Wonder Girls combine pop vocals and reggae wonderfully on “Why So Lonely”

Wonder Girls have returned with “Why So Lonely“, which is unfortunately part of a single and not a album, but at least they made what they released count.

As I said when I wrote about the teaser, I’m inclined to like this to start with just because I’m into the reggae instrumental, even if the type of groove it uses is typical for the genre. It went about as I expected throughout the track, which counts as a win for me, and the light pre-chorus was a welcome change of pace before they dove right back into the reggae sound for the chorus. The hook itself utilizes a stutter effectively with “baby why-y-y-y” and “baby no-o-o-o” that adds a degree of addictiveness to it that I can see myself humming along to for weeks, and thankfully the chorus continues to build to provide something resembling a peak until it goes back to verses.

Speaking of peak, while I realize vocal runs and all that aren’t part of the genre, I did think for a pop track it could’ve used a big one towards the end to really increase the payoff at the end of the build, not unlike what “Don’t Be Shy” (an inevitable comparison) executed well.

But that was basically my only complaint, as the one section that I usually complain about in this space but thought fit this perfectly was Yubin’s rap. Unsurprisingly, rapping fits in well with the reggae percussion instrumentals, and it was woven into the song seamlessly to cap off an all-around well-executed track.

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The music video wasn’t anything new in terms of a group of women beating up on a dude mannequin for one reason or another (the lyrics explain that), but everything was aesthetically on point in terms of the sets and the outfits, and it all fit into the 60s/70s theme well.

Yubin and Sunmi have always been attractive, so there’s no visual surprises there…

…but wow it’s remarkable how hot Yenny has gotten over the years.

Roll your eyes at me and slap me around. Thanks.

Also, Hyelim exists and her styling is actually arguably the best.

Anyway, highly visual concepts tend to fit them well because they fit any kind of visual concept, basically.

Also, somebody stop the condiment violence!

Plot-wise it wasn’t anything special (probably wasn’t trying to be), but in terms of using the visual medium to showcase impressive visuals, the music video definitely worked.

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The Wonder Girls didn’t reinvent the wheel here with “Why So Lonely”, especially in terms of the reggae verve, but this is something rarely heard in K-pop and the composition and execution of both the song and the concept were both on point. That more than makes up for the relative lack of originality, as I wanted to see if they could deliver an effective combination of pop vocals and reggae that I’ve only heard out of Korea once before and they definitely came through.

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‘Why So Lonely’