Apink has never really had a break-up song. All their songs have been about love, with lots of bright colors and pastels, but most of all, a lot of pink. Now, they have a slightly more mature concept (while still keeping some of their cutesy aspects), with a bittersweet break-up song.
This song is about a girl looking back at a past relationship with nostalgia. In the chorus she asks, “Do you remember the times we spent together? Can we turn back time?” There was clearly a break up and it pretty clearly wasn’t mutual. The girl misses the relationship and the support that she had. They also spell out the word love (l-o-v-e) but the song is called “Luv.” Just a small nitpicky thing. The bottom line is that it’s probably the saddest single Apink has ever had, and the music video reflects that.
For once, there aren’t copious amounts of the color pink. The colors are muted and neutral, and the outfits are as well. There are still key aspects of their style- the flouncy skirts- but they’re in black and white rather than their usual bright colors. The brightest colors in the video come from the autumn leaves, and everything else seems subdued despite them (or perhaps in comparison to them). The closest they get to pink is a desaturated, dusky rose color and a peachy-beige color. The dusky rose is similar to colors used in their debut MV, I Don’t Know, but now there’s much less of it, and it’s used as an accent color more than anything else.
The plot of the video mirrors the message in the lyrics. The six girls are each seen in different locations, looking sad, and then there’s a flashback. The flashback scenes are lighted differently, making it clear that it’s a memory. In one flashback, Eunji writes a pair of initials on a tree in chalk, and later comes back alone, and the chalk is miraculously still there. There’s also a flashback scene with Eunji and the boy taking polaroids of each other, but other members come along and look at the photos sadly. It’s as if they all shared the same relationship. Not the first time it’s been a group sharing a single love interest, but to share a narrative as well? It seems strange to me.
The colors in the flashbacks are just as muted as the colors throughout the rest of the video, so I’m wondering what the significance is. The subdued color scheme obviously reflects the less-than-peppy theme of the song, but you’d think the memories would be a bit brighter, since they’re supposed to be a happier time. It could be that the sadness of the present day is coloring the memories. Or it could just be that the director liked that particular aesthetic and is sticking to it. I, personally, like the visuals of this MV, colors and all. It’s a much more mature concept for Apink, but not too far out of their original style. It seems like the natural way for them to grow up as a group.
The song itself is not the best it could be. It’s slower than Apink’s other songs, described as having an “element of hip hop.” I do hear that influence, but it’s not terribly overbearing. It wouldn’t work with this group if it was. The biggest disappointment for me, though, was the chorus. After the beat in the verses, you’d expect it to carry over. Somehow the chorus seems too light, not grounded by drum beats the way the rest of the song is. I kept waiting to hear it in later verses, but no dice. I was also expecting a key change after the bridge, and it sounded like they were setting up for one, but it went back to the exact same chorus as before, and it felt incredibly lacking. I like the song, but with a few small changes, I could have loved it, and that’s what’s so disappointing about it.
Like I mentioned before, the styling is very subtle and mature, but I did want to comment on one thing. There are rhinestones in the makeup. Not the full lash line, like you see sometimes, but one or two at the corner of the eyes. It’s one of the few things in this video to “pop” and it has the added effect of looking like teardrops. For a group that’s usually so expressive in their clothes and makeup, it’s nice to see them in a more laid-back style, and the rhinestone addition doesn’t overdo it. It’s really a nice effect.
All in all, though the song didn’t astound me, it was nice to see Apink doing something different. They didn’t change drastically, like some groups I could mention, but kept elements of themselves while aging up their style. It’s a natural progression, and makes me look forward to future singles of theirs. I’m curious to see if they continue in this direction, and just how far they drift from their original concept. Despite the changes, this MV was still very “Apink,” and I saw their style in the dance costumes and choreography. I’ll have to check out the other songs from this mini-album to see if they catch my attention more than this particular single.
This song is about a girl looking back at a past relationship with nostalgia. In the chorus she asks, “Do you remember the times we spent together? Can we turn back time?” There was clearly a break up and it pretty clearly wasn’t mutual. The girl misses the relationship and the support that she had. They also spell out the word love (l-o-v-e) but the song is called “Luv.” Just a small nitpicky thing. The bottom line is that it’s probably the saddest single Apink has ever had, and the music video reflects that.
For once, there aren’t copious amounts of the color pink. The colors are muted and neutral, and the outfits are as well. There are still key aspects of their style- the flouncy skirts- but they’re in black and white rather than their usual bright colors. The brightest colors in the video come from the autumn leaves, and everything else seems subdued despite them (or perhaps in comparison to them). The closest they get to pink is a desaturated, dusky rose color and a peachy-beige color. The dusky rose is similar to colors used in their debut MV, I Don’t Know, but now there’s much less of it, and it’s used as an accent color more than anything else.
The plot of the video mirrors the message in the lyrics. The six girls are each seen in different locations, looking sad, and then there’s a flashback. The flashback scenes are lighted differently, making it clear that it’s a memory. In one flashback, Eunji writes a pair of initials on a tree in chalk, and later comes back alone, and the chalk is miraculously still there. There’s also a flashback scene with Eunji and the boy taking polaroids of each other, but other members come along and look at the photos sadly. It’s as if they all shared the same relationship. Not the first time it’s been a group sharing a single love interest, but to share a narrative as well? It seems strange to me.
The colors in the flashbacks are just as muted as the colors throughout the rest of the video, so I’m wondering what the significance is. The subdued color scheme obviously reflects the less-than-peppy theme of the song, but you’d think the memories would be a bit brighter, since they’re supposed to be a happier time. It could be that the sadness of the present day is coloring the memories. Or it could just be that the director liked that particular aesthetic and is sticking to it. I, personally, like the visuals of this MV, colors and all. It’s a much more mature concept for Apink, but not too far out of their original style. It seems like the natural way for them to grow up as a group.
The song itself is not the best it could be. It’s slower than Apink’s other songs, described as having an “element of hip hop.” I do hear that influence, but it’s not terribly overbearing. It wouldn’t work with this group if it was. The biggest disappointment for me, though, was the chorus. After the beat in the verses, you’d expect it to carry over. Somehow the chorus seems too light, not grounded by drum beats the way the rest of the song is. I kept waiting to hear it in later verses, but no dice. I was also expecting a key change after the bridge, and it sounded like they were setting up for one, but it went back to the exact same chorus as before, and it felt incredibly lacking. I like the song, but with a few small changes, I could have loved it, and that’s what’s so disappointing about it.
Like I mentioned before, the styling is very subtle and mature, but I did want to comment on one thing. There are rhinestones in the makeup. Not the full lash line, like you see sometimes, but one or two at the corner of the eyes. It’s one of the few things in this video to “pop” and it has the added effect of looking like teardrops. For a group that’s usually so expressive in their clothes and makeup, it’s nice to see them in a more laid-back style, and the rhinestone addition doesn’t overdo it. It’s really a nice effect.
All in all, though the song didn’t astound me, it was nice to see Apink doing something different. They didn’t change drastically, like some groups I could mention, but kept elements of themselves while aging up their style. It’s a natural progression, and makes me look forward to future singles of theirs. I’m curious to see if they continue in this direction, and just how far they drift from their original concept. Despite the changes, this MV was still very “Apink,” and I saw their style in the dance costumes and choreography. I’ll have to check out the other songs from this mini-album to see if they catch my attention more than this particular single.