Watch Out Everyone! GFriend And Their "Me Gustas Tu" Are Coming ForYour Faves!

Out of all the girl group summer comebacks, this was the one my expectations were the highest on. As you may remember earlier this year I wrote a review of their first single and MV "Glass Bead", and I was left both impressed and skeptical. They showed talent and potential, but I was worried that they felt too similar to other bigger and more established groups. However as time went on and I listened to their mini album and watched more of their live performances most of those worries went away, as I realized that these girls have what it takes to make it big. Now that they've released "Me Gustas Tu" I've realized that all my initial worries were gone.





The concept for "Me Gustas Tu" is very similar to that of "Glass Bead", both musically and aesthetically. It seems that the image GFriend is going for is slightly different of what I thought in the beginning, as I only saw another one of those cute, innocent girl groups that we've all seen before. However with their new release I'm starting to realize how their image is both that and a whole lot more, and how brilliant their company is with marketing them. GFriend's aura of youth, femininity and freshness is quite unique, and although there are many groups that do the same "cute" style this is still completely different. It's a bit hard to explain exactly why but I'll try my best to get my point across as I dive further into the song and video.

"Me Gustas Tu" is, firstly, a pretty great song. Their debut showed that they were able to put out good music, but this comeback has truly confirmed that GFriend is also a group to count on musically. Their first mini album "Season Of Glass" was awesome, and although some of the songs shared traits with music typically associated with acts like A Pink it was clear that they had a sound of their own going on too. "Me Gustas Tu" has many of those traits as well, like the bright, happy uptempo pop-sound, but this song has a bit of an edge to it as well. To make it more interesting electric guitars and violins were added and they provide the song with an overall tougher sound, yet it's still very sweet and easy-going. I personally love the song, and I loved it from the moment I heard it so I'm sure they must be doing something right. Although the vocal talent of the group isn't the best they still sound serviceable and main vocal Yuju continues to outshine some of their most capable seniors.

I'm not as big of a fan of the video as I am of the song, but that has been the case for the majority of the girl group comebacks this summer. It's actually quite generic, but it does suit the song and their image perfectly so I can't complain too much about it. The premise of the MV is that the members go on a trip together, and we see them play around outdoors, eat ice cream and tell each other scary stories at night. Basically what every guy on the planet imagines a outing with only girls to be like.

Yeah, I'm pretty certain it was written by men and it's definitely for men too, but unlike the sexualization and male-gaze that was more apparent in their debut MV it's not nearly as apparent here. There's barely anything at all, which is great because these girls are crazy young and should not be viewed that way. Overall the story of the video is cute and fun and perfect for summer, but it's not really that interesting. Visually it's not the prettiest video I've seen this summer either, but the sceneries and locations used seem very real and look natural and genuine, which gives the whole video a more realistic feeling. Some scenes I found were excessively bright and others had sort of a faded filter which made them almost blurry, but apart from that I think it was shot in an appropriate manner as well with a nice balance of plot, close-ups and dancing sequences.

However, the main point I want to get across here is that although the video is nothing too special this GFriend comeback possesses three qualities that have been severely lacking in other girl groups: an amazing song, a fantastic choreography and breath of fresh air. As I've already mentioned the song is wonderful, but a highlight of the video and comeback in general is definitely the dancing. It was obvious from the start that their company wasn't going to let them go easy in terms of choreography, and for that I'm eternally grateful.

It's honestly shameful how many girl groups falter in terms of dancing compared to the boys, either because it doesn't fit the "overly sexy" or "overly cute" concepts or because they're forced to wear heels and are therefore limited in their movements. I know that the girls are equally as good as the boys but they hardly get a chance to show it, and here comes GFriend and they dance like there is no tomorrow, proving everyone I'm right. Not only is the actual choreography a masterpiece (I love all the jumps and spins) but the girls bring so much energy and power to it. Every move is sharp and determined and they are incredibly synchronized as well. Additionally does the fact that they're a conventionally "cute" group makes it even better, because it shows that you don't have to sacrifice cuteness or any concept for a hard-hitting choreo or the other way around, that you don't have to be "tough" or "hip-hop" in order to have a good dance routine.

With this comeback GFriend has proved to I think everyone how much potential they have, and I know that they're only to get even bigger and better from here. Their image is exactly the kind of image that is needed today, I think, and hear me out now why I think that. GFriend are girls you'd want to be friends with, they're approachable because they're genuine. Their youth and enthusiasm reflects in their performances and the fact that they also show talent in both singing and dancing without compromising with their young age and innocence is very refreshing.

Now that I think about it it does remind my of SNSD's debut days, because they were also both talented in many areas as well as having a natural beauty and freshness to them. Unlike other typical "cute" girl groups or those with similar music GFriend's actions don't seem fabricated or fake, but merely are reflections of their personalities and interests as young girls. I don't know how well I've been able to express my opinions on this point because it's hard to put into words, but I think most of you know what I mean. To keep it short: GFriend are going to become huge if their company keeps on promoting them like this and gives them awesome songs and great choreography. Although I've been writing it poorly, what I want to say is that this group brings something new to the table, which should be impossible considering how many groups are active. With that said I'm rooting for them 100% and I hope they will be the next big thing, because they totally deserve it.

Song: 4,8/5
Video: 4/5