STELLAR - VIBRATO

I have a love-hate relationship with Stellar. One the one hand, they produce slick, catchy, high-quality pop tunes. On the other hand, they promote them with some of the raciest, tawdriest videos in the industry. So, regardless of my feelings, how does the new single stack up?

"Vibrato" itself pushes a lot of my happy buttons. It has a staccato synth intro that doesn't even go 10 seconds before we hear Hyo Eun and Minhee on vocals. But even that doesn't last, as Jeon Yul and Ga Young come in with a rap section. And that's all in the first 40 seconds!



Combine all this with an ear-wormy chorus and you have the makings of a pretty awesome, exciting song. The subject matter is pretty much "look at me I'm hot," but it's hard to bag on that since every album has at least one of those. Their writers are definitely listening to the competition, and they've put together a song that easily stands together with any of the hits we've heard so far this summer. If you were looking to lighten your wallet and need something new to fill your ears, I don't think this song would be a bad pick.   

MV REVIEW

I think Korean ophthalmologists should give Stellar a kickback; they'll be issuing new prescriptions for a while following this MV's release.

The girls pretty much do their best, posing and shaking their hips (and their butts) for the camera. Some of the shots take place in this mirrored tight space that makes it look like there are hundreds of glowing bars enclosing them. A nice effect, so I have to give points for that.



It looks like they recycled some of their costumes. I'm no fashionista, but sometimes the costume choices are close to "Marionette." Black latex bodysuits (with the legs uncovered, natch) and leotards with fishnets cover some of the wardrobe choices.

The dance moves are few things we haven't seen before. Humping the floor, sitting on the floor with knees up (AOA's "Miniskirt"), body drops (Girl's Day's "Something") are all par for the course. The hopping is new, but just somehow seems silly when you watch it.



What is ridiculously blatant are the references to a woman's naughty bits and the crotch shots. A purse opening, an eye opening, a zipper, all of these slanted so that they're vertical. Yeah, can you be any more obvious?



I'm sure none of this is the band's fault. In an industry where slave contracts are the norm, it's a little disingenuous to slut-shame the girls. But you can put the blame squarely on the shoulders of producers who peddle this junk. It's not new. Nine Muses went overboard with "Wild" almost a year prior to "Marionette" (though I think they were more artistic about it). But where does it stop? When you're embarrassed to watch girl group MVs on the subway on your way to work, then maybe it's time to dial it back a little. Let's just say I'll never eat a watermelon the same way again.  

SEE ALSO: NewJeans' parents were reportedly the first to raise concerns over ILLIT copying the group