[Review] 4Minute "Is It Poppin'?"

Riddled by lyrical controversy, Cube Entertainment's 4Minute plowed ahead and released their latest digital single "Is It Poppin'?".  In what appears move to ride off the success of their most recent single, "What's Your Name?"—and I say this not only because of the question-based track titles—this track, released all by its lone self, falls quite short of expectation and 4Minute's high standard.  To find out why I believe that this is arguably the most disappointing 4Minute release to date, read the review below.

When I played "Is It Poppin'?" on my iTunes, I had to do a double take to assure myself that I was listening to the right track.  With a name containing such a vernacular as "poppin'", I expected this to be the sort of strong electro club banger which has not been foreign from 4Minute's repertoire.  Instead, I was greeted with a slightly subdued straight-ahead contemporary pop song.  And while this overall quality of the track certainly isn't horrid, this song honestly felt like it would have been fit as a filler of a prior release by this group.  It lacked something: it had no snap, pizazz, or whatever onomatopoeic term you feel best using.  It certainly had plenty of mehs and yawns, though.  I'd like to think the group's producers realized they forgot to include this in their last release, 'Name is 4Minute' and was forced to release it like this to not let it go to waste.  However, the chances of this would be slim to none.

But in all seriousness, the concept of the release is muddled to the point of confusion.  Lyrically, we are told a story of a female protagonist who is attempting to contact her (likely soon-to-be-former) male lover.  Blaming his absence on the assumption that he is dancing at a poppin' club, the female is apparently self-aware that he is likely cheating—the lyrics make it appear that this event isn't the first occurrence either.  Not surprisingly, the female is hurt, torn, upset, and in pain; she's probably contemplating a breakup, but seems hesitant at best.

The majority of the lyrics in themselves are just fine and dandy: not the deepest I've ever heard, but then again I don't listen to K-Pop looking to be philosophically inspired to any great degree.  But surrounding the bulk of the lyrics are these brief intro-outro sections that completely differ from the melancholy tone set otherwise.  "Eh eh eh, 4Minute's here, get big yo' sass on": these sounds like the club-inspired lyrics inherently connotative from the poppin' in the title.  But why are they here?  Am I supposed to be inspired to an awesome song?

I'm curious as to what song they're actually dancing to here. (soompi.com)

I can confidently say that I will not be getting my big sass on and party in the club by listening to this piece.  The music doesn't necessarily inspire this whatsoever.  It's almost light, cute, and tame enough to degree that if it were to play in a club it would be an instant mood killer.  I don't know what the participators in the music video are listening to, but it's certainly not this song that is making them pop like there's not tomorrow.  Furthermore, if this is aimed to be a club-based track, why are the lyrics so melancholy to begin with?  Like I said earlier: this release is just a mess conceptually speaking.

But despite this, is the song really that bad?  Well, I've heard worse, but it's just disappointing for someone of the caliber of 4Minute.  I actually like the inclusion of the dial-tone phone sound effects—something which I'm surprised I haven't heard more of in the past.  The chorus section is moderately catchy, and Gayoon does a formidable job as always breaking up the otherwise static nature of the piece.  And surprisingly this is one of HyunA's stronger rap efforts: while not artistically inspiring to any degree, she seems comfortable and confident in her performance.

Overall, if you're into harmless songs and disregard all the fangled things I'm petty about in the review, I can see why you would like this track.  I just don't, and ultimately it's probably the most disappointing 4Minute release I've ever heard.