Review: 2Yoon - 24/7

It's the battle of the subunits!
There have been an ongoing trend to create subunits from a Kpop group. It seems everyone is doing it these days. The idea of subunits is quite brilliant, because it means that not only do the lesser known members in a group have a chance to shine, but they can also experiment with different sounds and the main group doesn't suffer backlash if the subunit doesn't deliver. However, unless you are already familiar with said group, it can get kind of confusing. Initially when I heard of 2Yoon, I thought it was a rookie group making their debut. Heck, I even thought Sistar19 was a rookie group until I saw Hyorin. It was an honest mistake, it's hard keeping track of all their names and faces when there are so many Kpop groups out there. And I'm ranting again. Right, let's just get to the review. =,=lll

                                  


Music Video
Before I get to any details, let me state the first thing I noticed in the video which made all my hair stand up in horror. The part where 2Yoon arrive at this cowboy town and look up at the huge sign above with the name of the town? When I glanced at it, I could have sworn it said "Organ Village"

 "Hey, do you hear someone screaming?"

Yes, I know it was my mistake and also some trick of the lighting and whatnot. By the way, this video has seriously lighting problems because apart from the annoying reflections of light and dust scattered all throughout the video, I have watched it over and over again and I still see "Organ Village". In fact, if it wasn't for the invitation card where the name of the town is printed out in big, bold letters, I would have really thought that this video was going to be a gory, horror clip that will haunt me for days.

Not to mention some parts of the video do nothing to discourage my gruesome imaginings. At the end of the video, it shows the girls job-hunting in their apartment when they answer the door in the middle of the night. First GG dates a stalker. Now 2Yoon doesn't know how to lock a door. Don't these idol girls have any sense of self-preservation? Also, you're Kpop idols for crying out loud. Why are you job-hunting when you're already celebrities? And how on earth are you going to find the time to be a journalist?

Anyway, they receive an anonymous invitation by a disembodied hand to go to some rundown village in the middle of nowhere where the folks there are unnaturally happy to see two complete strangers walk in and interrupt them in their daily work. I don't know about anyone else, but all of this just screams diabolical to me. Even the birds there aren't acting quite normally. (Warning: nerd alert) I mean, what kind of geese flies in two parallel straight lines?

"We can also form the letter N, for nightmares."

Now I could go on and on about how this is rightfully a horror flick and everyone in it are secretly zombies out for brains but that would take forever. Therefore I'm going to pretend that I didn't see the name for what it was and instead saw the "Dream Village".

Since this is one of the few music videos where the video is relevant to the song, I'm going to be talking about them in the same segment. I'm not sure whether I like the song or not, but it is definitely a fun song to sing and dance to. And the hook of the song is very different from the typical Kpop mold because it has a very strong rodeo theme. Also I love the whole "Boom, Clap, Boom B-Boom Clap" part. Catch phrases like this in a song never grows old for me. But the climax of the song where Ga Yoon goes "Woooaaaaaahhhhhh..." (Sorry, I can't exactly express it in writing) was really awkward. Sure, it showed off her impressive vocal range, but it didn't fit anywhere with the flow of the song. In my opinion, they should have just left it out.

The song talks about how people these days work all the time and are all gradually turning into zombies. That's why once in a while everyone just needs to take some time off and kick back and have fun. A lot of countries, including Korea, are known for their intense work ethics and many Asian countries have been criticized for being too obsessed with work and having old-fashioned ideas about what is acceptable and never thinking outside the box. So this song sends a pretty good message out there telling us to step outside our comfort zone and just go wild sometimes.

Even the music video shows the girls escaping their boring urban lifestyle to hang out in a cowboy village. They are soon put to work by over-enthusiastic farmers but they are clearly in over their head because they have to constantly stop to rest and wipe imaginary sweat from their forehead.

Eventually they give up on working completely, get out a radio and start dancing. After some hesitation, all the farmers but one joins in. So I guess this symbolizes how sometimes you have to say to hell with work and break into song and dance? Just don't make it a regular habit though, most people get a little freaked out when you start busting moves all of a sudden.

Dance 

The dance in this song has one of the simplest choreography I've seen in Kpop for a long time, full of old-fashioned hand-clapping and skipping around. But at the same time it is really fun and catchy, very much like the song itself. This is the kind of dance where the audience can easily follow and dance along to, as shown by the village folk who do exactly that. It's been a long time since Kpop has done that, kinda takes me back to the Nobody days.

 That's about as much as I can squeeze out for this segment. I mean, it's a really simple dance, just repeat, repeat, repeat, so there really isn't much to talk about it.

Fashion
There is a subtle boyish vs girly concept for the costume design. The long-haired Gayoon wore skirts teamed with baggy T-shirts and jeans throughout the video, while the short-haired Jiyoon wears pants and suspenders, but the outfit is feminized by adding flowers and a butterfly-patterned jacket. Also, I love the Mickey Mouse theme.

Normally I just talk about the fashion of the main characters which are the idols singing the song, however I cannot help but mention that other yellow-undershirt guy. I think his appearance was supposed to be a bit of a joke, but I can't for the life of me see anything remotely humorous about it. First of all, is his hair the result of his disastrous attempt at a cut and dye? Because I'm pretty sure hair doesn't grow like that, even if you hadn't seen a hairdresser or a comb for years. Second, is that an ear chain stuck in his nose? Aren't those things usually attached to an earring? Dude, that means you have a sharp metal pin jammed up your nose. How are you not weeping in agony??

 "Chicks dig the rugged look."