[MV and Song Review] AOA Cream - 'I'm Jelly Baby'

AKP STAFF

AOA CREAM - "I'M JELLY BABY"

FNC has unveiled their new sub-unit, AOA Cream. Consisting of Hyejeong, Chanmi, and Yuna, these three girls are serving up a sweet helping of pop, as only members of AOA can. "I'm Jelly Baby" is their first single.

This song reminds me strongly of a retro tune, the kinds of songs coming out of girl bands back in the 50s and 60s. It's updated for the modern era, with a cool Chanmi rap, but has some of the backing horns and guitars and general peppiness of a previous generation. The chorus is classic AOA, and definitely hook-filled: "I'm jelly baby / I'm your baby baby baby baby / I'm jelly baby baby baby baby."

The message of the song? Pay attention to me.

I've rarely been disappointed by an AOA release (or even their subunits), and this AOA Cream track is no exception. It's the perfect remedy for a rainy winter, in case Punxsutawney Phil's predictions have you feeling a bit down. It's light, poppy, upbeat, and a great song to lift your mood just a bit.

MV REVIEW

See the girls of AOA Cream dispense justice 'Sailor Moon'-style!

Hyejeong gets a text and hugs her phone to herself in blissful puppy love, but her mood darkens quickly when she and the other girls see the boyfriend walk by with another girl. They transform into magical girls (ala 'Sailor Moon') and prank him to teach him a lesson; they freeze time and kick him, spook him by appearing and then suddenly vanishing, magically mess with his espresso, and more. Not content to wait for karma to do its job, these girls mete out hilarious punishment themselves.

The special effects are actually pretty amusing, if not amazing. I like the way their accessories magically pop into being, and the sparkly effects around their eyes are a nice touch too.

The wardrobe had me laughing, because their magical girl uniforms look like ballet outfits, complete with cute, fluffy tutus. That is par for the course in that genre, though, where the garb is more adorable than cool. The other costumes were definitely made for the male gaze, replete with bare midriffs and legs, but the great thing about AOA Cream is that they wear those so well.

The dancing consists of a lot of shoulder and hip action, but I didn't see anything terribly challenging. They were fairly typical, garden-variety moves, with some aegyo gestures to top it off. The choreo was a bit simplistic for my taste.

Ultimately, this video tickled my funny bone. I've come to expect humorous videos from AOA, and AOA Cream delivered. It's too often that we see a decent song marred by a bad video, so this MV had me snickering at points. While not a fan of the magical girl genre, in small doses this kind of thing can fun. I viewed it more than once, and I'd happily do it again. Good song, good MV, good job girls.