Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Nugudan dropped an utterly generic and forgettable debut track in “Wonderland,“ which had me taking bets on when they’d be heading for disbandment city. However, that was before their transformation into Sejeong & The Nugudans, and along with actually relevant members, they’ve also changed everything else about the group with “A Girl Like Me.”
“Na na gateun ae, na na na gateun ae” is your anthem for at least the next week or so as Sejeong, Mina, And The Nuguettes came through with a catchy earworm of a hook for the chorus that makes it a fresh and fun effort overall. Also contributing to the success of “A Girl Like Me” is the synth-heavy, upbeat instrumental with well-placed inclusions of snares and a smart composition that allows it to breathe a bit following the energy of the hook.
Sejeong Featuring Nugudan still maintains a lot of the cuteness in their concept, but now it does so with a more universal appeal. Also, rather than just relying on their new star power, the girls spread the wealth around. That seems like a risky move considering how pop music usually is as a slave to star qualities, but it pays off in the end because it makes the appearances of the two main draws more impactful. Of course, towards the end they couldn’t resist showing off their new star vocalist in Sejeong, which is understandable, but I thought generally gratuitous.
“A Girl Like Me” is a surprisingly short song, clocking in at under three minutes, but that choice was likely an intelligent one. It kept the listener wanting more, increasing the replayability of the track, and I also think it prevented the song from getting repetitive and stale. A shockingly quality effort out of nowhere from Sejeong, Mina, And Friends.
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Apart from the revitalization of the musical concept of The SeMin Sisters, the music video also showed a vastly different concept and a vastly different direction, which definitely was for the better. The colors and sets used were a massive improvement and increased the interest.
Again, a surprising lack of total focus on Sejeong and Mina, but they definitely got their fair share of screen time.
While “Wonderland” felt like something a nugu rookie group would release before fading away into the darkness, “A Girl Like Me” feels polished and professional with a cohesive thought behind it that definitely serves to compliment the evolution SeMin Dan want to complete.
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While Sejeong and Mina definitely deserve their fair share of credit for the revitalization of SeMin & The Nugudan Band, they wouldn’t have made a difference if the musical and conceptual direction remaining stagnant. Luckily, Jellyfish Entertainment decided to scrap everything and essentially re-debut with “A Girl Like Me”, and the switch to a more playful and assertive tone worked beautifully. The song is an earworm and the video is arresting, and if they continue down this path the future looks bright.
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‘Narcissus’ Album
“A Girl Like Me” Song
