Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Twice have made their debut after much hype (by me) with “Ooh-Ahh“, and though I was probably gonna like this anyway due to the visuals, whether the song would ultimately be a letdown or not was still up for grabs.
I started writing about “Ooh-Ahh” with skepticism after hearing the chorus the first time, but by the end I found myself enjoying the song, which really seems to be the point of the whole concept.
The instrumental during the verses was unique and weird sounding, which again, I feel made it original. It sorta reminded me of my forest-themed alarms on my phone, and the vocal rhythm and pacing was really done well. I also didn’t hate the talk fast rap breaks, if for no other reason than they helped switch things up a bit so the listener didn’t fall into a lull.
That said, it’s the chorus that will probably make or break your impression of the song. It’s not impactful or immediately demanding of your attention, but it was a rarity to me in that I actually thought a lot more of it by the end than the first time I heard it. The “Ooh-Ahh” hook appears to be something that’ll grow with time and it’ll likely age better than most peppy, upbeat songs of this nature. The ending of the hook, in particular, was something that eventually helped make it work for me.
Overall, I can see this song being polarizing for people who expected more of a punch, but I thought it all fit the feel of their concept and music video perfectly.
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Speaking of the music video, it was predictably great, with the visuals coming through but also mixing in the humor found in the teasers.
Clowning on JYP‘s ridiculous ass is always welcome. And the contrasting between Momo and Sana stretching was also done well.
I know Dahyun sorta looks like a bug, but I like it? Weird thought for the day.
But seriously, some of the members though.
More than the visuals though, the girls gave a convincing performance that they genuinely enjoyed the experience, and the inclusion of the behind-the-scenes type of footage at the end was a genius move because it really drove home their entire debut concept. It wasn’t a perfect song, but the promise they’ve shown through this in terms of personality and likability is immense, and as the pop world has proven time and time again, that’s infinitely more important than the music (for better or worse).
So Twice successfully established their image (brand) with “Ooh-Ahh” by making the whole experience uplifting and fun without crossing over into cringe or boring, which K-pop continually proves isn’t as easy as it seems.
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By the way, none of you fuckers bothered to call me out on the fact that I was spelling “Ooh-Ahh” as “Ohh-Ahh” the entire time? Just gonna let me look like a dumbfuck, huh? Thanks.
