So the new 2NE1 song dropped a few days ago. This time I decided to give myself some time to listen to it before writing up.
2NE1 have always been near the forefront of the "bolder girl group" movement. If there was a scale of girl group "boldness", with 1 being low and rather girly, and 10 being rather bold with hints of power, Dal Shabet would rate 2, SNSD would rate about 6, and 2NE1 at 9.
Naturally, being one of the fore-runners of this movement have led to immense pressure to live up to expectations, but fortunately, the girls (and YG entertainment) have always met them, leading to success.
As a result expectations are high with this new song, so it would be interesting to see if they are met.
Maybe the composers decided it was time to move on and try a new sound, given the positive response to the girls' attempts at songs outside their usual territory like "Lonely" and "It Hurts"
The song was definitely a break from the previous bass-electronic compositions of previous "lead singles", like "Fire", "Can't Nobody" and "I'm The Best", instead going for a guitar driven, pop-punk style sound, like that of Pink.
By all accounts, it works. The vocal processing is either minimal or very well done, allowing the voices to come aross very nicely and sound natural and "as is".
I also liked how the song built up into a chorus that was very anthemic and fine for singing along, whether at karaoke or at concerts. Going for an all-english chorus was a bold move that could backfire, but they pull it off with their english and the words flow nicely. Yay to another break from the "eheheheh" or "bambaratatata"!
The lyrics were about how a girl (or anybody) finds him/herself ugly and needs no consolation for the fact, instead wanting to let it out. Sounds negative, but well, life is not exactly always pleasant like in "happy land". Also the tune of the song has an almost cathartic feel to it, so it cancelled out. In the end the feeling I got was "Yeah I know and I am letting it out". Sort of like 4 minute anger therapy. Nice.
The video is however typical 2NE1, an affair that requires multiple viewings before understanding, and high on symbolism.
The first of them is how the girls are decked out in colour, a contrast to the dark cityscape they walk in. This probably serves as a link to the song, on how the girls are proud of their individual stand in a typical world.
Another one is how for the first time, they smash something but with purpose. In this case, it's the shop named "Beautiful". Could be viewed as being against beauty, but I would rather look at it as a stand against traditional ideas of beauty, that beauty could be in other forms.
And the final singing amidst fireworks and the "blaze of glory" is just a scene to show their boldness and make their final stand, encouraging the crowd and being a final release.
Conclusion:
With this song, 2NE1 have certainly shown another aspect to their development, being able to evolve with the music style they are presented with. The song is certainly another forward move in lyrical content, presenting a new side to what girl groups can do. And finally, the video. It strikes the right mix between symbolism, visual candy and story telling, to give off the desired effect.
The song might take a while to grow on the listener, especially for the non-fans, but it certainly rewards with its depth and dimension. In this case ugly is indeed the new beautiful.
Rating (Ugly -- 2NE1): 4.5
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