2PM during Again & Again Promotions
If you’re into KPop, then no doubt you know that 2PM pretty much dominated the 2009 KPop scene. They won numerous music awards, became really popular via variety shows like “Wild Bunny“, but also had to suffer the loss of their leader, Jaebeom, due to an ugly media scandal. But at the end of the day, they’re music artists, so I’d like to about their music.
2PM promoted four songs in 2009: Again & Again, I Hate You, Heartbeat, and Tired of Waiting. All of them were written and produced by JYP, so no surprise the songs were similar in many ways.
In terms of lyrics, I think JYP must have had a pretty crappy love life because all four songs are about a guy obsessing over a girl who has left him. Seriously, the message behind all four songs are essentially the same, mutually connected by their emo-ness.
Musically, JYP uses his usual formula. He has a basic set of chord changes, repeats them throughout the song, and adds melody and rap over it. He adds lots of sound effects: echo, reverb, and of course, autotune. The tonal quality for all four songs are distinctly minor (to suit the emo lyrics I’m sure), and their tempo are almost identical as well. The energy from the songs come from the driving percussion and the booming bass, which better lends the songs to dancing.
In terms of choreography, I definitely think that 2PM’s dances in 2009 are characterized by big energetic movements rather than small smooth isolations (eg: their Only You choreo in 2008). They jump around with relentless vigor to accent their manliness and beastliness. I think 2PM toned down on their acrobatics in 2009. They no longer do backflips and tumbles as a fixed part in their choreography (eg: their 10 out of 10 choreo), they only do it for special dance breaks and endings. Instead, they touch and gyrate their bodies to amp up the sexiness (and to make fangirls scream). For me, learning 2Pm’s 2009 dances was not hard because the moves are not as intricate, but dancing them with full energy is so tiring…feels like I’m sprinting for 5 minutes straight…
To show you these similarities in 2PM’s music and dance, I’ve mixed together Tired of Waiting, I Hate You, and Again & Again into the ultimate Beastly Remix! Watch and see for yourself!
Yes that is me in the video, clearly I can’t be as beastly as 2PM for obvious gender reasons, but I’d love your feedback and comments! If you want to dance along to the remix, click here for the mp3 download.
