Kpopalypse Nugu Alert Episode 80 – January, Oh Dongseok, From 2020, Club Gemini
Yes Kpopalypse Nugu Alert is back again! Let’s take a look at some more nugus!
The nugu quest continues – it’s time to look at some more nugus for 2023 so they neet the 2023 end of year list cutoff! It’s important here at Kpopalypse.com to ensure end of year list integrity by considering the maximum possible amount of nugus who could potentially be eligible for inclusion… or not, as the case may be!
This episode’s theme is girl groups. Everyone loves k-pop girl groups, don’t they? Well, some more than others, it seems. Here’s some girl groups who could have definitely received a little more love from the public in 2023 than they did. Just as well I’m here to give them a helping hand, right?
Usual rules apply:
- Less than 20,000 views on official channels
- Not trending on your favourite k-pop forum at this moment
- Relevant to Kpopalypse
Let’s go!
JANUARY – Remember
January do their best to help you “Remember” the early SNSD/Apink/Gfriend k-pop style, with lots of bright clothes, bright outdoor settings, smiling at nothing in particular and cheery pop music with anthemic choruses and random breakbeat segues for no reason. Except none of those elements are actually done all that well here but no matter, the effort is what counts in Nugu Alert and they do certainly put effort in, what with all that staring at the camera trying to get the parasocial mojo going, and especially at the end when three of the girls do a ‘faraway wave’ to the fourth girl who is only just out of camera frame. Also there’s some pretty cool boating action happening in the background, this agency don’t look like they have the capital to commission someone to be a nautical extra so I guess someone was just super keen to get their cool jet-ski moves into a pop music video. It’s not bad and at 16k views in only two months they could be on the cusp of D-list fame, let’s cheer for them!
Youtube views at the time of writing: 16393
Notable attribute: multiple tyre track marks indicate this part of the beach might not be all that safe, watch out for roving SUVs, girls
Nugu Alert rating: average
Oh Dongseok – Energy Power Up
“Energy Power Up” is definitely a case of a pretty good song being somewhat hamstrung by a lack of budget and lack of care factor. There’s actually a decent tune in here but it’s kind of let down a bit by the piss-poor vocal production and the very distant, non-present sounding backing track. I’m not sure if anyone really even wanted this to be any good apart from the girls themselves, as the whole package lacks attention to detail, the long note that just isn’t mimed at all at 1:33 that somehow survived editing intact being the most extreme example of nobody really giving a fuck how this turned out. It’s not even a matter of budget, as it doesn’t look overly cheap as such, just rushed. A shame that the producers seemingly took the money from these girls’ parents and ran, as I’m digging the upbeat Twice-style feel of the song itself and with a few small changes it could have definitely had a lot more impact.
Youtube views at the time of writing: 5019
Notable attribute: parental advisory warning for teddy bear violence at 1:50, Kim Hyun Joong approved
Nugu Alert rating: high
From 2020 – Don’t Worry
We’re back to the beach and the Gfriend vibes once again for From 2020’s song that sounds more like it’s from 2010 but never mind. I’m not so keen on the song itself this time which is a bit kind of bland with it’s dull “don’t worry don’t worry” hook, but at least the video is relatively polished, surprisingly so for something with such an impoverished viewcount. There’s solid cinematography and editing across the board here, and what’s even better is that the girls are actually allowed to eat food all the way through the video, now that’s a privilege reserved for extreme nugu girl groups not too concerned about fame only, and good to see. Let’s hope they get a better song next time and also some more views, I’m ready for “From 2020” world domination (sorry if that thought gives you Americans PTSD).
Youtube views at the time of writing: 2318
Notable attribute: Garen sucking at toplane farming at 2:15 is more relatable and parasocial-relationship-building than a thousand straight-to-camera aegyo faces
Nugu Alert rating: very high
Club Gemini – Summer Solstice
Club Gemini are another group who feel like they should maybe be a bit more popular than they are given the quality of the product. The video has decent production values and a nice “Picnic At Hanging Rock” aesthetic which works pretty well right up until the point where one of them kind of blows it off by rapping by some earth-moving equipment in a bikini, I guess they were reaching for a Rachel Kim moment. The song itself isn’t bad either, it has a bit of a groove to it and sounds sufficiently different to the average k-pop by numbers to at least not sound boring. There’s even some token man-meat here, just sort of hanging out with the girls because he can, so I guess that means all tastes are catered for. What any of it’s got to do with a summer solstice I’m not quite sure, but then the Korean obsession with matching song releases to the seasons is cheesy and annoying so breaking the rules feels pretty refreshing, overall good work girls.
Youtube views at the time of writing: 1659
Notable attribute: cursive shoulder tattoos aren’t just for Hyuna and Jiyeon
Nugu Alert rating: extreme
That’s all for this episode! Kpopalypse Nugu Alert will return!
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