MBLAQ 'BAM!' : Be A Man

From boys to men, MBLAQ is back! Or to be more accurate, Music Men Live in Absolute Quality is back, MMLAQ (pronounced as Am-me-lack) for short!

Okay, MBLAQ has been one of my favorite boy groups of all times. Their songs and dances are pretty good and consistent, their MVs always changing from one form to another, and they have achieved a stable position in the kpop industry (all thanks to Lee Joon). I always divide MBLAQ’s timeline as 2 parts: the primary stage which MBLAQ were still boys and they produced a lot of pop songs, and the secondary stage which MBLAQ is now men, dominating kpop with sexy ballads. They are equally successful in both stages, but the timeline has been divided so clearly that Be A Man did not come in as a surprise.

Like in Smoky Girl, Be A Man MV is presented in black and white. Monochromes aren’t uncommon in kpop; it has always been used frequently by girl and boy groups that sometimes I don’t see the purpose in doing so. However, I think using monochrome in Be A Man MV is a good choice. Black and white express manliness and sexiness so it’s suitable for the MV, and strongly support the lyrics of the song. They even donned suits and ties, exhibiting maturity, slapping your face and were like, ‘hey we are grown men now! We are still as sexy as we were in Smoky Girl! And yes, No Love is a mistake! Sorry guises!’ Oh come on. Almost every boy group makes such mistake that it’s like a norm in kpop.

There’s actually nothing much to say about the MV. Beautiful MV set? Check. Enclosed space? Check. Few shots of a girl? Check. Be A Man is a very typical MV. Well, I understand that a lot of MV producers and directors stick to the comfort zone when it comes to kpop and they aren’t willing to risk anything with a provocative MV, which makes certain MVs so mind-blowing and some remain dull and boring. Yes, Be A Man MV is dull and boring, you wouldn’t want to replay it. I feel like they are dancing and singing in a fridge, with the misty smoke and the small suffocating space, the surrounding looks cold but since it complements with the song so I guess it’s okay. They are using props like hourglass and mirror, which is very very common in kpop MVs because they think items like this is symbolic. Seriously, I would like to see a MV with lots of pizzas because pizzas are symbolic too you know cheese and pepperoni and bread make such awesome combination that it makes calories mean nothing so pizza is indirectly a symbol too, yeah?  

The dance, however, is a beauty in simplicity. They are doing Rain’s style sexy dance, and I really like the sexy shoulder rotate in the MV. The dance moves are basically repetitive, but I like it when they are slow dancing and not trying too hard to be sexy; that’s the moment they are the most delicious ;) .

I must admit that Be A Man is an addictive ballad, even better than No Love. Beautiful song, heartbreaking lyrics which may be overboard for US music but not so for Kpop industry. Mir’s rap with the beautiful melody behind is my favorite part of the song.They really prove themselves as men, because according to the lyrics ‘all I can do is breathe’ and ‘should I be a man and let go of your hand’, which means they are handling the break up like a real man unlike some other boy groups that can’t even breathe in their sappy music videos. I’m glad that there’s no tears in the MV, thank God for that, because I’m so sick of guys sobbing uncontrollably and making stupid decisions when they broke up with their girlfriend in kpop MVs.  It’s disgusting to see five or more guys crying at the same time! (And there goes their fans cursing me like shut up bitch my oppa is upset how could you said things like that?!)

I could see that MBLAQ is growing their own trend in Kpop, with their sexy slow dances and beautiful ballads.There are so many boy groups mushrooming lately that it scares me, they have terrible songs with awesome dances which will bore you after some time, which is why I think MBLAQ’s Be A Man is a smart move, the MV rising above the other new groups, firmly holding MBLAQ’s place in Kpop. Trust me, MBLAQ may not be as popular as you-know-what-boy-groups-I’m-talking-about, but they are here to stay.