Popular veteran girl group Kara is making their Korean comeback through "Pandora," their title track from their 5th mini-album under the same name. Individual teasers of each member have been released for five consecutive days, along with a group video teaser before the official music video was released on August 22nd. Prior to the teasers, the members' concept photos were released, showing a sexy, more sophisticated side to Kara. The girls are dressed in classy, high-end outfits, posing under dramatic, cool tinted lighting and fancy chandeliers. Looks like the baby-faced girls from 2007 are now young women as they mark the fifth year since their debut. It's not like they haven't done the dark and sexy concept, but this time around, the photos are showing maturity, more so than those of their "Lupin" promotions.
Even the "Pandora" track sounds more mature and intricate in it's loaded instrumentals, which is not surprising as a pop-synth track composed by Han Jae Ho, Kim Seung Soo and Sweetune. Kara's tracks are usually to the point and purely catchy, but this time, the composers might have missed the mark. Though the instrumentals behind the song were fabulous and reminded me of Infinite's "The Chaser" in it heavy intro (also written by Sweetune), the lyrics, chorus, and overall vocal quality sounded very off. It's either a song written for the wrong instrumentals, or vice versa.
Kara "Pandora" MV (with English translations)
I had to roll my eyes at the lyrics. Even though it was meant to be a "modern interpretation of the popular Greek myth, ‘Pandora’s Box’" (according to allkpop.com), its lyrics are actually just typical come-hither lines to a guy that doesn't have too much confidence and a girl who has too much of it. Come on, "Uh and up ah ah?" What does that even mean? Is that supposed to be sensual and seductive? I really, really hope it's just the English translation butchering the original Korean lyrics, because the meaning is so disjointed.
Unfortunately, the music video wasn't anything special, either. First, they danced behind different lighted backgrounds in different outfits, and later, they danced individually in different settings. Their black outfits were mediocre and unflattering with the tan bands as detailing in front, but their white outfits with gold jewelry were nice. I thought it was unnecessary for them to pull back their jackets so many times, but otherwise, I thought the revealing of their backs were nice. Still, that didn't make up for other scenes, like where the opal neon lighting behind Gyuri made her look like she was in the galactic back room on the set of Austin Powers, or Nicole trying to be too sexy when dancing.
Overall, I'm disappointed that their music video did not capture the strong sophistication exhibited in their promotion photos. However, with their August 24th return to Music Bank, the girls seemed to have really kicked it up a notch for their live stage. Usually, I'm frustrated that Kara's background music drowns out any attempts they make at singing, but on this first live performance, I can clearly hear their vocals. The dance choreography also seems very tiring, involving a lot of spins that make me dizzy just watching them.
Kara "Miss U" + "Pandora" Music Bank Comeback
I'm sad to see that the girls are looking obviously exhausted, and it makes them look so much older. The maknae, Jiyoung, is looking the second eldest after Gyuri, whose recent weight loss makes her legs look overly sinewy. Hara also set out to tone her body before comeback, but all I can see is that she looks more like a little kid than before because of her extreme thinness. Sigh. Kara is already the thinnest girl group out there. They really shouldn't be role models if they can't maintain a healthy weight.
"Pandora" promotion photos:
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| Gyuri |
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| Hara |
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| Nicole |
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| Seungyeon |
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| Jiyoung |
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