EXO is an interesting debut band. They're coming to us from SM Entertainment, which is one of the big three record labels in Korea (and actually, I think they usually rank as the single biggest company). SM hasn't released a new band since girl group f(x) in 2009, so their latest project was really hyped, with tons of photos and teasers and internet buzz. EXO Planet is the official name of the group because they're composed of 2 different sub-units, EXO-K and EXO-M, who will perform the same songs in Korean and Mandarin respectively and who will simultaneously be pursuing markets in two separate countries. It's still not clear to me if they'll ever perform together as a 12-person unit, but hey, Super Junior pulled it off, so it's do-able.
It's an R&B ballad that I genuinely like, and I'm generally not fond of either R&B or ballads, so that says something for it. It sounds like there's a sitar playing a repeated line, plus some bongo drums, but the main sounds you hear are the layered voices of the two singers. There's not a lot of electric interference or obvious Autotune or any of the bells and whistles I expected.
The lyrics are really sweet and endearing, about caring about a girl, becoming a better person when she's around, and wanting to comfort her and make her smile. Awww. That's precious. You can see an English translation HERE. The "girl, I can't explain what I feel" line sounds cheesy, but the rest of the song actually manages to sound quite sincere, which is part of why it succeeds. I like how the chorus has just enough English to keep you hooked and thinking you�ll be able to sing the next line, even though you can�t. "I lost my mind....something, something, something...get in slow motion... something, something, what is love?"
I was surprised that the song is really just a duet: only two of the EXO-K members sing on this track. Their names are D.O. and Baek Hyun, and they really do seem to have the pipes to make the song succeed, but with these two doing so great on their own, I'm not sure how the full 6-member group is going to function. D.O. seems to have the smoother, more traditionally "pretty" voice, while Baek Hyun's voice has a bit more character and the ability to kill those high notes.
"What Is Love" is one of those songs that just plain gets stuck in your head. I can normally tell my favorite song of the week by taking note of what I'm humming while washing dishes or doing laundry, and "What Is Love" wins the stuck-in-my-head award for the week. Is EXO deserving of all the hype? I still don't know enough to be sure, but their first song is imminently listenable.
My grade: 4 of 5 stars for the song.
Watchable bonus: Let's start with just the audio.
And here's the EXO-K music video, which features a solar eclipse, some mystical artifacts, a swamp that looks like the Dead Marshes from The Lord of the Rings, and Kai channeling Gene Kelly and dancing with a jacket. It's an okay video, but I will say that I first heard this song while while watching the MV, and thought �Eh, this is just okay". It wasn't until I listened without the visual that I loved the song.
Note: Chen and Lu Han of EXO-M sing the Mandarin version of "What Is Love". It's essentially the same song and same video, just with the Korean lyrics and band members replaced with Chinese counterparts. I'm not sure what I think about this strategy. It seems like EXO-M is getting a little shortchanged in the deal, since they're not getting as much press. Example: at the time of writing, the Korean version has almost 2 million views as compared to just over half a million for the Chinese version.
Song Review: "What Is Love?" by EXO-K Link Free Download
