World of K-Pop: T-ARA Comeback with "Day by Day"

T-ara kicks off their comeback with a title track and music video called "Day by Day" that's not just fantastical, it's anime-style. I have to say that I've never considered anime as a concept for music videos, but it's definitely an original idea, and one that can be carried out very well with the proper vision and budget. Fortunately for T-ara's "Queens" fans, their company seems to be going all-out for their comeback, as the teaser itself looks impressively like the movie version of Final Fantasy XIII-2. The music video itself is split into two parts, the first part, released on July 3rd, starts with an introduction that explains that in the future, people have turned into animals that pick up swords to conquer each other. However, there is a myth that one lone human possesses rare supernatural abilities that might change that...

Three of the members are featured in this first video- Jiyeon as the protagonist, Hyomin as the protector, and Dani as the supernatural blind girl. Eunjong is not introduced until the second video. The girls are decked out in black leather, studs, and sport highly saturated hair colors as they are thrown into a world of fear, battle, and overall dystopia. Behind-the-scene clips are shown at the end of the video, and fans are treated to glimpses of the fight choreography.

The song itself is commendable. I had assumed the song would be some bass-heavy punk-rock type song about vengeance in love, but it's actually a sad yet peaceful-sounding alternative acoustic song reminiscent of "Frodo's Bag." In fact, hobbits and hills from "Lord of the Rings" is exactly what I picture when I hear the song. Some people are protesting that it sounds very much like Britney Spear's "Criminal," but maybe it's just the flute sound.

An alternative music video, probably the dance version and featuring all the members, will be released on July 9th. As for the second part of the music video, I imagine it will be featured with the release of a second track from their album.

K-Pop idols seem so out of reach from us "normal people" that I enjoy it when the company makes that gap worthwhile. For instance, don't put a girl group on stage with banal outfits and a mediocre, overdone concept. Give me concepts that are exciting, unfathomable, stuff that I can only dream about. Only then will I truly be satisfied, when I can more tangibly experience that "fantasy."