Music Appreciation
Related: About this forumMy KPop Playlist: Brown-Eyed Girls - Abracadabra
Brown-Eyed Girls is a quartet that debuted in 2006 with Nega Network. In 2015, they left that company at the end of their contract, and signed with Mystic Entertainment. The group consists of:
JeA (Kim Hyo Jin): Leader and main vocalist
Miryo (Jo Mi Hae): Lead rapper
Narsha (Park Hyo Jin): Lead vocalist
Gain (Son Ga In): Lead dancer, vocalist, visual of the group and maknae.
Left to right: JeA, Miryo, Narsha and Gain.
In 2009, sex wasnt anything new in KPop videos; however, while it existed, it was implied and hinted at, as in TVXQs megahit, Mirotic, rather than expressed outright. Network censorship tended to be strict, and exceptions were rare. Brown-Eyed Girls decided to change all of that with the second single from their third album, Abracadabra.
Directed by New York University film school alum Huang SuA, this may be the greatest KPop MV of all time for not only the insanely catchy electronica song, but also the storyline, cinematography, and of course the iconic, hip-swaying arrogant dance. Its certainly one of the most artistic MVs, and won rave reviews as a game-changer for the KPop industry.
Heres the but, though, and a big one: Abracadabra is a twisted and downright disturbing video with open displays of girl-on-girl action, voyeurism, and such BDSM staples as rough sex, riding crops, bondage and dungeons. Not all of those things are necessarily disturbing, but Id say that the videos blatant hints about bestiality, poisoning, animal cruelty (very brief!) and murder-suicide take it into the land of creepy. So if any of that triggers you, fair warning.
But Ill let everyone else judge it for themselves:
If youre like most first-time viewers, you cant take your eyes off this video, and end up hitting the replay button, to make sure you saw all of what you thought you saw. Rest assured: You did see it. Every freaky second of it.
Brown-Eyed Girls could get away with this concept because, unlike most KPop girl groups, they were grown women when they signed with their label rather than young girls, thus they had a maturity and willingness to take risks that other, younger bands wouldnt dare attempt so early in their careers.
KPop has never been the same since this MV, because sex had finally entered the KPop formula. Granted, it took a while for others to have their own turn at it, but more groups followed in Abracadabras wake, for better or for worse. Nowadays, its a rite of passage for even the cutesiest girl groups to put out at least one video with a sexy concept at some point in their careers. And while many have done the concept well, none have ever touched the mastery that Brown Eyed Girls displayed here.
Although Brown Eyed Girls have had hits since Abracadabra, none has been as pioneering and memorable as this. They may always live in its shadow. Then again, what a hell of a shadow to live in.
Heres a live performance, to let you know that the video isnt the only hyper-sexy thing about Abracadabra. So is the uncensored choreography, and the costume choices, too. Unfortunately, the performance comes at the end of several long months of promoting this song day after day after day after... So the vocal performance isn't as good as it could be. Gain, in particular, sounds tired. The pickings for songs as old as this aren't always the best, though:
Trivia:
I have tried in vain to discover the name of the luscious man portraying the sadist in the video. No luck. Maybe if someone knows Korean better than I do?
Yes, the allusions to the campy 80s film 9½ Weeks is intentional. Gain, the masochist in the video who also wears the smoking hot one-piece short-shorts outfit in the dance scenes, studied the film in preparation for her role. Speaking of that wardrobe choice: Really, Gain, that outfit barely covers your hoo-ha and ass as it is, but you had to roll up the hems, too? Girlfriend, youre making me question my sexuality here.
And yes, Psy blatantly parodied this video in his hit song, Gentleman. Guess what? The woman who gets the better of him in that video and does the arrogant dance at his side is none other than Gain herself. One of my all-time favorite KPop video scenes is when Gain pulls the chair out from under Psy the Jerk. If you've seen the video, you know why he deserves it here:

Ha! You show him whos the boss of arrogance, Gain!
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Spoiler alert: The real culprit in the MV is the voyeuristic rapper. She's the master manipulator whose jealousy set everything in motion.