Girls’ Generation and 2NE1 are both among the most famous female groups in the KPop world, which makes them having a comeback at the same time that much more exciting. As if the coincidental date itself wasn’t enough, the two went through the same technical problems with the compilation of their music video’s. Now that they’re finally back, both are trying to taking over the music industry with their album. For this reason, we here at Officially KMusic decided to compare their MVs and see how much they had in common and which one came out on top in each topic!
The Concept
2NE1’s concept was a surprising revelation. It’s true that the girl’s are famous for their futuristic concept like in “I Am The Best” and “Try to Follow Me“, but they’ve taken it to another level in this MV. Instead of just wearing modern outfits and adding futuristic objects to the scenery, the girls are actually living in a futuristic civilization where people are giving up on their lives to live in this “Virtual Paradise”. It looked more like a Hollywood movie than a music video and if it was indeed a movie, I would be dying to watch it.
We can’t say the same for Girls’ Generation’s concept, which wasn’t exactly something new for them. It’s true we are not used to seeing the girls in such a dark concept. However, even though the nurse thing is cool and everything, they still have that thing about all 9 girls dating the same boy, and in the end it doesn’t differ that much from the “I Got A Boy” MV.
The Music
2NE1’s “Come Back Home” is great and it’s lyrics are truly touching, but it doesn’t really have that impact. The song changes it’s rhythm many times and it may not be so pleasurable for people who are not their fans to hear it. The unplugged version sounded nicer, it’s a pity that it wouldn’t have fit the MV as well.
Girls’ Generation may not have left their comfort zone, but their song is just as awesome as their others have been. It’s not only something pleasurable to listen to, but it’s the kind of song that even non-kpop fans will enjoy. It also has the power to stay in your head during the whole day, which is usually what makes a song good.
The Story
I actually had to watch 2NE1’s MV three times before understanding the whole story, and here’s what I came up with: The girls are living in a future civilization where there’s this thing called “Virtual Paradise”, a program that can make you hibernate while you live in your perfect world inside your mind. However, people have stopped living their real lives because of this program, which is shown by Dara‘s husband who leaves her to join it. Dara then joins the resistance (where the other girls work and of which CL is the leader) and together they find a way to hack the program and destroy the “Virtual Paradise”. Before entering the program to destroy it, Dara unplugs her husband and many might have thought that it was because she was angry, but I believe she was trying to save him from the destruction.
After understanding the story, you may think “Okay, what does the song have to do with the MV?”. Well, everything. “Come Back Home” is not talking about a boy who simply left his girlfriend. It’s their right to make people come back to the real world. Aren’t you getting chills right now?
On the other hand, “Mr.Mr” shows a simple story about the girls who have become nurses and now can control the man using their self-created heart they have placed inside him, which is not exactly something new in K-pop. Since they’ve lost some data for the MV, there’s no way of knowing if it originally had a more complex story, but the one we have now is not that impressive.
The Dance
Since 2NE1’s MV doesn’t have dancing parts, it’s obvious that GG won this topic. However, this isn’t the only reason why they did. The thing that differs between the groups in this topic is that Girls’ Generation was able to insert the dance in the MV without compromising the story and the girls danced really well, especially during the dance break.
2NE1 does have a choreography for “Come Back Home” and it was even based on Seo Taiji & Boys‘ own “Come Back Home” choreography, but they didn’t show it in order not to confuse fans, which was a pity since the girls rehearsed it a lot for the live performances. If they had managed to insert the dance without harming the storyline, maybe they would have won this category.
The Scenery
After knowing that YG spent $470.000 in 2NE1’s MV, we couldn’t have expected less than a big Hollywood-like production full of special effects and it was exactly what we got. The scenery is beautiful. They were able to create a whole city with computer graphics, and the futuristic labs contrasting with Dara’s clean and simple house were perfect. Also, those crazy images that zoom across the screen as you dive into the MV during the “Come, babe, babe” part may be a little weird at first, but they make you want to keep watching the video to know what’s at the end of them.
Once again, I don’t know how much of Girls’ Generation’s video was lost, but it did compromise the scenery as well. Although we know they’re in a hospital room, the camera focuses too much on the girls and we can barely see the room around them. However, even though the whole story practically happens inside of one room, it’s cool to see that SM is gradually letting go of their “box-like” scenarios.
The Outfits:
2NE1’s clothes are really stylish and matched the futuristic concept very well, but they weren’t exactly new. We are already used to their weird clothes and complex hairstyles in every music video.
Girls’ Generation, on the other hand, chose the outfits very,accurately. I’m not talking about the boyish suits or the cute dresses and not even about the cool ones from the garage scene. I’m talking about the pink ones.
In a moment when they’re coming back with 2NE1, whose fandom color is also pink, it’s crucial to mark their territory with the color. I believe I’ve seen about a hundred different shades of pink not only in the girls’ clothes and make up, but in the scenery as well. This gave the feeling that the group,is the pink color, which is shown by how everything turns pink in the MV when they get in. The idea worked out really well, because I, personally, can’t look at anything pink now and not think of Girl’s Generation.
It seems that in the end, we have come to a tie, which proves that both groups are incredible and that they’ll surely keep growing and succeeding for a long time! Make sure to watch both MV’s below and don’t forget to buy their albums on Yesasia!
Girls’ Generation’s “Mr. Mr.”
Article by: Ingrid Schmidt
Edited by: Angelspatience
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