Thursday, September 8, 2011

Album Review: "A Class" by Miss A


A Class is Miss A's highly anticipated first full-length album and it is for sure a solid album. I bought this album physically so the album review will also touch on the quality and packaging towards the end of the review. Let's review!

1. 하나부터 열까지
Well this song is just the usual and it has a very expected feel as far as what you would expect coming from Miss A. This song is sassy like Miss A but it is nothing special which is usually how most albums start off with nothing special. I have nothing against this song but it's nothing that great about it either.
Song: 2/5

2.Goodbye Baby
Goodbye Baby is in my opinion one of the strongest title tracks released this year and it is for sure up there with BGGG maybe even supprasing it in spectacularity haha! From the time the song starts it sounds great and your naturally hooked and it jumps into the catchy and sexy chorus that really sticks to Miss A's usual sassy confidence but they still manage to WOW you. I felt that their were some areas in this song where the song almost sounds like they're trying to keep dragging it on but overall it's a really good song. The rap was really good and I honestly felt like Jia nailed it. I would say the same thing about Suzy's high notes she nails them and sticks to what she's good at instead of going above and beyond what suits her which is what she did in the first track.
Song: 4/5

3. Help Me
This song is just amazing. It is the perfect mid-tempo track for Miss A. This song really reminds me of 90s R&B and in a good way , they did a great job portraying a vintage r&b feel and their vocals in this song are at their best. Miss A in my opinion always seems to produce very American style songs and I always feel like Beyonce, Rihanna, or Danity Kane should be singing their songs haha. Their music takes me back to when I had never heard of kpop and all I listened to was R&B and I couldn't imagine my life without the pure and soulful yet sexy sounds of one of my favorite genres r&B.
Song: 4.8/5


4. Break It

Break it is one of the many pre-releases on this album and it really isn't a good song. The song is all over the place and it just has some very awkard notes and the way they break up the vocals just sounds messy and all of the wierd places of auto tune and other forms of voice editing are just wrong. Honestly this song is very dissapointing and they shouldn't have even put it on the album. The album would have been just fine one track short. Not to mention over half the album is pre-release so the album would have been fine! This song is like a horrible attempt and trying to sound like T-Pain (who is awesome by the way).
Song: 1/5

5. Mr. Johnny
Mr. Johnny is for sure one of the best songs on the album and it is one of their best releases to date. The song starts off rather melow and calm while still being sassy and it sounds great. Then the song picks up and hits you with this really cool chorus and it is honestly a really good song. Although the verses are calm they are still really cool and the vocals are on point. The chorus is great too. Jia's rap is on-point and she doesn't miss a beat (clever word play), it's just flawless. When the chorus comes back in as they approach the end it sounds great once again.
Song:4.9/5



6. 그 음악을 틀어줘요 DJ 
Honestly I felt like this song was just a slightly improved version of Break It but whatever. I think this song is pre-release too but whatever. Honestly Fei's vocals sound awkward the constant repeating of Hey DJ is so wierd and the autotune is so unneccessary it's just crazy. So glad this was a short track so I didn't have to stay in music misery for too long. This is just kind of an album filler.
Song: 2/5

7. Step Up
Step Up is another pre-release and it's a nice song. It for sure isn't something I could ever see being sung live or really being taken seriously but it's not that bad. The dance break towards the end is pretty cool and it's the best part being that I can really see Miss A breaking out the dance moves in a live. The ending is a little cheesy like the rest of the song lol.
3/5

8. Breathe
Breathe is a good song. It's really adorable while still adding that Miss A charm and charisma. The best part of this song is probably the colorful music video and creative choreography. Honestly the song itself it just average though. The fact that this song is so simple is probably why they didn't win more then one award for it unlike their other title hits "BGGG' and "Goodbye Baby".
Song: 3.5/5

9. 멍하니
This is the only actual ballad on the album and it's not amazing but it's still ok. We all know that Miss A is not the most vocally talented group in kpop history since they focus on dancing and that is obvious in this song. A bias fan might say oh this is so beautiful blah blah blah but in reality it's not. The instrumenatl is beautiful and if it was giving to a vocal group like Bebe Mignon or 4Men or maybe just a exceptionally talented artist/group like Navi or Lyn orPiggy Dolls or Apple Mango (the list goes on) it would have been great. The lyrics are gorgeous and the song itself it so beautiful but Miss A's vocals just plain and simple are not good enough and another group could have really done this song justice. That's just my opinion though!
Song: 3.8/5...I'll give a kinds high score because it's a great song but their vocals aren't so great and that's not the songs fault lol.



10. Love Again
This song is yet another pre-release. This song is really pretty and upbeat and I think this is the re-recorded version with Min because I think I can hear her voice. Either way this song is nice and it is a really good CF song fitting of it's orignal purpose. I really like it it's quite light and refreshing.
Song: 4/5

11. Love Alone
Now Love Alone is a really nice song and like most of Miss A's songs it gives off a strong western vibe and it's a good vibe. It's quite obvious that it was created by American Producers not only because of the style but the fact that the whole song is sung in English. Honestly I wish that Miss A would leave rapping to Jia and stop giving her singing parts which is obviously not where she shines. Overall I was pleased by this song and Suzy's singing is really highlited in this song and her ending high note was really good.
Song: 4/5

12. Bad Girl Good Girl
Once again a pre-release. This is Miss A's debut song and honeslty it doesn't matter how many times I listen to it, I can't get enough. This song is so good and it is for sure the strongest 2010 debut track which is probably one of the main reasons for their instant success. This song doesn't have a rap or a high note and it honeslty doesn't have anything to WOW you but it's still amazing. The reason for this song being so good is probably the strong beat and catchy yet fierce chorus.
Song: 5/5

13.  Good Bye Baby (Silver Mix)
This remix is really cool but it's not as good as other JYP remixes (ie WG Nobody Rainstone). Still it's ok.
It's for sure a perfect way to exit the album.
Song: 3/5

This album is good and although it for sure is not anywhere near my favorite or the best album of the year it's still good. So I give props to Miss A and their producers for making a good album. now for the overall album rating. Now as far as packaging goes, it was nice and the packaging resembles most Korean album releases. The photobook is nice and the album quality is nice.

Overall: 3.4/5
Packaging/Quality: 3.9/5
Photobook: 4/5 (not much of a variety)
Reccomend: Maybe



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