Miss A's "Independent Women Pt. III" Album Review

After the success of "Touch" earlier this year, the girls of Miss A are back with a new concept and image while still staying true to their style and selves.  This comeback has offered them the opportunity to expand on their strengths, making them better than ever.

"Independent Woman III" is a homage to the R&B girl groups of the late 90s to early 2000s, specifically Destiny's Child.  As a result, the album is influenced with light R&B elements, allowing the girls to display their voices.  While the choice to pinpoint Destiny's Child as the inspiration was not necessary, there was definitely no better girl group than Miss A to pull off the feminine yet strong, independent, and empowering image.

A more in depth look...

The album opens with the first plug "I Don't Need a Man", an upbeat song tinged with hip hop about how women can be independent and lead their own lives happily without a man.  The song is phenomenal with its positive message and lyrics and fun sound.  The lyrics don't just promote feminism and boast about how women don't need a man.  They're saying they're capable of driving themselves in life while being perfectly happy, and don't need to lean on their families for financial support either.  The song is very catchy, especially the chorus.  Min can also be heard rapping along with Jia too!  She once said in an interview that she can not rap, but it looks like she's proved herself wrong. It's nice to see Jia getting the opportunity to sing instead of judt rap more, and her distinctive voice fit the energy of the song well. As always, Fei sounded great, but underused.

The MV is K-Pop music videos at its visual best: fun and colorful, but not too over the top or random and doesn't take away from the song. All the girls looked amazing. Their outfits during the dance sequences were simple but stylish, and the styles each girl had for the MV were very fitting. The choreography doesn't look advanced but still a lot of fun, and the girls executed it well with a lot of energy and personality. "I Don't Need a Man" is arguably their best single yet.

The next track "Ma Style" combines light hip hop with R&B. The beat and music of the song is unique and fun. The song sounds sweet yet slightly funky. An upbeat and catchy song that sounds a bit different from the usual K-Pop.

After is "If I Were a Boy", which Miss A have been performing as the opening song in their music stages. It is a midtempo and soulful song with a melancholic feel that shows the girl's lovely and strong vocals. This is definitely a highlight of the album. However, it would've been better to name the song "If I'm Over You" to avoid further comparisons with Beyonce.

"Madness" featuring Taecyeon of 2PM can be said to be the ballad of the album and also has the heaviest R&B influence. Going along with the album's concept, Miss A sounds most like a soul girl group here. The song has a smooth, serene, yet mysterious feel that makes it such a pleasure to listen to. Out of all the songs, this shows the girl's voices most. They all sound so smooth and soulful. Fei also gets the rare opportunity to let her voice shine here and steals the show.

The closing track is "Time's Up". The song is an electropop dance song that's very infectious and catchy. It is the only song with no R&B or hip hop influence and is a very upbeat dance song coming after two slower soulful songs in a row. As a result, it does sound a bit out of place, but doesn't ruin the consistency of the album too much and closes the album on a high and fun note.

Overall

Miss A continues to be the most consistent girl group, having tried different styles and images but consistently releasing good material while remaining the feminine yet strong and independent girls they are.  They aren't forced to be overly girly or more mature than they are.  Their sound is always fresh, fun, and polished.  With their empowering image, they are definitely going far and will emerge on top.  "Independent Women Pt. III" is a homage to past girl groups, but they still make the material their own while pulling off the concept seamlessly.  Each song is superb and a great listen.  This is their best work yet.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Miss A - "A Class" Album Review

Simplicity is bliss, and less is more. Those are two quotes I've always agreed with. For Miss A's first full length album "A Class", the group goes for a clean cut pop sound mixed with influences of R&B.

The album is first introduced with "One to Ten", which opens with a pretty piano melody. The piano keeps its presence throughout the entire song by blending with synth beats and the girl's sweet and strong vocals. The result is a soothing and lovely song that's neither too fast or too slow, but instead maintains a pace and melody of its own. One of my personal favorites.

The album then moves onto "Goodbye Baby", the lead single. Of course, it's very catchy. Besides that though, the song is also sleek and well done. The girls have a wonderful harmony. It's message is simple (saying goodbye to a bad lover), but done in a stylish and hip fashion.

"Help Me" is an extra special treat. It is a R&B influenced song, and Miss A pulls it off fantastically. It possesses a great beat and soulful vocals. In this case, their experimentation was a success.

"Break It" is the first rough spot "A Class" hits. The intro makes for a good thing to get pumped up to. The part where they yell "Break it!" is what kills the song for me, as it sounds childish and cheesy. Some of the vocals are auto tuned too, creating a bad effect. It has it's good parts, but "Break It" overall is a weak song and the closest to being a filler.

"Mr. Johnny" carries a simple yet great hook. The techno influence makes it fun and upbeat yet edgy. They sound mature yet fierce. Jia's English rap is wicked! I especially love the first line of the rap "I'm a fool for your love but want nothing to do with your company".

Another rough spot is hit with"Play the Music DJ". It isn't actually a weak song, just not nearly as good the rest of the album. The intro sounds a bit immature, which is not fitting of Miss A's image. Fei does get to show off her vocals with the lines "Hey DJ", which is great, but it gets repetitive.

"Step Up" is similar to "Breathe" in terms of carrying the same exotic feel, but "Breathe" is much more memorable. A decent song, but not one I listen to often.

"Breathe" is a new type of upbeat. I love Miss A's mature and edgy image, but the cute and more girly image is a nice change for this particular song. The sound is refreshing and exotic. It is unique and whole lot of fun. The "Uh oh" really knows how to get stuck in your head.

For anyone who ever doubted Miss A's solid vocal abilities, the ballad "Blankly" will blow you away. The song is beautiful and stunning. All four girls put so much emotion and power into the song. They each get a chance to showcase their vocals, particularly Fei and Suzy.

Next up is "Love Again", which was Miss A's unofficial debut song before Min joined. It is an outstanding track because while it's fun and upbeat, it brings something fresh and doesn't feel like your typical K-Pop dance song. The girl's vocals are sweet and unlike most of their songs where Jia has one solo rap, her rapping is finely intertwined in between the verses here.

"Love Alone" is one of my personal favorites from Miss A as it is a simple yet solid song. The song sounds sleek yet clean cut. It has a great beat and the girls get to show their strong vocals here with individual solos. The theme is empowering and meaningful as it deals with unrequited love and not wanting to "love alone". Also, "Love Alone" is sung completely in English, and it's refreshing.

For once, an English K-Pop song actually sounds like it could pose as an American or European song instead of a bad attempt at singing English! (I actually think this song is reminiscent of Europop.). Perhaps this is just because the song was originally composed in English instead of being translated from Korean, but it flows very well and smoothly.

Their debut track "Bad Girl Good Girl" is also included on their first full length album, which remains one of their best songs ever. The repeated "You don't know me"s and "So shut up boy"s is unique, effortlessly catchy and in your face. The harmony and solos of each girl is solid. The composition of the whole song is empowering and seems to give off girl power. Hearing this song always makes me want to get up and move.

"A Class" closes with the Silver remix of "Goodbye Baby". It is a decent remix, but like movies where the original is always better than the sequel, the original is always better than the remix.

Highlights: "One to Ten", "Goodbye Baby", "Help Me", "Mr. Johnny", "Breathe", "Blankly", "Love Alone" (Not including "Bad Girl Good Girl" and "Love Again", which were previously released.

Weak Links: "Break It, Play the Music DJ", and "Step Up".

Overall
"A Class" is a strong debut and strong album in general. It does have its weak links, but strays away from having actual filler and consists of several highlights. The album does a fantastic job of showcasing what Miss A's musical style and what they have to offer. It shows their great promise and potential. If they continue their efforts, no doubt that in the future, Miss A will emerge as one of the top groups as well as one that is well respected and praised.


Rating: 4.25 Stars

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Author's Note: First an artist critique, then a review of their recent EP, and now a review of their debut album!  Am I showing bias yet?  :P  I genuinely love Miss A though and it didn't take long for them to become my favorite girl group, even though I've been giving other groups a try too.  Something about them is so different and much more my taste.  I enjoyed writing this in depth album review and hope it wasn't too long or boring.  This concludes my series of Miss A posts for now, but I will definitely be writing more about them.

Featured artists in my upcoming K-Pop related posts will be my other two favorites, Younha and ALi.  I will be doing some posts on more mainstream K-Pop as well.

Miss A: "Touch" EP/Album Review

In Miss A's newest extended play "Touch", the rising girl group further proves their talent and finds a balance between being mainstream yet maintaining their own unique style.  From their beginning, they've possessed an air of simplicity, femininity, and maturity that set them apart from other girl groups.  For "Touch", they kick things up a notch by building on the image that they've created and millions have fallen for.

Perhaps it is because of the shorter length of extended plays (EP's), but "Touch" manages to be a very consistent and solid album.  Each track is distinctive. There are no fillers here.

The album starts with the title track "Touch", which was met with mixed reception. I admit, I wasn't crazy about it at first.  However, it didn't take long for it to grow on me.  "Touch" offers something very different from usual mainstream K-Pop.  It's not groundbreaking, but slightly unconventional and a break from the typical upbeat songs K-Pop is known for.  Becoming an instant success, it proved you don't have to be a fast dance song to be catchy and a hit.  "Touch" is mysterious, slightly haunting, and different. I was surprised Jia's rapping was featured here, but liked it and it still fit the song. The choreography for the single is also something I haven't seen before.

Next on the album is "Lips", which is hands down my favorite track on the EP. It is ridiculous how catchy this song is. The verses are edgy and the chorus is incredibly infectious. It just makes you want to get up, move, and sing along. Despite the amazing musical production of the song, it never overshadows or drowns out the girl's vocals, which remain the anchor and what makes the chorus so stunning. Whenever I listen to the song, I always end up with it stuck in my head. It is extremely addictive.

After "Lips" comes "Rock N Rule", which is a club friendly track that takes a much more lighter approach than "Lips". The girl's vocals are sweeter and show some high notes. The chorus is just upbeat and fun, as is the dance breakdown portion.

"No Mercy" is probably the most distinctive song on the album with the unique beats and slight edginess. Somehow, it has this vintage feel and feels like a throwback to older music, yet still feels very fresh.

"Over U", which has already become popular from live performances, brings a twist to the song about getting over someone. The concept has been done to death, yet they make it their own. The verses tell of the pain they've experienced from getting hurt, then flows into a catchy chorus with a great hook that simply says "I'm so over you". Jia is a crazy good rapper, which isn't as prominently shown on this album. However, her rapping skills get to shine here. From the verse, to the chorus, to Jia's rap, the whole song says "in your face"! This is such a fun song to see Miss A perform live!

The album closes with the Newport remix of "Touch", which offers a R&B alternative to the single. I love both versions, but can see why some would like this remix better.

Although still relatively new to the music scene, Miss A proves they're not amateurs and have what it takes to be a huge success. They're feminine, sexy, and edgy, which is showcased here more than anything they've released yet. They know what they're doing and have their own style, which is fresh yet mature. "Touch" is an album that shows off all their strengths by themselves and as a group, as well as a preview of what's to come of Miss A's sure to be hot future. The vocals, beats, and musical production on this EP are just superb. Everything ties together well. Highly recommended, I don't know how many times I've listened to this album!

Rating: 4.25 stars

Broadening the Horizons - Critique of Miss A

One of our goals for this blog is to broaden people's horizons by sharing and covering all types of Asian entertainment. For this feature, Niki and I will be sharing how we've broadened our own horizons by talking and critiquing about the new artists and music we've opened ourselves too. Many of these artists will be ones we've introduced each other to. ;)

Post formally starts here:

Other than hearing about K-Pop bands every now and then, Miss A was the first one I've actually started listening to and love.

How I was first introduced to them...
I was iffy about introducing myself to K-Pop. It all felt too cutesy for me, or at least the popular stuff. I hang out with Niki, Dani, and Pinki a lot after school, which is where I started getting exposed to quite a bit of Korean music. Most of it didn't make an impact on me though. It was catchy, but not my cup of tea. However, while listening to Miss A's "Bad Girl, Good Girl" and "Breathe" multiple times as the girls rehearsed the dance numbers, they got stuck in my head. I found myself singing parts of the song (and I don't even know the Korean!). I ended up downloading the two songs onto my iPod and checking out the band on YouTube. Next thing I know, I'm downloading all their songs and watching tons of videos of them!

Critique
In a short amount of time, I ended up becoming a big fan of Miss A. Their music is catchy like most Korean pop, yes, but they take it a step further with true talent and all the necessary keys to make up a great band.

Singing? Check. Dancing? Check. Those are the minimal requirements for an artist in the Korean music industry. Some are better at one than the other, some are mediocre at both. The girls of Miss A are skilled and superb at both. They have some fantastic choreography in their dances, and still manage to sing live well. Each of their voices is strong, and their dancing is both impressive and entertaining. Unlike most other singers, they don't do half baked moves in order to still sing decently or give horrible attempts to do both at the same time. Miss A delivers in both aspects without compensating one for the other, which is rare. Their choreography is more complex than the typical group, and their vocals are stable and strong. They are phenomenal live!

One thing I love about bands is getting to know each of the members, how their personalities and styles are all different and yet still compliment each other.

From left to right: Fei, Min, Jia, Suzy

The four girls, Min, Fei, Jia, and Suzy are all unique and bring something different to the group. They are all very talented and great singers and dancers, but each has their own individual strength and traits. Min is the most skilled dancer and possesses a tough and edgy aura despite being the smallest. Fei has the strongest vocals with the best voice control, and has a sophisticated and mature look. Jia is a crazy good rapper and has this awesome bad and kick ass appearance. Lastly, Suzy also has a strong voice while possessing youthfulness and sweetness. With the four girl's contrasting images and personal strengths, they come together to make one talented and lovable bunch that compliment each other so well. They all stand out and can hold their own, with and without each other. I love each of the girls for different reasons.

Their music is produced solidly and wonderfully. I personally love their music because it finds that balance between being too cutesy and being too different or edgy. While many girl groups come off as either too girly and cutesy or trying too hard, Miss A is fresh and fun without being too much of anything. They're feminine, yet not too juvenile or mature.

Overall
I've yet to fully warm up to K-Pop.  I'm still trying new things and experimenting.  At the same time, I know most K-Pop is not my cup of tea because of my mainly pop/rock taste.  Miss A is an exception as well as exceptional.  I'm very fond of the band and love their music.  With their talent, they have a very bright future ahead of them.  I wish more success to Miss A!

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Author's Note: Here's my first "Broadening the Horizons" post as well as my first ever post about K-Pop!  Hope I've made you happy, Niki.  ;)  Was great to finally voice my opinion on my newfound love for these girls as well as writing about a different Asian culture for the first time.  This was my general opinion about Miss A and its members.  I will be writing more indepth album reviews for their first full length album "A Class" and their latest EP "Touch".  Stay tuned!