안녕하세요 Buddies,
If you follow K-Pop and don’t know who GFriend is by now, then you are definitely missing out. The group was founded in 2015 and is “sourced” under Source Music (see what I did there 😅………… 죄송합니다). The group, up to this point, has released three mini albums containing hits such as “Glass Bead”, “Me Gustas Tu”, and “Rough”. GFriend started gaining popularity after a fan cam was posted showing their professionalism on stage. Members kept slipping on a rainy stage but still finished off their performance. GFriend has been recognized by many as one of the top rookie groups in the industry, earning “Best New Female Artist” at the 2015 MelOn Music Awards and throughout the “Rough” promotions. On top of that, they have scored 15 music show wins.
In their first trio of songs, GFriend identified as a group with a very unique, powerful innocence concept and adopted the school girl theme. Now with their first full album out and the end of the school girl theme, we can’t wait to see the new beginning!
Song Review:
“Navillera” starts off with a very retro backing track but still has that GFriend vibe that you have come to know and love. Also, the violin sound and the electric guitar add to the depth of the backing track. Throughout the whole song, the use of synthesizers is very clear and provides another interesting aspect to the song. The hint of the electric guitar blends with the synth, creating some very unique chord progressions. The chorus is the most intriguing part of the song in my opinion; GFriend’s songs are always catchy but this songs take it to the next level. The chorus rises to high octaves and slows down as it continues to play out. This kind of chorus exudes its own charms and flows well with the pace of the song. I find myself humming to it after a few listens. And it wouldn’t be complete without an electric guitar solo. The guitar solo in GFriend’s previous song “Rough” felt out of place but creates a whole different vibe in this new song. Overall, the production has not disappointed Buddies at all. Keep up the good work GFriend!
GFriend has been criticized by many as a group that doesn’t have outstanding vocals. As a Buddy myself, I have to agree that in the past, the vocals of GFriend haven’t been stellar. However, you can see the progression and development of their singing capabilities through each of their releases. “Navillera” shows how much the girls have gone through. We start off with Eunha’s nasal voice which I can’t get enough off. SinB is more known for her dancing, but I am impressed at how stable her voice is this time. Yuju just keeps wowing us all and shows why she is the main vocal of the group. Umji still has more time to develop her voice but I wish she would get more lines. Last but not least, Sowon has finally (and I mean finalllyyyyyyy) gotten more than one line in the whole song…… yessssss, and she stepped up to the plate and delivered. The mixing of the vocals in the song has been done to perfection as each of the member’s voices complements each other. Let’s talk about that high note huh? Yuju’s high note just hits me right there and fits the song really well. I hope to see many more great years with GFriend to come!
Song Rating: 8/10
MV Review:
The visuals of the MV here give off a very retro vibe, which many groups this year have embraced. The color balance is great and really gives off the theme of the song as cheerful and innocent just like GFriend. The wardrobe choice for the girls are as spot-on as for any other artists (Man, I need these K-pop stylists to choose my clothes for me 😋). Now we get to the choreography. Although we didn’t get to see much dancing, the girls live up to their reputation as one of the groups that are known for their hard and accurate choreography. Overall, a very beautiful video done by GFriend and we can’t wait for more in the near future!
MV Rating: 9/10
This post was written by our guest blogger, Hallyu Dongsaeng.
