Am I a big AOA fan? No, not really. I like the members and I liked their initial concept and sound, but ever since Confused and the involvement of Brave Brothers I haven't been able to continue keeping my interest up in FNC Entertainment's only girl group. My main problem is the music more than anything else, because they have the talent and the visuals, but it's hard to enjoy them when all their recent songs sounds exactly the same. It's not like with Infinite where the sound of the songs are usually similar but the structures, melodies and instrumentals still have their differences, it's the fact that Brave Brothers keeps on recycling his old material and it's getting extremely boring.
Anyhow, the teaser pictures for Short Hair looked promising and the "comic teaser" showed potential for a good, funny video. The girls looked stunning on top of that, and the different costumes and sets looked pretty and interesting. The video opens with member Choa, who's the owner of a beauty salon, pouting and looking around at the empty chairs in the salon. And cut to opening dance sequence. All the girls have their individual concept for the video: Hyejeong is a hard working stewardess, Seolhyun is a cute cheerleader, Mina is a mechanic, Jimin a police officer, Chanmi tries to fix a car's engine and Yuna works at an office. They all have their individual jobs as it seems, but none of them are having a very successful day at work. As we all know, life isn't always easy, and what is the best solution to fix all your problems? Cutting your hair off, of course! So at the end of a stressful day at work, the girls all meet up with each other at the salon to get their bob cuts done.
In South Korea, cutting your hair short is a very common act for women of all ages to do, but especially for those who are younger and perhaps still dating. Generally after a breakup or any other crisis in your life, a way to start all over is cut off a chunk of your hair. The symbolic gesture of getting rid of a part of yourself to make room for a new part is one is a reasonable argument, and AOA are not first to turn it into a concept. Female duo Wings debuted with "Hair Short" not too long ago and a group called Bob Girls debuted even more recently. Maybe it's the new trend of the summer?
I didn't think I was going to like this video as much as I did, but I'm always happy to be pleasantly surprised rather than the other way around. What differentiates this video from their latest ones is that this actually has somewhat of a plot and is not just shots of them dancing or making sexy faces to the camera, which I, as a straight girl, doesn't find too interesting. Not that I can't appreciate those kind of videos, because believe me I can, but then I would have to enjoy the music a lot more to help ease into it, and that just hasn't been the case with AOA lately. This song isn't in any way amazing either, but it's alright and I'm convinced the video helps making it sound better too. The plot that connects all the girls comes together very well, and it's neither confusing or overly symbolic, but instead it's a cute, funny video with a well thought out premise and execution. Jimin and Hyejeong's encounters with the big, bearded guy whom I actually suspect is a woman judging from the voice alone (if someone knows who this person is then please enlighten me) are quite funny, especially Hyejeong's airplane scene where she finally has had enough of the rude costumer. Meanwhile in cut scenes, Choa is seen walking around her shop putting tools and items into place and getting the salon ready for business, which I think is quite cute.
Now, let's talk about the visuals in this video because they are amazing. I love the sort of comical, sugar-sweet sets and the sexy costumes and so on, and the fact that it's so purposely unrealistic makes it all the more fun. I like that they all get to have their distinct and unique look, and I believe it's a planned marketing technique too, because now there's an easier way to tell them apart. It also allows for more individual screen time in the video, when they all have their own little plot. Being a box based video, it utilizes the sets to their fullest extent, and also turns the obvious non-realistic sets into part of the video's concept. The girls also look amazing, although I am mourning the loss of Yuna's lovely blonde locks. This group is jam packed with beauty, and I find that this video more than anything opened my eyes a bit more to all the eye candy in there. Sure, the contact lenses are a give or take but I have seen worse uses of them.
Overall, this video serves its purpose of being a cute, yet sexy, video with lots of eye candy and an easy plot to follow. There's nothing particularly groundbreaking about it and it's not the most mind boggling video you'll ever see, but it's suitable for them and for the demographic they're aiming for. Like I said before, the song is quite forgettable and the choreography is dreadfully boring, but the girls really make up for it with their charisma and good looks. In all this praise though, I do really miss their original concept and I wonder what poor Youkyung is up to these days. I really want AOA to succeed, but I'd rather they ditch Brave Brothers now that they've gained some popularity and return to their roots, because that's what made them stand out to begin with. Sure, this comeback is nice and all, but this could really be any other girl group too.
Song: 3,5/5
MV: 3,6/5
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