B1A4 are feeling a little "Lonely"

8 months after their latest comeback, heartthrobs B1A4 are back to rock our worlds once again with the laid back and soft sounding Lonely. Coming from having won their first number 1 on Music Core last May with What's Happening and gaining lots of new fans, the expectations for this January release were high, at least for me. I became a fan after the stunning song that was Tried To Walk, which easily was one of my favorites of the entire year, and fell in love with their playfulness and boy-next-door image.
The teaser video and pictures were fantastic, and as much as I love their quirkier and colorful concepts, I was really excited for this as well.




Concept

With this Winter release, B1A4 goes back to their maturer style, as a complete change from the last time we saw them. What's Happening was fun, high energy and upbeat, and is a style that works for them really well. What I like about this group in particular is that while most of their past stuff have been more on the cute side, it has always been playful and exciting without overdosing on the aegyo (most of the time, anyway). They have this innocent, youthful charm that sets them apart from quite many other boy groups with similar styles. I also find it impressing how they manage to keep this image even when releasing this type of material, where the sound is slightly more low-key and relaxant. It suits them just as great, and it's not awkward or strange in any way, as it might be when groups undergo severe changes in concept from comeback to comeback. 

Plot

I am happy to have something to write about in this section because a lot, and I mean a LOT, of kpop groups don't really have any plots in their music videos. Either it's just them dancing, looking pretty or playing with props to keep us interested and entertained. This video however, features member Jinyoung as the main character of a story in which he clings on to the memory of a past girlfriend that is now out of his life. The lyrics reflect this really well, as they tell you how he thinks about their happy memories together and how much he misses her in his daily life. He looks at the pictures in his wallet of them together, and has a hard time coping with the fact that she's gone. Then all of a sudden, when he's in his deepest despair; she appears in front of him! Well, not actually in front of him, as I interpret it, but more as a representation of his heartbreak. He tries to do everything he normally does; listening to music, vacuuming and watching movies, all while pretending that she's actually there with him. But the girl just keeps floating away (quite literally), and every time he gets distracted or occupied she starts to slip out of his hands, forcing him to tie her wrist with a band so that he can hold it and prevent her from leaving. In the end, he finally decides to lets her go and eventually begins floating himself. 

I really like the plot of this video. Although it's quite simple, it's easy to understand and fits perfectly with the lyrics. Jinyoung does a good job in playing the character of a person who just can't accept that their loved one has left them. The girl literally floating away and him trying his best to stop her tells you that he's desperately holding onto something that is already gone, but he's in total denial of it. It is a very realistic situation that many people find themselves in at times in their lives, and it's something we all can relate to, whether we've lost a lover, family member or a friend. We become so used to having them in our daily lives that nothing seems to work without them, because they were such a big part of it. 

Scenery

The obvious recurring color theme in this video is the white, emphasized by the use of snow in the majority of the video. There was also a slight blue and gray hue, making it cold and gloomy, once again matching the song and the concept. 

I though the sets were mostly good, but nowhere near as interesting or beautiful as their latest title track videos, which is a bit disappointing. Some of them were better than others, and I especially like most of their individual shots and the warehouse set were they dance in the all black outfits. 

I also thought the all white set didn't fit in with the rest, because it was basically just them dancing in a white room, and it seemed really out of place with the rest of the video. I feel like if you're going to dance in a white box, than that should be the theme of the entire video, not thrown in between shots of actual good sets.

Styling

I am a bit torn in this question, because not everything was great. I love their natural hair colors (Baro specifically should always have black hair and never go back to blonde colors or hideous bowlcuts) and face wise they all looked very handsome. I do have a problem with the outfits though, and their inconsistency. Some of them just don't seem to have any sort of connecting theme to both each other or the rest of the video. And why do CNU and Sandeul always get the short end of the stick? Their jackets were neither figure or age flattering and made them both look way older than the rest of the members. I also didn't really like Jinyoung's coats and while Baro totally rocked that furry one, it felt completely misplaced. The white suits they all wore in the white room were not in any way connected to the various outfits they wore in the snowy street, and that scarf they pull out at one point in the choreography really threw me off. Where did that come from?

Overall, I feel like it could have been planned better to make them more similar or at least have some kind of overlaying theme. I didn't know what styling they were going for at all, making it a bit confusing to watch.



Choreography
B1A4 has mostly been given interesting, eye-catching choreographies in the past and performed them with great energy and precision, so I was hoping for the same instant attraction this time as well. Unfortunately I have to say they failed to deliver anything memorable. Obviously it's not a dance based video, but the snippets here and there were quite bland and didn't leave me very ecstatic.
The use of scarfs shown during the second chorus also makes me skeptical, because it could work in their favor, but it could also work against them. When I heard this song I didn't immediately think of scarfs being a major point of the dance, and I'm not sure how it will play out on stage.

Although, I'm not going to judge the entire choreography based on this video, because I've found that I always enjoyed watching their dance practice videos more because it showcased their talent better. I'm hoping that this time will be the same, and that I will be pleasantly surprised of how wrong I was thinking this dance was mediocre.

Conclusion
I like this video. Do I love it? Almost.
Maybe my expectations were too high but I can't help to feel a bit underwhelmed. I am still supporting them and I am doing a review of their album as well, but I am a bit sad it wasn't as amazing as I imagined. I also found the airtime for any member that wasn't Jinyoung very uneven. Like, I know he wrote the song and is playing the main lead, but I don't really remember any of the other boys at all. 

Still though, it's a great effort from the boys with a good song and equally good video.

Total score: 4/5