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Friday, July 4, 2014

[MV Review] Tiny-G "Ice Baby"

a.k.a. "When bad things happen to good songs"




WARNING: Big photos, gifs, and bitterness ahead


Tiny-G's "Ice Baby" sparks a special rage in me. I enjoyed the group's previous song, "Miss You," and was looking forward to this latest release. Sure, they lost a member in the interim, but that's kpop. It happens.

Overall, "Ice Baby" is a sweet R&B song about a relationship experiencing a sudden chill.


Why you gotta be so cold, Boy?*


I like the chorus. I like the verses. I can even forgive the song's non-ironic use of the phrase "Ice, ice baby." Then the rapping starts.

Why, why did someone think it was a good idea to include an unnecessary rap not once, but twice in this otherwise pleasant song? I've said it before, and I know I'll say it again, but 95 percent of kpop raps are superfluous and do nothing but bring the song down. Their inclusion usually stems from at least one of two reasons: 1. A mistaken notion that since raps have been present in a majority of kpop releases in the past few years, people must like them, and 2. Because not all group members can sing well, so they've got to have something to do, right?


Sure, your dancing's great, Mint. But with only three members now,
we can't just rely on your dancing to fill up all that screen time.


Both of those reasons seem to factor in with this song. I realize they've got to give Mint something to do to keep her place in the group. But forced, terrible rapping can't be the only option.

If a member can't sing, have him or her dance. If he or she can neither dance or sing or just dancing ain't gonna cut it, honestly, that's fine — just as long as you don't label them a rapper solely because of that. Teach the member a skill. I'd much rather watch a video where one of the members was just painting a portrait in the background than listen to another painfully forced kpop rap.

There are plenty of options: miming, shooting baskets, target practice (an option I'd love Sistar's company to explore. Just have Bora shoot arrows in the background the entire MV. No raps, just arrows.). The possibilities are limitless.


Now wouldn't you prefer the next Sistar video have Bora do this
instead of another terrible rap? I would.


The video's concept gives me a headache, too. It's like someone heard "kpop" and translated that to stand for "Kindergarten pop."


The members play on the patio with all their favorite summertime toys, 
like their bike — with training wheels.


The dances and most of the outfits seem like they were intended to make the group look 5 years old. The MV's dominated by giant bows, lace, and skip dances with little respite.


I'm against high-waisted jean shorts like any sane person, but these looks are still 100% better than the jammie bottoms and white lace numbers they've got on the rest of this video.


The only way the group could be more infantilized would be to put them in actual cribs. I guess we'll have to wait for their next release for that.

The "Ice Baby" video had nothing going for it. Even the song's signature "brrr, it's cold in here" dance was laughable.




Don't even get me started on these pillow+rug eggs. They're the most interesting part of this video, and I still hate them.




Oh no, and now they're dancing with the yolks.


BOTTOM LINE: Obnoxious concept and superfluous raps ruin an otherwise strong release.




* His sudden coldness surely has nothing to do with the fact that he's dating all three of them at once.

27 comments:

  1. What's the name of the short haired girl who kind of looks like Raina?

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    Replies
    1. I don't see the Raina similarity. I think Dohee's biggest strength is that she has her own unique look.

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  2. Dohee is cute. Mint is hot(looks better with short hair tho). 'Miss You' was better.

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  3. I want to touch Mint's stomach

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  4. This is why I despise J-Idols, their grubby cutesy crap sticks on everything.

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  5. whats up with mints real name? "Goonshipas Peonpaweevorakul กุญชีภัสส์ พรปวีณ์วรกุล"
    that's a mouthful

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  6. Wow, this song is a surprisingly nice release from an unknown group (aside from DoHee). I don't mind the raps that much but Mint's voice sounds too childish. The raps help liven up the song since it can sound too sweet/cloying if you remove her raps. Yeah, they probably could have done something else aside from rapping though in the song.

    LOL about Bora. They could try having her sing at least? I don't think I've ever heard her sing. It can't possibly be that bad when you have similar visual idols given a line at least. Even a Hyoyeon-sized part would be fine since her rapping just sounds like speaking and is forgettable.

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    Replies
    1. Bora has always been a favorite idol of mine, but her rapping is the worst I've heard in all of kpop. More Hyoyeon-sized singing parts would be a big improvement.

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  7. The best kpop song of the year (possibly of the decade), Dal Shabet's B.B.B., doesn't have any rap in it. Coincidence?

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    Replies
    1. BBB is easily one of the best kpop songs to date (but I'm also a sucker to those retro sounding discos), but honestly the song kinda falls off a bit later no?

      The first 30 seconds or so of the song is fucking awesome though

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    2. BBB is a wonder to behold. I was a little unsure about it at first (I think because it sounds so much like other songs), but now it's definitely my most-played song of the year.

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    3. Dal Shabet's Mr. Bang Bang was one of my favorite songs of 2012 and it didn't have a rap section in it either. However, in Dal Shabet's Have, Don't Have, Gaeun's rap part was the most interesting part of the song.

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    4. BBB does has a rap part but it is done in a semi singing way by Gaeun so it was hardly noticeable.

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  8. I fapped to this and now I can't fly out of country, wtf?

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  9. Those fried egg things make me hungry. Yum.

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  10. all agencies should pull an sm and not give the main dancer any lines until they fucking learn to sing. taemin is doing so well for himself now

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  11. That's weird because Mint has sung before...

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  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. Hmmmm, I thought the rap was actually pretty fitting in this song, which is hard to say considering this is a kpop song and that's rarely the case. Though I agree, the "little" girl concept with the baby doll pjs, pig tails, training wheels and all that shit has got to go. The song was ok, nothing special but what else is new, and the mv was meh. I'd give the whole thing a 7/10 because of the boring r&b concept, cry.

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  14. Can't wait to visit Korea....i always loved Kpop and thanks to flysky.ro I will be going there this year :)

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  15. Am I the only who thinks that the rap was awesome? It fits totally in the song and Mint has that refreshing and cool way to rap without making cute and annoying accent. The song needed a rap and that's it. I love the song and I looove the rap too!

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