[News] Mixed reactions to 2NE1′s new song – “Were expectations too high?” (July 6, 2012)

“Not meeting expectations” VS “Something New”

2NE1 has released a new album after 1 year. This time round (the genre) is a combination of trot and electronic.

Shortly after its release on 5 July, 2NE1′s new album’s title track “I LOVE YOU”, has been guarding the top spot on most music charts such as Melon, Mnet, Bugs, Soribada and Cyworld.

2NE1, who has experimented with and challenged themselves with, in terms of style and music, every time, is showcasing a combination of trot and electronic this time round. Although Korea has a lot of traditional singers that sing trot with emotion, 2NE1′s dance music is not only electronic, but is a fusion (of electronic and trot) which makes it fresh.

Around the same time last year, 2NE1 released 3 title songs which all became hits. They’re a group that is a force to be reckoned with.

But how did music fans respond?

Looking at reviews on domestic music sites, reactions seem to be unlike the polarized ones the previous times. Praises like “It’s a better song (than those before)”, “It’s crazy good”, “(I) keep on listening to it, the addicitiveness of it is no joke”, “It’s good to sing along to”, “It starts off with electronic and sounds similar to Britpop in the latter half. It’s a song that has never existed in Korea” can be easily found on those sites.

However there were also comments like “Everyone do you know how many times I should listen to this? (for me to like it)”, “Although I like 2NE1 but I don’t get the song this time round”, “Frankly I’m worried as to how it’ll be received”, “It’s too bad that the feeling of freshness(T/N: that 2NE1 is known for in the K-pop industry) has run out”, “Honestly speaking it falls short of expectations”, “The ‘Woo’ part is the same as T-ara’s Lovey Dovey”, “Let me introduce Gotye, I think it sounds similar to his songs”.

However it is still uncertain as to what kind of responses the song will receive when combined with a performance. 2NE1 will be making their comeback at SBS Inkigayo on 8 July. “I LOVE YOU” is not completely electronic, nor is it completely a trot ballad. How 2NE1 decorates and supports their stage for “I LOVE YOU” is key.

Source: Newsen

What is trot? kpoppark.com offers a short and sweet explanation:

A unique point about 2NE1′s new song is the combination of the Electronic and Trot genres. Trot is the traditional pop music of the Korean Peninsula, and is also known as the earliest form of pop music in Korea. Trot songs are Korean folk songs that emphasise on rhytm and is derived from the fox trot. It is very unexpected for 2NE1 to challenge the trot genre, but the integration of electronic rhytms conveys both feelings of familiarity and something fresh.

Translated by nyldeabcd@CLtheBaddestFemale.com