Album Review: Teen Top – It’s
Release: January 4, 2012
Distributor: T.O.P Media
Rating: 
It has been almost two weeks since T.O.P Media‘s up-and-coming boy group, Teen Top, released their second mini-album It’s. With the new year rolling in, it’s obvious to see that the members have decided to work on developing a more mature sound. That shows in their mini-album–with slick-sounding and sexier tracks, Teen Top looks like they’re about break out of the teen-oriented shell they’ve been in since their debut in 2010. Not a moment too soon either-fans have been impatient about seeing what new material they can bring to the table after more than a year on the K-Pop scene. That question has been confidently answered in the tracks of It’s, which is a more mature, yet still a youthful concept Teen Top.
Usually I pay little to no attention to groups still considered “rookies” in the realms of K-Pop, because I find them to be much more appealing after their initial improvements. However, with all the fuss going on about Teen Top these days, I decided to check them out and see why they were becoming so popular. The first thing I noticed about their mini-album was the fact that Brave Brothers had produced it-no, not only produce, but actually helped with the writing, composing, and mixing processes. Now that was interesting, because although most K-Pop fans have never heard of that name before, Brave Brothers is actually an acclaimed producer of K-Pop tracks (notably SISTAR‘s Push Push and So Cool). He left YG Entertainment after working as a producer for their artists in 2008 to found his own entertainment company, Brave Entertainment. Today, artists such as Brave Girls and Electro Boyz are signed to them.
It’s Dance Time!
It’s kicks off with a smooth track, Teen Top, with loud beats and electronic mixing-showing off the glossy production work that will no doubt continue to shine throughout the rest of the tracks. There isn’t really any emphasis put on the vocals of the boys, but that’s not really a big deal to me as it was probably not the producers’ intentions to do so.
And with that, Teen Top launches into their promotional single, 미치겠어 (Crazy). The song is obviously a fast-paced dance track, starting off with an energetic rendition of the chorus, transitioning quickly into the first verse, followed by L.Joe‘s rap. Honestly, my hopes dropped for the rest of the album as I listened to the track for the first time because it’s an obvious crowd-pleaser (and by crowd-pleaser, I mean screaming-teenage-girl-pleaser), but then I started to notice the quality of the track (despite the relapse from a sexier, more mature sound). On top of that, it seems to have a slight twist as a typical pop track. It doesn’t quite go with the angst-filled, brooding concept, but at the same time, it doesn’t reek of overwhelming amounts of aegyo. It also featured all the members, instead of just Niel, a nice surprise. One of the problems I have with rookie groups is the fact that they typically depend heavily on one or two stronger vocalists and let the remaining members fade into the background. Overall, it was a nice, strong selection for the mini-album, and I don’t have too many complaints about it.
What truly convinced me of Teen Top’s potential as K-Pop stars, however, was the music video for this song. Teen Top’s music video for 미치겠어 (Crazy) was visually appealing and extraordinarily well-choreographed, in my opinion. I liked the darker colors and the concept of the video (not getting the girl and going crazy chasing after her and then getting the girl in the end). The beginning reminded me a little of BEAST‘s music video for Beautiful and I Like You the Best. However, the fact that this music video had a bit of a plot as an undertone to the song, but didn’t go crazy overboard made it quite enjoyable to watch, despite cute cliches borrowed from Korean dramas (yes, L.Joe, I see you chasing after a bus there). The choreography was on the risky side, with hip swivels and thrusts aplenty for Teen Top’s female fans. The boys definitely succeeded in creating a tougher, more mature image for themselves with the video. Maybe now, they’ll take that vibe with them over to the song itself next time.
The third track from It’s is, Where’s Ma Girl. I enjoyed this song more than I thought I would. Brave Brothers’ hip hop background shines through on this one. Teen Top is not known for incorporating hip-hop-esque sounds into their songs, so I was pleasantly surprised when they focused more on catchy rap lyrics and a heavy, electronic beat for this number. It’s definitely a clubbing/partying song (although only half of the group can clubbing legally). Clearly, it’s one of their more masculine-sounding tracks and I’m interested as to see where they’ll continue to expand in terms of this type of sound. If it was an experiment for them in terms of new genres, I’d say that it was a success. But hey, let’s a wait a little before “getting your freak on,” boys. Oh wait, you’ve already done that in 미치겠어 (Crazy).
Let’s Talk R&B
Hold up, is that a piano intro I hear from Teen Top? Track four, Girlfriend, is the track that Teen Top chose to showcase their vocals on the mini-album. It has the staples for a R&B-esque slow pop track–mellow background melody, crooning voices (although I would say that the boys seemed a little out of their element here), and catchy beat. They also seem to be channeling their inner Taeyang with the lyrics, “I need a girl.” I liked how the track wasn’t over-processed; there is almost nothing more painful to listen to than an overly electronic R&B track. the whole point is to let the vocals shine, how are you planning to allow fans to appreciate the vocals of the members of the group if they sound like robots? Props to Brave Brothers on that one. Although, I think that Teen Top’s talents lie in fast-paced dance tracks paired with sharp choreography, this softer R&B track provided a solid showing of improved vocals.
One of the things I appreciate most about rookie groups is being able to clearly see their progress with each album (or mini-album) they release. It only takes a few months for them to clean up their vocals and tackle new, complicated dance routines with that fresh energy they bring to the world of K-Pop. However, with older groups, you tend to see them plateau after an initial burst, which is unfortunate. Teen Top is still far from perfection, but they’re definitely on that uphill climb toward untouchable idol status.
Oh, what is this? More R&B? Oh, Brave Brothers, I really wish you hadn’t included this track on the mini-album. The R&B version of 미치겠어 (Crazy) doesn’t impress me that much. In my opinion, it just distracts from the original version. It also sounds too similar to the original version as well, just slowed down. The vocals don’t seem to have changed at all and there’s a few extra things in the background, but it doesn’t stand out when contrasted with the other tracks. The production was nice though, although I think that they could have taken a little more liberty with making it sound more R&B-esque, instead of just brushing the original version over with a light coat of R&B elements and trying to pass it like that.
I feel like this should be on Just Dance 3. It’s totally dance music. The instrumental version of 미치겠어 (Crazy) shows off Brave Brothers’ talents as a producer, composer, and mixer. The track is pretty much immaculate with solid beats, syncopation, and funky electronica.
While I do feel like Teen Top still has a long way to go as artists, I definitely think that they’ve found their niche with this mini-album. Let’s face it, mini-albums have the potentials to make it or break it for up-and-coming K-Pop artists. While this one didn’t exactly make it for Teen Top, it didn’t break them either. In fact, I would say that it shows that they are indeed promising after their first mini-album, Roman, in terms of becoming better vocalists and dancers, and that within a year or two, they will definitely be able to shed off that rookie status for good. Kudos to Teen Top and Brave Brothers for presenting a mini-album that frankly, did not disappoint.
Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)
1. Teen Top
2. 미치겠어 (Crazy)
3. Where’s Ma Girl
4. Girlfriend
5. 미치겠어 (Crazy) (R&B Slow Mix)
6. 미치겠어 (Crazy) (Instrumental)
Video source: XsimpleXtext2X, TeenzOnTop
Image source: allkpop
Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the individual and are not those of hellokpop.
