I’ve been having a tough night and it’s an feeling that won’t go away soon, so the MVs for these songs coming out now really helped me fight back that feeling. That is why this week has two songs that made “Song of the Week”. It’s also in honor of 2NE1’s comeback and to promote these great MVs equally. 2NE1 delayed their MVs for a while and Blackjacks were getting anxious. The wait is finally over and the MVs did not disappoint. The MV for “Come Back Home” cost a tremendous amount of money and it shows. The MV for “Happy” must have been less because I can see it using basic outside scenes to portray the theme, which does not mean it is any less important or good. It’s just an observation, so let’s start with “Come Back Home”. ^^
“Come Back Home” starts off slow and has similar parts throughout the song like a ballad, but there are key parts when the beat changes to show its hip-hop roots. This MV had a lot of effort put into it and it certainly shows.
[Photo Credit: soompi.com] Link: http://tinyurl.com/ldhlp9z
The MV for “Come Back Home” gained attention for the massive costs required for its production. The MV was reported to cost 50 million Korean Won to produce, which is about 466,919 in U.S. Dollars. You can tell why once you watch the very beginning of the MV. This MV is a “computer-graphics” heavy MV, which costs a lot of make it good. Computer graphics are sometimes used to alter the appearance of an artist or make up for some part missing in the concept, so it must be used carefully. There is more suspicion of such motives when the computer graphics get more intricate. YG had to be careful when using them and it was a big success. The computer graphics are top-notch and they do not alter any such features of the girls, which proves that was not why the high level computer graphics were used. The part of the song that sounds like a psychedelic trip is properly represented by the computer graphics in the MV. It could not be more fitting and it is a good thing YG recognized this when making the MV. The setting of the MV is a futuristic world and 2NE1 inhabits it following the theme of the song through this advanced world. It seems emotional issues still run rampant in a futuristic world, so some things never change. (>_<) An interesting note to make about this MV is that the psychedelic trip is prompted at first by CL entering a virtual paradise being advertised in the sky via holographic screen. We later see more and more of the members escaping into this virtual paradise, but the attitude towards this paradise soon changes and turns to chaos. The members of 2NE1, led by rouge CL, trash the virtual paradise and seem to prompt everyone to return to the real world. This more or less explains the “come back home” aspect of the MV. However, the end of the MV has the “real world” zoomed out and reveals it is on a screen in the same world we started in. Inception of some kind? Maybe. I didn’t watch the movie, so I won’t go into that. The feeling of what is reality and what is not is certainly posed there. Maybe that world that revolted against the virtual paradises was just the virtual paradise of CL or any of the 2NE1 members. Did they really escape and come back home? There are also questions posed to the viewers of the MV. Which world do we choose to be real? Do we even have a choice? It is rare to see MVs with such a profound plot and questions, so 2NE1 gets even more points for that. Next is the “Happy” MV and this one is a wonderful MV too. It’s not as deep as “Come Back Home”, but it’s not really supposed to be as deep. That means it did its job well. ^^
Both MVs were released around the same time, but “Happy” seems to have been uploaded first. This MV has the girls in an urban setting with colorful outfits and acting exactly as the title suggests. ^_^
[Photo Credit: veooz.com] Link: http://tinyurl.com/lyqsmz8
The set and lack of complex computer graphics makes me think “Happy” had a smaller budget than “Come Back Home”, but the MV is still top notch. YG Entertainment is rich, but it can’t keep spending half a billion Korean Won on every MV is released. Even spending that much on two MVs is questionable, but it was not necessary for “Happy”. The MV shows the girls speaking about typical feelings that come with affection, but they are positive feelings. It wouldn’t make much sense if they were negative and the video was called “Happy”. (^^;;) You might notice there is a lot of Mina Kwon art in the MV, which is not that surprising since she is a YG album designer and artist. You might also have seen fashion designer and close friend to CL, Jeremy Scott. I’m not surprised he showed up in one of the MVs and I would not be surprised if his designs are in that MV too. The MV has many parts where the girls wish happiness to their fans and it is refreshing to see the girls in such a happy mood. MVs like “Do You Love Me?” and “Happy” are great because they show the 2NE1 members having fun, which they constantly say they do. The 2NE1 and Blackjacks motto is “Nolza!”, which essentially means “Let’s Play!”. Most groups say “Fighting!” before a performance, but 2NE1 sees the stage as a playground of sorts and actively promotes having fun performing on stage. It’s also a wonderful MV for a viewer to feel happy and lift their spirits in tough times, which is what it did for me. ^^
Enjoy the MVs and Nolza! ^_^
Here is the deep and futuristic “Come Back Home” MV! :3
Here is the simple, yet wonderful “Happy” MV! ^^
Kpop Updates 