Hello everyone! I’m back with the third edition of Summer
Showdown!
Since two years ago, I started making review based on several
summer releases. Why summer? Like I often said, most big names usually make
their comeback during summer.
I started this section with Girl’s Day and SISTAR two years ago then followed
by the massive girl group comebacks last year. I enjoyed making it, so I will
do it again this year! Hopefully, this will be a regular section in my blog J
This year theme will be solo showdown between two girl group
members, Tiffany and Jessica. Both of them are a part of Girls’ Generation, but Jessica left the
group in 2014 due to different interests.
Both Tiffany and Jessica made their first solo debut this year on
May. Tiffany released her first mini album, I Just Wanna Dance with same title track on May 11. One week later,
Jessica released her mini album, With
Love, J with title track, Fly on
May 17.
Tiffany and Jessica are two strong vocalists in Girls’ Generation,
yet their style is different from each other. What will they bring to the K-Pop
music scene? Here is my review for Tiffany and Jessica solo
venture…………………………………………………………………….
PS: I will
only review the title track and its whole concept. Please refrain from
commenting on another issue that has nothing to do with the title track.
Tiffany – I
Just Wanna Dance
Tiffany surprises us with I
Just Wanna Dance. Instead of going with the usual pop or R&B route, she
chooses electro pop genre for her title track. Tiffany goes for more retro
electro pop. The synthesizer and keyboard sound resembles sound from 80s era.
The way Tiffany’s voice sounds also fit the retro theme where her
voice sounds fade away among the electronic music. Unfortunately, this becomes
a double-edged sword because it fails to showcase Tiffany’s strong and husky
voice, which is her characteristic.
I Just Wanna Dance is a song that you can enjoy listening on daily basis. It’s light
and easy on our ear. However, I Just
Wanna Dance lacks something that will grab your attention such as strong
dynamic, hook and stands out vocal, which is not a good thing for a first solo
attempt.
Thankfully, I Just Wanna
Dance music video makes up the song weakness. The music video represents
Tiffany herself. She looks gorgeous with her styling. We see Tiffany comeback
to her hometown in California and wander around from the street, restaurant,
motel to the beach.
Tiffany keeps her signature pink tone throughout the music video.
The mix of pink and dark tone resulted quite unusual color palette and I like
it. The color tone fits the retro theme well too although I’m not sure how the
whole music video cooperates with the song lyrics that asked us to dance.
Tiffany gives us another surprise in I Just Wanna Dance music video by putting choreography. Tiffany is known
to be not a strong dancer, so it’s shocking to see her tries some sleek
choreography. It looks great and different from the usual K-Pop routine. In
fact, the dance scene is my favorite scene in I Just Wanna Dance music video.
Jessica –
Fly
For her first solo attempt, Jessica sticks to pop genre. Fly is
a catchy pop track with strong hook and nice dynamic. It’s really easy to
listen and remember. Jessica’s light voice shines in Fly although there is several times where it sounds too nasally.
Fly also has strong lyrics, which kind of personal for Jessica if you
consider her takes part in composition and her situation post-Girls’
Generation. It tells us to never doubt yourself, go higher, and catch your
dreams.
Fly works well for Jessica, however it doesn’t really offer something
new. It’s a simple pop song with certain instrument (drum) that dominates the
whole song. The rap section by rapper Fabolous also doesn’t give significant
effect to the song.
Fly music video represents the song lyrics about Jessica’s journey to
the top. Instead of sticking with the usual emotional storyline, she puts a
twist on storyline, making it fun while still represents Jessica.
Fly music video follows Jessica who got lost in the middle of desert.
She found a photo a photo of mountain called Winter Wonderland and tried to go
there. In Jessica’s style, she kept her journey pretty by wearing her mini
dress, glamour hairstyle, and makeup while taking her suitcase to Winter
Wonderland.
The fun aspect also added by the music video setting such as
colorful desert and house. Also, Fly choreography
looks simple and fun too. Among all those colorful elements, Fly music video still uses light brown
for the whole tone, making the whole look seems more calm and fits the song
theme.
Despite both being good vocalists, I Just Wanna Dance and Fly prove
that Tiffany and Jessica’s music style is different from each other. Tiffany
experiments with electro pop genre while Jessica keeps it safe with pop track.
Both offer a great music video, which represents their signature style.
Truthfully, both I Just
Wanna Dance and Fly doesn’t fully
show these two women potential. If I have to choose, the song and music video
of Fly works for Jessica better. She
still shines with her singing and emotional lyrics although the production
value of the song doesn’t really stand out. Plus if we see the live
performance, she’s more lively and engaging. Whereas I Just Wanna Dance does the opposite way. It has great production
value both the song and music video, but it overpowers Tiffany herself.
Still, good job for both girls and that’s the end for the third
summer showdown! Which one is your favorite? Which Girls’ Generation member you
want to see her solo next? Share your thoughts below!
Tiffany – I Just
Wanna Dance
Rating: 3/5
Jessica –
Fly
Rating: 3.25/5
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