Review: B1A4–“Beautiful Target”

B1A4 goes on the Worst Date Ever in their new music video.


Did you like the song?
Great debuts are both a blessing and a curse. B1A4 had a stunning debut with their song “O.K.,” and it’s difficult for either “Beautiful Target” or their other follow-up song, “Only Learned Bad Things,” to compete. (I still get that “I love you~” part from “O.K.” stuck in my head, months after the song was released.) Still, this song is good, just not as instantly likable as “O.K.”

What was your favorite part of the song?
My favorite part was Baro’s rapping. His rapping sounds somewhat like BIGBANG’s T.O.P, and that is never a bad thing.

CNU, Gongchan, Jinyoung, Baro, and Sandeul
Does the English make you want to rip your eardrums out?
There are a lot of full English lines in here. The pronunciation could definitely be better, but their intentions are good. “Oh my beautiful target, you zoom zoom heart like a rocket. I like it like it like it.” “I’m like a Robin Hood…gotta shoot.” CNU gets major points for pronouncing the names of four cities in their native tongues: Seoul, New York, Roma (Rome), and Praha (Prague). *thumbs up* Plus there is this awesome line (half in Korean, half in English): “Come into my heart.com; ID/password is your love.” Is that not adorable? *huggles them* They even channel Selena Gomez: “I love you like a love song.”

Did you like the video?
This video reminded me of SHINee’s “Hello” in that the boys are in this kind of cute soundstage neighborhood and trying to date one girl. So adorable! I really enjoyed the bloopers at the end of the video (and I hope this trend of blooper reels continues in Kpop music videos). I also liked the imagery of the ferris wheel-like roller coaster in the background as a literally beautiful target. My only question is why do they keep pretend-shooting the camera/pretending to get shot?

CNU, Gongchan, Sandeul, Jinyoung, and Baro
Was there a storyline? If so, did it make sense?
It’s the date from hell: Jinyoung just wants to get together with this girl and take her to the movies, but he keeps being interrupted by silly little things like science lab explosions, fires, being framed for arson, put on trial, and sent to prison—and, of course, his fellow members are there being dorks.

Literally jailbait.
EDIT: The new “Zoom Zoom Version” is now out if you want a different MV that still captures the spirit of the first.

Was the dance cool and distinctive?
The dance is cute and amusing and seems to consist entirely of doing random stuff and spazzing. I love it! The “beautiful target” dance move reminds me of a move in “O.K.” Seriously, though, what is this?


The munchkin dance?
Then there is the fabulous courtroom hip swaying dance:


Shake those handcuffs like you mean it, boys!
Do the members look good?
Yes, yes, they do. I kept getting these G-Dragon vibes from the B1A4's style and behavior, which works for me! So let's get to know more about B1A4! (And a site like that, management companies, is how you help fans get to know your members.)

Sandeul, Baro, Jinyoung, Gongchan, and CNU
Which member stood out the most?
Awww, but all the members are so endearing here…fine, if I were giving this to a B1A4 member, it’d have to be either Gongchan for his DBSK “Balloons”-inspired tiger costume or CNU for his ridiculous glasses look. However, this category was usurped by the fact that comedian Kim Kyung Jin is in the music video. He’s so funny! He was a total creeper in Heechul and Jungmo’s “Close Ur Mouth,” and now he’s back…as a total creeper. Sweet.

Kim Kyung Jin only has one setting: do not let him babysit your children.
Do you like it enough to buy the song?
I still don’t know. If it’s like their other songs, the more I listen to it, the more I tend to like it, but I’m not at that point yet.

Any ending thoughts?
B1A4 pulls off this loveable and colorful concept really well. With some groups, this can come off as awkward or even patronizing, but B1A4 seems sweetly genuine. I look forward to seeing if they keep this theme or go with something else in the future.

Boyfriend’s one-liner:
“Fireman, ambulance driver, news reporter, judge: it’s the Little Village People with toy trucks and toy jails.”

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