Kpop has a lot of different concepts and really, no one can count all the concepts that have
been released.
With such a large number of comebacks each year, many concepts of different groups are
often repeated and people will feel like they have seen the same concept a few times already.
However, the concepts that I’m about to mention are indeed on the next level, and
highly appreciated by both netizens and critics.
1.
Red Velvet’s Feel My Rhythm - inspired by Classical music and Art
Despite having been in the industry for eight years, never once had Red Velvet failed to
leave people in awe with every comeback as the girls always change up the image and try
out new concepts.
Still, the most interesting thing about Red Velvet is that, while they will follow either
the “red” or “velvet” theme for each comeback, they always manage to bring out
new aspects and simultaneously remain grounded to the main concept, keeping not only fans
but both the public and the critics curious about what is about to come.
This is also exactly what has just happened when Red Velvet came back with Feel My Rhythm.
In fact, the girls had already had the heart of everyone right at the teaser release because
of the unique “music box doll” concept, aka the theme that is rarely chosen by K-Pop
acts because of the sophistication and exhaustive budget required to perfectly portray the story.
However, the real bomb was only dropped when Red Velvet released the MV for Feel My Rhythm
because not only fans and netizens but even critics, from vocal coaches, film makers to
even art historians, also had to send the group a standing ovation considering the perfection
of the track.
Rhythm-wise, the group had taken everyone off guard when sampling the parts of the song
on Air on the G String, August Wilhelmj's 1871 arrangement of the second movement of
the famous piece Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 by Johann Sebastian Bach.
By this, the group had wisely set a timeless and elegant undertone for the song, which
also harmoniously balanced out the mysterious and extremely modern beat running for the
rest of the track.
Then for the visuals; maybe you’re wondering why on Earth art historians want to react
to an MV of a K-Pop act but well…this time they should really do so and this is another
reason why the concept for this comeback of Red Velvet was just chef kiss.
Instead of making the MV stand out with a range of outstanding visuals but without meaning,
SM Entertainment had helped Red Velvet highlight their classy spirit through the feature of
various famous art work throughout Feel My Rhythm.
Opening the video was the scene of Seulgi that bore a strong reference to the famous
painting Curiosity by Eugene De Blaas, then that of Irene was an implicit relation to
The Swing by Fragonard, Joy’s was a direct callback to Ophelia by Sir John Everett Milais
while the pose of Wendy and Yeri was a perfect adaptation of John William Waterhouse’s
Nymphs Finding the Head of Orpheus.
Basically, the whole MV was an art museum so I will stop the naming here as it will
take a whole day.
However, I still bring it out to show y’all why art historians had spent time reacting
to Feel My Rhythm because the MV was also a piece of art to be admired itself.
About the reactions of netizens, most admitted that they got goosebumps while listening to
the song.
Some also said Feel My Rhythm would be their go-to-song to lift up the mood on the way
to work and with all those compliments, it was also nothing much of a surprise to see
the song quickly climb to top 2 Melon.
2.
(G)-IDLE’s Tomboy - inspired by punk-rock
Talking of Melon chart, of course no one can miss out on the latest comeback of (G)-IDLE,
TOMBOY, as not only the song was additive but the overall concept about the girls’
living by their own rules through the creative portray using punky Barbie dolls versus the
ideal model Ken doll was also something worth the one-year waiting.
Despite being very much different from Red Velvet’s approach for the latest comeback,
(G)-IDLE still caught all attention as they topped more charts including the pickiest
one, Melon.
The thing that probably netizens, and especially antifans, didn’t see coming was that, instead
of opting for a soft ballad song to express the gratitude toward loyal fans who still
stay with them after a year of scandals, (G)-IDLE came back stronger than ever with a rock-inspired
song, which was also the concept rarely chosen by K-Pop groups and only regularly seen at
K-Pop bands.
However, rather than filling the song with eye-punching sounds and the chaotic visuals,
TOMBOY was harmonized with a touch of the K-Pop vibe and the sweet yet rebellious Barbie
dolls.
However, the genre was just part of the reason making the concept for this comeback unique
because meaning-wise, (G)-IDLE also brought up a thing that barely any big groups dared
to convey through their music – the strong determination to live by their rules that
included going against the society’s prejudices toward an idol.
Besides using many explicit images to send the “tomboy” message to everyone, (G)-IDLE
also used lots of implicit references to increase curiosity and a sense of satisfaction when
figuring out their “Easter eggs.”
For example, the image of the Ken doll wasn’t a random choice but rather a considerate embodiment
of the ideal model created by society.
That also meant when the girls took Ken down, it was when they clearly declared a brutal
ending on anyone daring to threaten their identity and their Queendom.
The girls also showed a strong message to anti-fans that regardless of how hard they
tried to destroy (G)-IDLE, the group would still thrive, be unapologetically themselves
and never back down in front of life.
At first, this creative concept superficially seemed to be about a typical furious girl
taking revenge on her ex but thoroughly talked about the real meaning of girl empowerment
that left a lasting impression on netizens.
Literally right after the song was released, some had already seen it entering top 5 music
charts despite the picky punk-rock genre and the fact that (G)-IDLE has been away from
the industry for around one year.
3.
Taeyeon’s INVU - inspired by Greek mythology
While Taeyeon has been in the K-Pop industry for 14 years and working as a soloist for
7 years, never once has she failed to garner the attention for each comeback because of
the angelic vocal and the willingness to try out various concepts, including the the ancient
Greek god concept that has been used in her latest comeback INVU.
Actually the ancient Greek god concept has long been used in many promotions of K-Pop
idols but to use this theme like Taeyeon and turn it into a whole love story like in INVU
where gods would confront each other head to head just for an ordinary person is still
something very unique and refreshing.
Just talking about the way INVU expressed itself as a song, you can already see the
sophistication as besides following the easy-listening beat of the typical K-Pop genre and a house-based
pop dance track, Taeyeon also broke free from the frame to spend a fair amount of time on
showing off her amazing ad-lib skills as the song approached its ending.
However, the bigger reason helping this song win lots of trophies on music shows though
Taeyeon had a comeback at the same time with the monster rookie STAYC, the most invested
boy group of YG Entertainment – TREASURE, and the widely beloved group APINK, is still
the fact that INVU had an amazing storyline and the most visually pleasing videos.
Instead of using the theme to display herself as a god of power, which is a typical motif
in K-Pop MVs, the director of Taeyeon’s MV described INVU as a love story where Artemis
was in love with a hunter named Orion, but Apollo was displeased and shot Orion dead
with a bow.
So, Artemis made Orion into a constellation out of her scary anger but still lived unhappily
as she couldn’t bring her lover back.
Reacting to the song, many believed INVU was indeed The Song Of The Year though 2022 has
just started and according to many SONEs, being Taeyeon’s fan was a huge flex that
nothing could compare.
Some also said they didn’t expect the song to be that good because of the plagiarism
scandals Taeyeon faced for the Weekend promotion and the latest “mixed stew” approach of
SM in producing music but eventually, they fell for INVU hard.
4.
Hwasa’s María - inspired by God and Sacrifice
As Hwasa has always been displaying herself as the most confident woman, the fact that
she suddenly opted for a debut song about self-insecurity, how she used to let the hate
get to her soul, used to munch on all those malicious words and how desperate she used
to be shook everyone.
Of course Hwasa still got over that phase because if not, she wouldn’t have been there
with the massive hit María but netizens, and especially fans, were still taken aback.
What’s even more shocking and unique about this concept was that, despite confessing
to all the insecurities that people oppose on her, Hwasa still managed to sarcastically
show she is now immune to haters through many wise rhymes and Italian references that you
might never understand were you not a native Korean.
For example, after singing “I got too much cursing, I got an upset stomach,” Hwasa
was referring to the Korean idiom “eat insults,” implying she used to be so lost that she even
believed in the malicious comments of haters.
Then, after the lines “Everyone worked hard hating me” and “If you destroy me, do
I become food?,” Hwasa showed up her heart to say that she had given up to haters and
sacrificed her heart for the sake of a peace of mind.
However, the most unique point of the song was still how she used the sole word “María”
to simultaneously refer to many things and send a comforting message to herself.
Because of the homophones phenomenon in Korean, “María” was not only Batismal name of
Hwasa but also meant “words” and “You know what?”
That’s why for these two lines in the chorus, what Hwasa actually meant, “You know what,
María?
These are words for you,” implying that this whole song was the words of comfort to
remind her that she was already a gem rather than being some meaningless words with rhyme.
So, which of these chef kiss concepts is your most favorite and why so?
Comment down below to share your thoughts with us.
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