Wanna Be my Baby? - Wonder Girls 'Be My Baby' PV Request Review

All thoughts are totally my own... like, totally.

This is late... very late. But I'm doing it, because I said I would finish these, and damnit I will! Weirdly enough though, I told myself that I would do a review for my Request Chronicles at the start of my half term holidays, and now I am back in college... I seriously suck at dedication and time management!

I'm really sorry that it took so long! Anyway, here we go!

So before I start trying to apologise all over again, this is the last request from Shayna's list of K-pop artists that she wanted me to listen to. The list she gave me actually included songs from the group After School, but even before she listed a few songs to listen to (one including the fabulous AOA's Get Out), she included ANYTHING BY THE WONDER GIRLS!!! and after viewing After School's songs that had been listed (Shampoo and Flashback) I realised that I was not interested...

So I decided to look at the group Wonder Girls to see what they had, and if I would be interested in anything. I did find something, and surprisingly it was the first video I clicked on when looking, but I was a bit surprised that I had taken to this song so quickly. It isn't the most striking video I have ever seen, and it lacks a lot of colour, but I guess that's what makes it charming to me... it stands out inaa different way. Also, the song is pretty catchy and out of the other Wonder Girls MV's and songs I had heard, this song stuck out to me the most. Hence why I decided that this would be the 'Request' review that I looked at... it's kind of a request, right?

The song and video that I am talking about is Be My Baby by Wonder Girls.

So first things first: I found this video by just typing Wonder Girls into the youtube search engine, and this was one of the video's that popped up. The video was released in 2011 and is a part of Wonder Girls' second album, Wonder World. When I first watched this video, I was immediately hooked, and I think that it has to do with the fact that it uses the monochrome effect more than anything, though some people might find that a little boring.

I actually find it really interesting and it reminds me of a black and white movie, though there are pops of colours here and there in the video.

Another thing that made me like the video was that it had a bit of an old-fashioned quality to its look, mostly in the scene with the light-up staircase. It also had a lot of familiarity to it for me, because the first time I watched this I could not help but be reminded of Girls Aloud's music video for their song The Promise.

Okay, so they aren't strikingly similar, but when I watched it I just felt that they had the same style in how it was filmed and the 'era' that they were portraying; I felt strongly that Be My Baby reminded me of The Promise, and I have a feeling that is another reason why I seemed to take to this song by the Wonder Girls so much, because it felt familiar.

... Even if I never initially liked The Promise that much.

But other than the similar feel of those scenes, the rest of the video of Be My Baby is vastly different thanks to the use of different sets. The sets used in this include the girls on light-up stairs, a white room and a room with a platform. There is also a good amount of well-edited shots that give more variety to the video, though that's pretty much it, because other than the scene changes and the different camera angles used, the rest of the video is basically a dance shot.

We just get a good amount of variety when it comes to how the video is edited and shot, though I don't mind this; the video isn't exactly lost without a solo close-up, though it would have helped me to get a good look at each girls' faces better if they didn't move so much. It's not a huge problem though; I actually like how this video is edited. It looks very clean and professional, so having no stand alone close-up shots is fine.

One of the things that really caught my eye with this video though was the use of selective/spot colour; whilst the rest of the video keeps its monochrome feel, there are parts where certain spots of colour are used to brighten it up a little. Though the colour isn't much, it certainly stands out and adds a great effect to the video. It's interesting to see, and I think that the choice to use it was a good choice because it makes certain scenes stand out more.

That, and it works well with the monochrome effect. I especially like the pink, it looks very vibrant in the scenes and makes certain girls recognisable.

This video also has some pretty snazzy editing. I love that it is cut to the beat; it works so effectively and just looks awesome.

There are also some solo dance shots added into the video, and whilst I don't understand why, I think that it works well with the video, especially when the lights go on and off the way they do in this video. It adds a cool effect, and for some reason reminds me of something that Beyonce might do. I don't know if it's Beyonce or not... I tend to ignore English music.

But regardless, it works, especially with the shadows.

The video is pretty simple, but I really enjoyed watching it. I like that the variety is used in the shots and the sets rather than how many costumes they can cram the girls in or the varying close-up shots. The way that certain things were done, such as the lights flickering between on and off to create the silhouettes of the girls and the use of selecting colours to stand out against the monochrome filter, made this video visually appealing and fun to watch. Okay, so it was one giant dance shot, but I loved the amount of variety it has; the shots were done nicely, everything looks clean and the editing is amazing. I love that they cut to the beat and how the overall finish of the video worked with the song.

Which is pretty damn awesome, by the way.

I like Be My Baby, though I do have an issue with one of the singers, but let me praise the song first because it is really good in my opinion. It's like a mix between vintage, old-fashioned music that I would hear from the Grease-esque era and Kpop. It's catchy and upbeat, but it still sounds quite cool. I also love the repetitive beats and words used in the song; it makes it easier to sing along to.

The girls (bar one) all sound fantastic in this too... until you get to the girl who opens up the song and sings the 'rap' part, or whatever it is. I don't know why, but her voice is a major turn off for me in this song. She sounds bored and her voice sticks out like a sore thumb, but luckily the song is saved by the catchy chorus and the fun beat, so thank goodness for that. Also, I am thankful that she doesn't sing too much in this... or it would put me off the song completely, I think. Other than that though, I do enjoy this song and have yet to get bored of it! It's pretty darned good!

So yeah, Be My Baby is good. I like the video and the song, and whilst it may be pretty basic and very simple in how it is filmed and in the choreography too (yes, it's so simple, but dang it is cute!) I do think that this is a really good MV. It works for the song and fits well with it. The sound and the monochrome effect make it look so much more old fashioned and for me that is really appealing. I think that it looks good... but I don't think that this is enough to get me into the Wonder Girls really. I may like it, but this is no Get Out.

It's good, but it ain't that good.

Anyway, thats the final review for Shayna's requests! I wonder what's next?


Make me your laydeh~

Chiima~

PING!!! Idolminded Recommended Reading: April 17th, 2013