SISTAR19 --- a sweet and refreshing departure from the usual

The girls of Sistar19 --- Hyorin and BoRa

I seldom get distracted when I'm focused on doing something... say example when I'm blogging. It takes a lot to take away my focus on something that I'm writing on (right now I'm doing a review of After School's awesome new album, "Virgin" --- that should come out by tomorrow). That was until I caught a glimpse of the new song that came out from the new project group of Sistar --- Sistar 19 (composed of Hyorin and BoRa). The song and the music video was just released yesterday (it's THAT recent! hahaha!).

In a word, the song captivated me.

Sistar together --- (Top Row) Hyorin, BoRa,
(Bottom Row) Soyu, Dasom

Let me start out by saying that this doesn't all come from no where. I actually like Sistar. They're the epitomy of cute and sexy electro-pop. They get a little flack from gratuitous auto-tuning that some of their songs are known for, but what do you really expect from electro-pop, right? (Lots of tweaking). They're not the best female idol group out there, but they never fail to entertain, and they're always fun to watch.

Now many idol groups who go on hiatus, especially the "super groups", usually task the remaining members of the team who are not busy on individual projects or solo albums to do "project albums". Normally some of members of the team are grouped together (or with other label-mates) to handle new songs, or to tap certain markets (like in the case of Super Junior-M --- "M" standing for Mandarin, since that sub-unit of SuJu was formed to tap the lucrative Chinese market).

In the case of Sistar, two of their lovely ladies were tapped for their sub-unit, "Sistar19" --- Hyorin and Bora. Hyorin is leader and main vocalist for Sistar, and Bora provides the rap for the team. In terms of differentiating Sistar19 from the main group, the promotions mentioned that "The ‘19' in their name represents the age that girls mature into women, and it also embodies the sense of innocence yet uncertainty they feel. They aim to showcase these feelings through their lyrics and concept."

Well, looking at the images coming from the teasers and the album jacket photos that were initially released, apparently they were aiming for the dilemma of the late teens --- young, idealistic and naive, yet brash and wanting to grow up quickly. But you don't really get to notice that right away... they're just really pretty and sexy without trying too hard. It's their appeal, even as a group with the rest of the members of Sistar. The video for their single, "Ma' Boy", reflected the same contrasts between innocence and brashness... but maintaining that cool and sexy attitude.

The song is nothing surprising though in terms of its theme and message. It's about a girl expressing her frustration over someone she loves since he apparently he's not very clear about his intentions (players... oh well... even in Korea, they're just as annoying... hahaha!). Pretty common fare for Kpop; although what sets it apart is execution.

Listening to the music though, it was a solid departure from the usual electro-pop dance songs that they're used to dishing out as Sistar. Their single, "Ma' Boy", is a tastefully done, laid-back hip-hop piece. What impressed me though is that it wasn't just purely bass and electro-synth beats that took over the song. It had a smooth musicality to it, owing to the background percussion instruments that were used. I haven't heard many hip hop songs that infuse some bossanova and raggae influences into it.

Hyorin and Bora were superb in delivering the vocals for the track. Hyorin is a joy to listen to - no wonder I've read a couple of reviews mentioning that she's one of the most underrated singers out there. She has powerful pipes, and she can really belt it out with the rest the divas out there if she wanted to. As for Bora, her rap was distinctly feminine (you would hear some female rappers sounding too masculine at times) and fits well with Hyorin's vocal styling. It's interesting that she can also shift and provide enough vocal range to harmonize with Hyorin at certain parts of the song.

Awesome song... interesting and sexy video... a definite must have in your iPod!

"Ma' Boy" by Sistar19

"Push Push" by Sistar

This isn't part of the album, but I wanted to include it since it's 

a favorite of mine by Sistar (in case you haven't heard any of their songs)

p.s.
In case you're interested to know why they're named "Sistar", their group name is a combination of the words "Sister" and "Star", meaning they are meant to be sisters in the entertainment business and become big stars. There you go!