Tag: B1A4

It has been a while since we have heard from B1A4. Their last comeback was in 2017 with Rollin’. Since that last comeback, the group mainly focused on solo activities domestically and in mid-2018, Jinyoung and Baro both chose not to resign with WM Entertainment at the conclusion of their contract and thus left the group. With this significant lineup change and the members are at the age for military enlistment (however only CNU has enlisted), I did not expect to hear from them so soon (or at all!). However, B1A4 has managed to defy all expectations and made their official comeback as a trio with Like A Movie and Origine today.

Like A Movie is a soft pop track, intended this way to make it feel like we are watching a silent movie. The song’s music at times do remind me of that iconic silent movie soundtrack that we hear quite often in popular culture. B1A4’s return with this soft track adds to their maturity and this feels right up their alley. If you cast your mind back to their early days, B1A4’s music was very bright and bubbly. Over the years to 2017, the group has definitely matured with this sound, meaning that Like A Movie fits into their discography portfolio very nicely. Rather than being a sad emotional song, which I felt is what B1A4 has been known to side with, Like A Movie expresses hopes for a happy ending, and it is a lot more brighter and hopeful with its sound. Made up of strings and piano, it is a nice soothing piece of music that gives a slight classical appeal of a musical. There are also some synths in the instrumental to help modernise the song a bit. As for their vocals, CNU, Sandeul and Gongchan each captivates and complements the soft style of the music. And everything together comes nicely to help create melodies get you to sway along to the music, which you know I really like in ballads and soft songs like this one. Overall, it is definitely an enjoyable and pleasant listen.

As mentioned above, the music video depicts the members falling in love. And given the title and description that indicates some linkage to the film industry, we see it all play out in various movie settings. Some of these settings present storylines that provide a problem for the characters to solve so that they can be together. For CNU, his street scene depicts an action movie (I am guessing), where he has to encounter a few hurdles to get to this lover. Gongchan is in a romantic movie to two lover in a building and find a way to communicate one another (as they are separated by a single lift). Sandeul has a part in a zombie movie, with his lover coming to save him after he sacrfice himself for her. I thought it was a nice video to watch over. I see that WM Entertainment is heavily using green screens for this music video. So far, it is looking good. But hopefully it doesn’t become too much of a permanent fixture.

I wondered with such a soft pop song, how the members would be able to showcase a captivating performance. Needless to say, B1A4 delivers in this aspect. It isn’t anything overly impressive or ground-breaking. But I liked how they break away and have their solo moments with the dancers. In addition to that, I liked how the moves match the musics. The moves are a lot graceful when it come to slower and softer parts of the song, while more dramatic and energetic when it came to the heavier parts of the song. A good mix overall.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10

B1A4 has made their return to the stage with their latest mini-album and title track, which are both titled as Rollin’. The group made their last comeback in December of last year with A Lie and since then, they have been going at solo promotions.

Rollin’ is a totally great song. It does take a few listens to get into but it easily turns into a song that I can rock out to. The song joins the long list of other tropical house based songs but mixes it with what is described as a ‘band sound’. And that is exactly what we get. The ‘band sound’ takes the song to a new level and I find that very interesting. My favourite parts were the crashing of the cymbals, which gives the song that extra burst of energy. The buildup to the chorus and the drop into the chorus was definitely the best bits of the song. The song, overall, is quite catchy and as mentioned previously, addictive. The “Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’ in the deep” gets stuck in your head quite easily and is incredibly hard to shake off. Vocally, I am on the fence. They sound good but I am not exactly sure if that is would be the right word to describe their vocals. Overall, if you want a song that packs a punch, then this is the song for you.

Apparently, they shot the video in Australia and I have to admit, I want to live wherever they shot the video. Look at the clear blue skies and the sun! But where I live, the sky (until just a few days ago) was very gloomy and dark. The cinematography in this video is pretty good, especially how the camera circles around the members during various sections of the video. The shot where they are jamming out to the song looks a little awkward. But overall, the video is quite good and compliments the song quite nicely.

[Updated] The choreography seemed fitting but I thought it lacked quite a bit. They could have gone down a more impressive route for the performance, given the song style. I liked how they let CNU and Sanduel have their solo moments during the beat drops.

Song –  9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance –  7/10 [Updated]
Overall Rating – 9/10 [Updated]

B1A4 made their comeback with their 3rd full album on the 28th of November (2016). The title track for the album is A Lie. This is the group’s first comeback since their Sweet Girl comeback in 2015. The group has focused predominately on solo work in 2016. Sandeul made his solo debut with Stay As You Are. Jinyoung and Baro focused on acting, with Jinyoung also producing on the side. CNU has performed on stage in musicals and Gongchan has filmed variety shows (Wikipedia, 2017).

A Lie is a pretty good song to listen to. It is a unique song and I can’t really describe it in words. Think of a pop song with very strong ballad influence. The song isn’t upbeat or anything, but much slower and melodic. The acoustics in the song is also something that shines very brightly. The vocal work in this song is also amazing. All of the members shone in the song. Even the rapping was made to fit the song quite nicely as well. While the song’s verses were quite slow at the start, each verse ended up having a really great buildup to the chorus. However, the song should have had more of a hook to it, to make it even better. The song was good while it was promoted because the song was there being played. But honestly, the song is not that memorable. I did forget about the song after the promotions ended and haven’t been listening to it lately (A good song is one that makes you go back to it – at least that is what I think). While all the other elements were pretty good, the impact the song made was quite minimal, unfortunately.

The music video was a little on the boring side, but the ending was really good. The video was very fitting for the lyrics of the song. A couple shares happy memories together, but when it comes to arguments, the guys said harsh things to the girl. Which lead to her packing her bags and the guys feeling regret for telling her to leave during those moments. The video depicts just that, however, without the moments where they scream or form that “crack in the relationship”. I personally think it would have been a lot clearer if those moments were shown. Because one moment she is having fun and other moments have her feeling sad and packing her bags. That transition would have made more sense (unless I skimmed the video too quickly and missed those parts). The ending was probably the best when Jinyoung had to come to terms with his partner leaving him. The effects of the paintings disappearing (since she was the one that painted) looked really cool and that one scene added a lot of meaning to the video.

The dance is okay. Not impressive but still very fitting for the slower tempo song. I did like those small sections of build up, particularly CNU’s part in the second verse. Where each group did the same movements at separate times (you probably have to see it to understand what I am getting at). It looked really cool!

Rating – 6.5/10

Jingle Bells Jingle Bells…. Christmas is really taking a toll on me. Too many sleigh bells ringing and Ho Ho Ho’s heheheh… I am only joking, but it seems like B1A4 has jumped on the Christmas song bandwagon with their very first Christmas Single. And it is a pretty good song. Just there were some things that I was kind of iffy on. For example, B1A4’s English isn’t that great. I mistook “I just want to be your good friend” as “I just want to be your girl friend”. Their voices were very husky in this song and I liked it. Honestly, it is the only Christmas song so far that is quite upbeat and it really brings the “cheer” and joy to the table. I, for some reason, have this big smile on my face when I listen to the song. Some of the vocals in the verses could have been a little louder, but beside it is a pretty much solid track. The rapping by Baro is also pretty good. I know he isn’t an underground rapper and whatnot, but sometimes he has pretty good raps. Upbeat Christmas track that I would be playing for the next week? This is it.

And then I realized that there is no music video to this song. Nor is there any performance. Song wise, since it the only thing I can review it on, 7/10. 

Another group has returned for the Summer. B1A4 last promoted in South Korea last year in the Summer with Solo Day. Since then, they released songs in Japan and Sandeul (in particular) has been prominent in the variety field. Sandeul has recently garnered a lot of popularity over his voice (why has this only just started?). Both Jinyoung and Baro have been acting. CNU has doved into the world of musicals and Gongchan is currently an MC for a South Korean/International-embracing show (I don’t know what the show is called). They are also due to be performing in this own concert after promotions for Sweet Girl ends.

This comeback is very chilled in my opinion. I really like the laid back feel that this song delivers to you. It is powerful in its own way, but it doesn’t necessarily hits you. I think this is quite a nice song that channels that retro sound that KPOP has been going for in a few releases. It reminds me of songs that were so long ago, I don’t even remember the artists or the actual song titles. But I am 100% that there is a song that gives off the same feel. Their vocals compliment the subtle instrumental. As I said, the song isn’t powerful in a sense that it makes me go “Woah”, but more like a relaxing sigh. The rapping fitted in very well. The insturmental itself is everything I could ask for. The orchestra sounds and a pretty nice band sound as well. I honestly should have said that all the elements that make up the song come together very well and compliment each other. Nice song.

As for the music video, I don’t necessary hate it. I just feel like the video feels disconnected from the many parts. Like each member gets their own scenario and all, but the scenarios don’t really join well with each other. Baro’s is all in the dark realm and mysterious and Sanduel is eating fairy floss? There is a direct mismatch. I honestly thought the video could have gone for a more classy feel, like the live jazz singers in a bar type of concept.  And don’t get me started on the acting. I know Baro can act. But that small part of hesitation when he opens the door to the blinding light, I was like “Noooo… WHY????”. It made me cringe on badly.

The dance for the song is pretty good. It does look a little awkward. They went for a more sexy concept while still maintaining their style, which I like a lot. It just the “feeling the legs” and all don’t really fit in well with what I had associated them to. I think I am not that used to this style for them.  On top of that, their expressions, they are just on the line of sadness and boredom to me.

Overall, it was a nice comeback. Song was amazing. Dance was too. Music video wasn’t so much. 7/10.

There is one song that I am going to put down here. But 10 Years (from this mini album) was probably my favourite song from this whole comeback. Check it out here!!!