Review: Sistar19–“Ma Boy”

Sistar19 show off their awesome body waves in “Ma Boy.”


Did you like the song?
Reviewing an older video today by request. :) So this song features my two favorite members of Sistar, Hyorin and Bora. Yay!


Hyorin and Bora
Oh, man. I really didn’t like this song. It’s rather slow for a dance number (though I suppose it had to be paced that way to work for the body waves), and it’s repetitive like no other—and that repetition isn’t catchy, either. The best that can be said is that the girls at least sound good, but I just wish they had been given better material.

What was your favorite part of the song?
I guess the best part was Hyorin’s adlibbing towards the end, but at that point it was hard to concentrate because I’d become so sick of hearing “oh ma boy” in the chorus.

Does the English make you want to rip your eardrums out?
Yeah, it’s bad, mainly in pronunciation but a few instances in word choice—which is all very unfortunate, as there’s a lot of English. I seem to keep hearing the phrase “No more next time” over and over again in songs. Kpop groups, this is not an acceptable English phrase. It doesn’t make any sense. Try: “This won’t happen again” as an alternative.

Did you like the video?
There are few things sexier than Sistar just…walking. They have the model walk down, seriously.


Work it, ladies!
That said, this video gave me the same kind of feel as Hyuna’s “Bubble Pop” (though“Ma Boy” came first), and that feeling is one of…slight greasiness. These videos both mix being adorable with being sexy as the concept. Even their clothes are the same: tank tops and jean shorts so tiny you can see the pockets.

Hyorin, Bora, and Hyuna.
Now, there are a ton of Kpop group concepts (and also American ones, let’s not be naïve) that have done this, too *cough*Orange Caramel*cough*; it’s completely unfair to say this is only Sistar19 and Hyuna. They’re just some of the more well-publicized ones.

The way I see it is that women can be both cute and sexy, and that’s fine. But when the music video is mixing things like lollipops and stuffed animals, usually considered sweet little girl things and almost never considered womanly things, with their stars showing off their curves in a way that’s clearly sexy, that’s skirting a bit close to exploitation or even pedophilia for my tastes. Women are sexy. Little girls should not be.

Was there a storyline? If so, did it make sense?
So at the beginning it’s clear our girls are having relationship difficulties. Their boyfriends are standing in the kitchen or sitting in the bedroom with them but not talking—Bora’s boyfriend is playing with his phone and Hyorin’s boyfriend is even looking at his watch! WTF, dude; Sistar19’s in the house! Pay attention!

What douches.
My theory is that the boys are just waiting on Hyorin and Bora to get ready so that they can go to a movie or something, and they’re becoming more and more frustrated and bored because the girls just keep standing and sitting there. Why won’t you get ready?! The movie starts in 10 minutes! Aargh!!

But obviously the girls were just waiting for their boring boyfriends to leave so they could meet up with their awesome friends and hang out at awesome places!! Like…a dirty garage.

Yup. Because when I go to hang out with my friends, the first place we go when we’re all dressed up is a garage. That’s where all the cool kids are, yo.

So this plot makes no sense. Let’s just move on. In other words, prepare to be hypnotized:


Was the dance cool and distinctive?
To recap again:


So yeah, this is one of the best dances: one that goes with the music and is distinctive and memorable. And like most idol dances, it’s deceptively simple. Most people won’t be able to do it well, but it’s still fun to try.

There are also different dances around a chair that I enjoyed, like this one with Bora:


Do the members look good?
Despite all my ranting and raving about the infantilizing of female idols, I have to say that, yeah, Hyorin and Bora look really great, even in their cute socks.

Hyorin and Bora
Which member stood out the most?
Honestly, Bora here. I love Hyorin’s constant smile and confidence, but Bora is just so pretty in this MV.

Do you like it enough to buy the song?
Sorry, no.

Any ending thoughts?
I loved Sistar’s “So Cool,” which was upbeat and catchy and extremely fun to dance to, so I was massively disappointed by this song. But I’m very impressed by their ability to do so many body waves so well.

Boyfriend’s one-liner:
“Why are there guys in this video? They do nothing! I would be looking at my watch, too.”

Thanks for reading! Please share your comments below! :)