Hello! Today's review is on the IZ*ONE's recently released title track Fiesta. This song was of particular importance for the group given the recent scandal involving the producers and network behind the Produce X series. If you're not familiar, the members of IZ*ONE are the result of the selection process through the television show PD48. Without going into too much detail IZ*ONE is a culmination of Korean and Japanese idols from various groups and companies whom were selected by the public (or so we were lead to believe). Due to the most recent scandal involving the Produce series, IZ*ONE were put on a hiatus only days before their comeback late last year. Fortunately the Kpop gods have since allowed IZ*ONE to once again return to the public eye and thus release their long awaited new music on Feb 17 this year. Interestingly though, they chose to stick with the material planned for release last year and thus we finally got to hear the complete version of Fiesta with it's music video. Now let's take a look!
This review will be in the same format I have used in previous articles where I score the title track out of 5 main categories (Music video, Song, Concept, Style, and Dance) out of a total of 10 points. An overall score will then be tallied and given at the end with my final thoughts.
The music video for Fiesta is an interesting one. While the music video seems to almost want to carry a narrative from what I can tell it basically follows a very well known music video formula popular in Kpop. While there is no strong story to be told within the video the scenes used either mimic the imagery of the lyrics or are used to highlight the aesthetics of the group/members. Make no mistake, this is a wonderfully produced and fantastic looking music video, but for me I felt like it was lacking in any true direction. That being said this is a common type of music video in Kpop and IZ*ONE haven't been known to make Korean comebacks with music videos that are tied to any strong meaning or story so it's not out of the ordinary for the group. Happily though I can say that in the absence of a narrative the music video does a good job of capturing the alluring qualities of all the members. The glamour shots in this music video are stunning. Each member has really got some time to shine here and I appreciate how much focus was given to members that we have not previously seen all that much off. The screen time distribution in this music video is adequate given there are 12 members and the members have varying popularity depending on the market in which they're promoting in. The members that really stood out for me in the music video though were Yujin and Sakura.
Both these members got plenty of screen time and were able to show of their charms to the audience through various scenes and glamour sequences. Member Sakura really caught my eye with her scenes being some of the most alluring and interesting in the whole music video. Unique colour gradients and special effects throughout this music video make it a visual delight for the senses. They really went out of their way to the match the colourful imagery in the lyrics within the video and thus what has resulted is a glamorous, sparkly, polished video set to promote the members of IZ*ONE as visual queens. I do however have another criticism of the video. The video is unfortunately only available to viewed on Youtube in HD format. I am not sure why they continue to do this but it's very disappointing of the companies behind these groups releasing music videos in sub-par resolution. I will however not dock many points for this as the group themselves likely had no call in this decision and was a result of production/management choices. Overall while the music video does contain some nice imagery and shots of the members something just felt lacking and I believe it's a consequence of the time that has since lapsed since the original intended release date. More care and polish should have been given to this video during the hiatus to make it more special and memorable because as it is now, I don't find myself re-watching it like some other GG releases over the past couple months. Let's now move on to the song itself.
I am going to be brutally honest in this review because I personally think that IZ*ONE deserved a better song for this comeback era. While the song is obviously not bad, I just feel like while it might have been appropriate/have done well when it was first initially going to be released, I feel like the song hasn't really aged all that well over the past couple of months. One criticism goes to the vocal production/arrangement of Fiesta. I feel like this song is simply too high and chaotic for a lot of the members deeper and softer vocals. Hearing some of the members being forced to sing so high while maintaining such a high degree of stamina on stage is actually concerning. Vocal strain continues to be one of the biggest problems that go unnoticed or isn't talked enough about in the Kpop scene and I really wish we could bring more awareness to this problem in the future. Having said that I do not think the girls did a bad job at singing Fiesta just that it doesn't seem like a natural fit for their vocal capabilities. While I do think parts of the song are simply unnecessarily high and cause straining, the song does have elements I really enjoy. The beautifully round and almost jewel like synths are a treat for my ears and I really love the nod to Violeta in the instrumental for the song. Despite my criticisms I think that Fiesta definitely sounds like an IZ*ONE song with familiar elements heard in this song echoing the sounds from their previous material. I think this is praise worthy as it means that IZ*ONE continues to make music that carries a signature sound/identity to it which in my opinion is one of the biggest challenges girl groups face in the industry at the moment. I think it's super important for groups to carve out a niche for themselves or risk being lost amongst the growing number of debuts and comebacks each month.
In regards to the vocals, as I've previous said, I do believe that a lot of the song is simply unnecessarily high in certain sections including the pre-chorus build and chorus but surprisingly low in other sections. I understand that this was a stylistic choice from the producers of the song but it really only highlights to me what the song could have possibly sounded like without the high pitched runs and strained notes; I believe the high/low parts are a result of the producers trying to mimic the theme of the lyrics. I really enjoy the deeper tones during the verses from nearly all the members and would love to be able to hear more of this in future tracks. The only members that I think can pull of the high vocals were Chaewon and Yuri for different reasons, one having a naturally higher toned voice and the other being raw vocal talent. I also wanted to touch on the production and arrangement of the song. While I think the sound production is of very high quality I just feel like the arrangement of the song is untidy and overly complicated in nature. I know this might be an unpopular opinion, and I'm okay with that as I just want the best for IZ*ONE at the end of the day, but I do not think this song was the absolute best choice for their latest title track song-wise. Personally I would have considered the B-sides Eyes, Daydream, or Open your eyes as title track worthy with a little more tweaking to improve the overall structure of the songs and the sound staging. Line distribution is also another issue for Fiesta. I know it must be incredibly difficult to balance 12 members in a song that doesn't even go for 4 minutes but there are some glaring problems in Fiesta's line distribution. 4 members (Chaeyeon, Nako, Hitomi, & Hyewon) all recieved far less lines than what we should consider as acceptable in my opinion. The only saving grace is that these members have a greater presence in the b-sides on this album.
To conclude I have to point out that while I do have criticisms for this track I do think it's a good song for Summer, which it most definitely is here in Australia. I also like the fact IZ*ONE continue to build a sonic identity even though they won't stay as a 12 member group for too much longer due to contract limitations.
Let's move our focus onto the choreography for Fiesta. Given my criticism of both the music video and song you might assume that I would also have something negative to say about the choreography for Fiesta....You would be wrong! The choreography for Fiesta is in fact my favourite part of the entire comeback. The fact that IZ*ONE is able to perform with such unique choreography with 12 members of varying dancing skill is nothing short of impressive. IZ*ONE do a fantastic job of being able to make average dancers look entirely comfortable and even at time, exquisite, on stage. Sakura and Hyewon are the members that come to mind when I say this. Despite some obvious raw talent in areas it was these two members that still surprise me with their ability to complete the Fiesta choreography given their history on PD48. Another impressive element of the live staging were the outfits. From the multiple live stages so far completed IZ*ONE have shown us once again why each of these members were chosen by the public to be in this group. Each member caries themselves with such elegance and grace on stage that it's wonderful to see. This is also complemented by the outfits that they're wearing, sometimes matching and other times in an explosion of colour and texture, which serves to add drama and visual allure to their live performances. My favourite outfits so far were the pastel suits used on MBC The Show. I felt like these outfits matched the lyrics and overall aesthetic of the group the most. The colours also helped the choreography seem more bright and energetic than normal, if that was at all possible. I also like that IZ*ONE carries over their quest to find their own signature style and identity into their performance elements as well. The dance for Fiesta is uniquely and safely situated in a similar space as their previous choreographies for La Vie en Rose and Violeta. Effective use of formation changes and staging make the group seem more dynamic which aids in keeping the energy of the song always at peak levels, not only that but I also noticed that IZ*ONE choreography often favours arm and hand work when compared to some other groups active at the moment and it adds a nice flourish to their performances (I also noticed this in their previous title track performances). All in all I'm quite happy with the dance for Fiesta and think it's the strongest element of this comeback.
My rating
Music Video: 7.5
Song: 7
Style: 8.5
Concept: 8
Dance: 9
Overall rating: 40/50
In conclusion I would like to say that I enjoyed Fiesta and think this title track will continue to keep IZ*ONE positioned as a force to be reckoned with. That being said I do not think Fiesta alone is the sole reason why IZ*ONE's most recent album has set new records for girl groups in Korea. I am confident in saying its the groups sheer popularity as performers that are attributing to their sales and not necessarily the song itself which is perfectly okay at the end of the day. While Fiesta is a completely competent, and at times interesting track, I feel like it doesn't quite live up to their previous releases La Vie en Rose and Violeta and thus this is reflected in my rating for Fiesta. In the future I would like to see the group experiment more with both genre and vocals to bring about a new era for the group before their inevitable disintegration in 2021. Who knows, maybe they'll find a way to stay together past this point, we can only dream right? Do you agree with me on any points brought up in this review? Do you think otherwise? Let me know in the comments I'd love to have a discussion with you.
Please remember all thoughts are my own and are solely based on my personal taste and experiences. If you have a differing opinion please share it with me and others below constructively. Thanks for your continued support! Please like and share ~ THR
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