Today's post will be a review on NATURE's 2nd mini album title track release known as OOPSIE (My Bad). To coincide with the groups new release NATURE also added a new member, Sohee formerly of I.B.I, while member Aurora went on hiatus to complete schedules in China. It was with the addition of member Sohee did I find myself intrigued when I initially heard news that NATURE was making a comeback. Sadly, time got away from me in November and I didn't discover the song until early December which was a real shame because this song has found a very cosy home on my playlist.
Traditionally this group has positioned themselves with a fresh and cute concept during their debut with elements of magic introduced in their previous release I'm So Pretty which are evident in OOPSIE (My Bad) as well. There most recent single OOPSIE (My Bad) still holds onto the roots of NATURE's overall concept while transforming them slightly with a more dark and glam filter. A mixture of themes is most definitely felt through both the song and the music video. The overall impression from this comeback is that the group wanted to maintain their innocent concept while attempting to capitalise on the growing interest in girl groups experimenting with hard hitting baselines and cat-walk like imagery. I can make a pleasant comparison, especially in the music video, to CLC's 2019 song No; which was my number one song of 2019. Both songs share a similar high fashion deep house style of instrumental that really compliments the hybrid concept chosen for this release.
Bringing our attention to the music video we can immediately see that the group has chosen an overall more darker concept in terms of both the music video and member visuals. This is only further supported when the rather surprising baseline introduces itself very early on in the song. This rather hard hitting baseline really begins to drive the aesthetic of the music video further. Imagery of the girls dressed in shades of white simultaneously singing to the camera, while maintaining a high level of eye contact, really begins to signal the group's intent with this song. You get the impression that these girls aren't here to play around, and I'm all for it! As we progress into the music video we begin to see that multiple sets have been used all of which carry a relative high level of production value; particularly the scenes during the chorus. Thankfully this high production value also creeps into the visual effects used. I was pleasantly surprised with the effort and care that went into the production of this release given the small size of the company behind NATURE. Some of us know all too well that poor production can really harm a release if the other elements are lacking as well. Fortunately, this does not happen to NATURE this time around and the girls look fantastic. Stylistically the members are quite synergistic with the overall concept of the music video. A combination of white and black outfits, some of which were adorned with ornate crystals and rhinestones, create a interesting dichotomy that serves to push the high fashion narrative of the groups chosen concept. NATURE also give a nod to the 60's and 70's with certain outfits really giving off a disco vibe with alternating black and white patterns and thigh high boots. I would also like to compliment the stylists choice to include hats on the members, sadly it's not something we see more of in Kpop music videos. To be honest, each member is styled superbly well to the point I lack any criticism of their outfits used in the video. In particular I felt that members Saebom and Lu truly felt at home with this concept and were constantly seeking my attention throughout the video. The only criticism I would offer on this music video is sometimes the editing can be quite abrupt which might bother some viewers who are trying to get a good look at their favourite idols in certain scenes. This is only a minor gripe though. It is clear with this release that NATURE really wanted to push the visuals of their members in combination with a very catchy song with a hard hitting instrumental in order to generate greater popularity for the group. This is not to say however that the vocals of the song were neglected, in fact I would say the opposite is true.
Moving onto the song itself we can really start to get deeper into why I enjoyed this song so much. The introduction of that aggressive baseline so early in the song was a clever and well thought out addition to the track. While subdued momentarily during the early sections of first verse the song continues to build up to a crescendo during the chorus. This is however not before member Loha spits a cheeky little rap at us before member Sunshine uses a form of talk-singing (used very effectively here might I add) to bring us to the highlight of the song, the chorus. Immediately after hearing this chorus I was hooked onto this song. Not only was the initial chorus satisfying enough with that banging instrumental there was a key change in the post chorus where the members used their higher pitched vocals very effectively. Loha then greets us once more post chorus with an interesting rap filled with a slight English fumble towards the end, hardly a big deal in my opinion. I'm glad to report that the rest of the song went on without a single hitch. Each member sounded comfortable in their respective parts with most of the vocal gymnastics given to members Sohee, Sunshine, and Chaebin throughout the song. I also found Lu's, Saebom, and Loha's cheeky chanting of "I'm bad, bad" to be effective in keeping the latter half of the song fresh. In conclusion I found the song to be overall a smash hit given my personal tastes. I very much enjoyed the vocal manipulations throughout the video that can only come with clever use of autotune and the like, I think it can add great character to a song when used properly. If anything though, I almost wish the song went even harder during the chorus but in reality I think the song would suffer for it given its current level of polish and wide appeal.
The dancing in OOPSIE (My Bad) was a mixture of swift movements to give off sharp lines during certain sections of the song while also softer gestures during solo scenes. The choreography overall is most definitely a combination of nicely synchronised group formations and sections where the singers can get camera time likely during live performances. I would not say that this choreography was overly difficult but it remains effective while giving opportunities to the members to show off their figures and expressions. It would however have been nice to see them attempt something unique and difficult for this comeback to compliment the intensity of the song.
Overall I was pleasantly surprised with OOPSIE (My Bad) given my expectations were something a little more pure and subdued. I would love to see where they go with this concept in the future. More so, I think they positioned this release and concept well given the current trends in Kpop and their ability to maintain a flexible image having started out with a more pure and cute concept at debut.
My Rating.
Music Video: 7.5
Song: 9
Concept: 8
Style: 8.5
Dance: 7
Overall rating: 40/50
I hope you guys enjoyed my review. If you have any thoughts or comments you would like to add please free to do so. Also share on Twitter if you enjoy my review so far! See you tomorrow! - THR
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