Red Hot or Cool Blue? After School's got everything for you!

After School (although this picture wasn't taken when their
sub-unit groupings were finalized)
Top Row - Kahi, Uee, Joo Yeon and E-Young
Bottom Row - Raina, Jung Ah, Nana and Lizzie

When Bekah announced her graduation from After School, the group was evened out at 8 members in total --- Kahi, Jung Ah, Joo Yeon, Uee, Raina, Nana, Lizzy and E-Young. Having just released their last full-studio album, "Virgin", a few months ago, I wasn't really expecting After School to make a come back any time soon (if you haven't read my review for "Virgin" yet, click here).

I guess Pledis Entertainment didn't want to have the girls stay away from the limelight too long since After School is definitely back --- and this time as two seperate sub-units, After School Red and Blue.

It's only natural for large super groups to form sub-units while their main team is in hiatus - a very good example of this practice is SM Entertainment's Super Junior (which have Suju-M/Mandarin, Suju-KRY, Suju-T/Trot, and Suju-Happy) and Starship Entertainment's Sistar (which has Sistar19).

After School follows this trend with the creation of their two sub-units, After School Red (composed of Kahi, Jung Ah, Uee and Nana), and After School Blue (composed of Joo Yeon, Raina, Lizzy and E-Young). Their new mini-albums were launched last July 20 featuring two singles each.

After School Red features a strong and powerful image, and picking Kahi, Jung Ah, Uee and Nana to portray this image was definitely a good decision. Apart from a strong image, these girls' vocal range and composition best suit the kinds of songs that they're being asked to perform.

The first track to be featured for AS-Red is "In The Night Sky" --- it's a mid-tempo Kpop dance track that pretty much fits in the usual type of songs in After School's discography. I liked the MV a lot since it veers away from the usual Kpop thematic, and goes for natural settings, which adds a dark sensuality to the character of the song.

"In The Night Sky" by After School Red (MV with English Subtitles)

On the other hand, we also have the second track in the album, "Hollywood", which I personally preferred over the first track. The track has a strong house / electro-pop vibe. Absolutely great vocals and harmonization complement the good audio mixing.

"Hollywood" by After School Red (Audio with English Subtitles)

It's interesting to note that AS-Blue actually has a strong roster of vocalists --- Raina, Lizzie, Joo Yeon and E-Young. They harmonize really well, which makes sense that they're the ones tasked to do the happy, and syrupy sweet Kpop songs.

They start off their first mini-album with the song "Wonder Boy", which pretty much reflects the bright, sweet and cute image that they want to portray for their sub-unit. I love the MV since it's all in blue... my favorite color (biased, ain't it? hehehe!).

"Wonder Boy" by After School Blue (MV with English Subtitles)

The second track in the mini-album, "Lady", is a mid-tempo pop-ballad. I felt this song best characterized how AS-Blue's strength in vocal talent. Apart from being a great example of how electro-pop can be a good vehicle for pop ballads, the girls are able to showcase their individual talents and group harmonies very well.

"Lady" by After School Blue (Audio with English Subtitles)

So far, Pledis Entertainment has been trying a whole lot of things to energize the following for After School. I am impressed that there's always something new and interesting happening when it comes to these girls. Definitely they aim to deliver great entertainment, and I always look forward to their work.