BIGFLO – KPOPREVIEWED

BIGFLO is a group that has continually appeared on a number of ‘underrated artist’ list. And based on their comeback last year (Upside Down), they have crept onto mine. However, we haven’t heard much from the group since then. Until today, that is. Euijin, probably the most well-known member of the group (thanks to his participation on The Unit), released his first solo debut mini-album, titled E:motion. It features the title track and focus of today’s review, Insomnia.

To me, sudden starts are quite similar to sudden ends when it comes to music. Sometimes they work, sometimes they feel awkward. Insomnia falls under the ‘awkward category’. Euijin just launches right into the song without any introduction or tease, which really displaced my mind the first time around. A few listens after and it seems like I am slowly getting used to it. But we will have to see. I think that was my only major complaint about the track. Insomnia is a solid track that showcases Euijin’s vocals. I don’t remember complimenting Euijin for his vocals before. But based on his release, he has a decent set of lungs that must be underused if I don’t remember them. The instrumental was rather typical, which is a little disappointing. But its consistency works well, allowing for the showcase of his vocals (as I have already mentioned) and his dance performance, which I will comment on below. My favourite part of the song has to be the entire chorus package (pre-chorus, chorus and post-chorus). Just because they are the parts that stick in my mind.

Insomnia’s music video is typical. That would be the most ideal description I would give the video. There seems to be a tiny plotline in the midst of the video, where Euijin was originally dating his lover. She broke up with him, which left him heartbroken. Typical. The sets didn’t offer much. The camera work was not ideal. Everything just didn’t feel as neat and clean as it could have been. I felt like there was also too much focus on the ‘storyline’ that Euijin’s choreography shots were neglected, which shouldn’t be the case when it comes to someone who we all know has potential in that department (given his previous works).

I thought the performance was good. I did notice that he toned some of his moves down to allow for a live performance. There were a number of things that impressed me. First has to be the transition of how they introduced the female backup dancer. I thought was cool. Secondly, the moves with the female backup dancer looked pretty loaded with emotion. I also liked how the male backup dancers moved him from various places on stage. And the bittersweet ending was something different as well.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.3/10

Despite being around for approximately 4 years now, this is my first time reviewing BIGFLO. BIGFLO is a 5 member boy group (Euijin, Sungmin, Ron, Lex & Hightop) currently under Hyeyoom Entertainment. Some songs from the group include Deliah, Oblivate & Stardom. Due to their limited success, Euijin and Lex participated in The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project, where Euijin finished in second place and is also currently apart of UNB. Upside Down is their newest song. Despite already completing a full weeks worth of promotions, they only dropped the music video yesterday.

Upside Down starts off as your typical KPOP song. It didn’t really feel that captivating at first. However, as the song progressed, it started to become more appealing and interesting to my ears. The instrumental for this song falls within a funky retro domain, which ended up being one of my favourite components of the song. And yeah, while it did feel very ordinary for the most part, there were crashing sounds that came in at the right time to provide some crunch to the song and lead us into the next part of the song. The vocals were good but the rapping stole the show for me. It too gave some texture, which I really liked. I also liked that extra kick the rapping sequence at the end had, coming out of nowhere to end off the song. Overall, Upside Down was an awesome song that just needed some time to sit right with me.

Capitalising on Euijin’s newfound popularity from The Unit and UNB, he opens up the music video with a dance introduction. But that bears little relevance to the music video. From a non-Korean’s perspective, the video is a tad confusing, with the members being left alone and interacting with someone who just isn’t there. The lyrics provide some insight to why the guys are like this. They are trapped in a relationship where their partner basically constricts them. They want out (and very desperately, judging by some scenes) but end up finding themselves coming back, similar to Stockholm Syndrome in a sense. The music video is quite bare but it offers an interesting interpretation.

I enjoy things that blow my mind. The transition between Euijin’s introduction and the start of Upside Down’s actual performance was amazing. The rest of the performance looked awesome but I felt like they could have done something a little more to amaze the audience even more. But it was still worth watching.

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