here each member is able to take on a style that reflects their own style, and in some cases their age.
For example, Himchan, one of the two twenty-five year olds in the group, displays a slightly more refined, older style. Youngest member Zelo inexplicably has paint in his hair for most of the mv, the colour further expressing his youth and carefree nature. Rapper and eldest member Yongguk is able to express a strong hip hop style.
Though Badman probably still stands as the strongest music video concept to come from this unit, it is undeniable that B.A.P have more than one string to their bow. As they showed with Coffee Shop the group adapts to concepts much softer than their original brand with ease.
Feel So Good might lack a narrative; but it seems irrelevant. With a catchy track, impressive choreography, and the members having tonnes of fun; it is hard not to like the new B.A.P release.
