Skip to main content

Girls of the Year by VCHA

 Last week JYP and Republic Records’ American k-pop group from the survival show A2K finally debuted with the single, “Girls of the Year.” The single is accompanied by a second track, “Xo, Call Me.” So, what has VICHA brought to the table with this debut?

 “Girls of the Year” is a high energy, fun and bouncy song. Similar to the group's pre-debut releases, this single is about chasing dreams without any fear. Though the song would put anyone in a good mood with its happy beat, I also found it to be a bit cheesy. While I don't have anything against chasing dreams and singing about it, especially when it's clear that the girls have worked so hard for this dream, I can't help but feel that the song is somewhat generic. It seems as if VCHA is only singing about their motivation for the future, and not necessarily the reason for it. Personally, I would love to see the group diving further below the surface level of the emotions their songs express. This is especially true in the rap verses. With the talent present in the group, there's potential for really great rap verses, but in my opinion the rap in “Girls of the Year” really isn't all that it could be. This isn't to say that the group lacks anything in talent. For all my complaints, the layers of vocals in the chorus and bridge are amazing. The music video is also special, showing VCHA practicing their choreography and then performing it on stage. The scene is peppy and fun, the color scheme perfect. There's also a scene towards the end of the video where Camila is in the crowd, watching herself perform on stage and seeing how far she's come. This is a beautiful symbol of the group’s growth.

 “Xo, Call Me” is VCHA’s first song that hasn't been about confidence, motivation, or dreams. Instead, this song is about meeting someone who you want to stay with, who you can't leave without telling them to call you. In some ways, this seems more generic than anything else, and yet the song feels unique and special. The beat sounds halting, a bit hard to get used to at first, but very enjoyable to listen to. “Xo, Call Me” also contains a rap that I genuinely enjoyed listening to. 

 In my opinion, VCHA is an incredibly talented group.Though a few aspects of their debut weren't to my personal taste, the songs are genuinely very well-done, and I'm excited to see what else we get from VCHA in the future!

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fe304: BREAK by NMIXX

  Don't we all love a good motivational song about running towards your dreams? I know I do, and NMIXX’s latest album, Fe304: BREAK, offers just that. This album is the first in a new chapter of NMIXX's discography, named after the chemical formula for black iron oxide (Fe3O4). Interestingly, this compound is often used to resist corrosion, which seems to be in contrast to the album’s title: BREAK. It becomes clear throughout the album, however, that NMIXX’s goal is to break down the walls holding them back without becoming corroded themselves.  The first song on the album as well as the title track, “Dash” sounds funky and sassy, as one would expect from NMIXX. The pop song is a bit repetitive throughout the chorus and might be an acquired taste for some, but it's certainly a fun and unique listening experience. This song is about running forward no matter what, ignoring “red lights” and anything else in the way. Difficulties are acknowledged within the lyrics, “Quivering ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Screw Loose by Hannah Grae

 I can’t be the only person who wrote dramatic poems recording my confusing feelings as a new teenager trying to figure out the world. I couldn’t have been the only one wondering “Am I insane?” when I hit fourteen. Sometimes I still wonder the same thing, and I’m sure some of you do, too. I don’t know if Welsh singer-songwriter Hannah Grae ever wrote the type of poems that I did when she was younger, but her newest release reminds me of those same emotions. A quick glance at the lyrics proves that “Screw Loose” is the perfect track to let out all of your inner angst to. Lines like “Nobody here seems to care, don't they see?/Am I the only one? Is it just me?” express loneliness and frustration. These feelings seem to drive Hannah to insanity through the chorus of the song, where she passionately sings, “Well, I think that I'm screw loose.” The content of the lyrics is both hurt and angry, however, a glimmer of hope appears in the second verse: “I'm hopin' I can turn all ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A2K

  "Come here." J. Y. Park utters the command with a slight hand gesture, and the girl on stage gasps and rushes to retrieve her pendant. Wearing the necklace, she goes to JYP's judging table and allows him to place a stone in one of its slots as inspiring music plays. This scene happened countless times throughout JYP Entertainment and Republic Records' collaborative survival show, A2K. Each time it did, viewers were watching a young girl coming one step closer to her dreams. A2K stands for America to Korea. The idea of the show was to take young singers and dancers from America and train them the same way k-pop idols train, in order to create an international girl group. The show was divided into several sections. First, there were six audition sites across the United States where multiple girls came to present a dance performance and a vocal performance. Of the many girls who audition, only the eleven were able to perform in front of JYP and move on to the LA boot c...
Post a Comment
Read more