A-JAX Debuts with "One 4 U" MV

New boy band A-Jax debuts with track "One 4 U"

        There has been hype for some time about DSP Entertainment's new boy group, previously referred to as "DSP Boyz." Later, a permanent name of A-Jax was given to the seven-member group. The name suggests strength, as A-Jax is the legendary warrior that lead the Greeks to victory in the Trojan War. The members consist of Hyeongkon, Jaehyung, Yunyoung, Hyojun, Sungmin, Seungjin and Seungyub. Teasers of each members were released throughout April, and their first appearance as a group was on April 24th, 2012, on MBC Music's "Making the Star- DSP Boyz" Their first pre-debut single was later released on May 15th and called "Never Let Go," a ballad featuring Kara's Goo Hara. The whole music video centers around Goo Hara with different looks- going from a young doll-like, tom-boyish girl strung on red wires to a more lively, independent young lady. I liked that the members did not make an appearances in the video- it brings the focus to the vocal quality of the song instead of their appearances, and hypes up the anticipation to their actual performance.

A-Jax "Never Let Go" MV ft Goo Hara

A-Jax "One 4 U" MV

Their official debut song with music video was officially released today and titled, "One 4 U." Here, the boys make a grand, impressive entrance with their engaging western intro, dark, high-contrast backdrop, mysterious identities and constant action. The music video starts out with servants milling about a balding guy on a throne. A visitor appears to bid the majesty, but as the newcomer raises his eyes, you see sharp Asian eyes glaring upwards in a close-up- obviously up to no good. My guess is that A-Jax is staging some coup to dethrone the king. You then hear the drumbeats of an epic match, and the intruder disappears with a wispy black streak of smoke and reappears somewhere else. Maybe he's a shaman? Magician? The contrast between their ethnicity, dark make-up and pointy clothing indicates that they are from an entirely different place. The K-Pop concepts come in as currently blond member, Heongkon, swipes his cape aside to reveal killer abs and the sequence of member shots begins. In between these scenes, the director inserts dance sequences of the boys in black outfits heavily decorated with glittery rhinestones. The group of seven eventually gather together and walk in a V-formation into the throne room, which is now on fire. As their enemy, the king is soon revealed in an unexpected close-up as a saggy, overweight, hag-like green ogre in a red cloak. Individual members are then locked inside black cages and appear again in a later shot wearing all black witch cloaks. Somewhere in there, a hot blonde girl in a revealing red exotic outfit is seen smizing from inside a cage. The originally bright, golden kingdom has transformed into a dark lair for the ogre and his hissing, witch-like minions in black cloaks. A battle ensues, and A-Jax kicks butt. One of the members telekinetically lowers the cage withholding the blonde girl to save her. The rap scene has the members falling in a synchronized circle to the ground, and the ending scene has them posed on the throne as streaks of bright light shine down on them, Batman-style. 

I find the video has a bit of everything- a intro with makes me curious, introduction of characters, an epic storyline with resolutions, contrasts between the characters, an obvious antagonist, a bit of sexy skin revealed, and a grand, intense atmosphere that makes the production less silly and more fun. The only weak point is that the video is so flashy that it makes me forget to notice the song. Instead, I imagine the track as background music only inserted to augment the drama in the video. I wouldn't mind it if they started out with a Greek battle theme after the name of their group to set themselves apart either. After all, boy band EXO also appeared in their debut music video with superhuman powers, and B.A.P. has already entered the K-Pop scene with a manly and tough image. I especially liked the choreography, since I've only see Infinite truly make use of the cool effects of a dance circle until now. With that intense backward drop scene, I'm sure the performance will be quite explosive on stage.