Battle of the B-Sides: LABOUM: 빛이 되어쥐 (Be the Light)

 Unless I do The Roulette Wheel, I obviously can pick which of the suggestions I've gotten that I'll write posts for. I also have a spreadsheet where I have my posts organized by generation and boy group, girl group, and co-ed. The co-ed groups definitely need more attention, but I'm taking these last few Specialty posts to focus on the girl groups because they're not my natural inclination, and while the Roulette Wheel is weighted equally, I don't like that it's uneven. So, I ignored my normal addition of the B/G/Co-Ed Wheel spin and just did it for a girl group, and I ended up with LABOUM. I'm not sure I've heard of them, so this will be exciting. 

LABOUM is a third gen girl group that are younger sisters to U-KISS and Brown Eyed Girls, which is wildly hilarious considering the last GH post I did was in fact for BEG's song Abracadabra. So, that was unintended. 빛이 되어쥐, or Be the Light as I will be calling it through this because while it would be a good way to practice typing with the Korean keyboard I'm not going to, comes from their 2017 album, MISS THIS KISS, which gave the group their first win. The song has been performed on music shows, which is good for you all, dear reader, because that means it's less me just yapping about the song and more different versions for you all to enjoy. Huzzah! Thank you, Simply K-Pop, in particular for being what you are and giving a space for groups to perform their b-sides. LABOUM is currently on hiatus while they navigate solo activities and the group's company being acquired by another, but they are not disbanded. They're just adjusting to their new paths and figuring them out. 

For the record, I cannot listen to this song with my eyes closed. I almost dozed off there while I was trying to actively listen to it and focus. It's so gorgeous, with delicate warbling in instrumentals that do an excellent job of not even pretending to overwhelm the vocals. Even at points where the instruments get a little feistier, so do the vocals, and at the end, with the big, climactic moments in the back, we get some absolutely lovely vocal layering and harmonizing. 

Even though I am not familiar with their discography, this song sounds familiar enough within the context of its release that I can place the group with their contemporaries. Even if I didn't know what year this song was released, I still would have pegged it for a 2015-2018 release. The light, airy vocals that are also very well supported and not breathy make the song like spider-silk: delicate but incredibly strong. Plus, the belts are big and punchy. It's a good balance to achieve.

The rap in particular is noteworthy, because rather than feel like the rap is in there to have a rap, it's placed in a spot where the transition to rap is both appropriate and right. This would mean very little if the rap didn't also match the tone of the rest of the song. There's a weightiness to it that the rap that provides a different, pleasing texture to the song without being too discordant.

I actually do really like the warbling. It reminds me of a video game that very much does not have the same vibe in any way, shape, or form, but there are very pleasant parts that I'm reminded a lot of here. The warbling is just a fun little addition to keep the song from being without many extra dimensions.

It's refreshing that there's not a lot of choreography to a song of this flavor. The choreography that they do have comes about halfway through the song, which is a good and surprising change of pace for the song. Not that I wouldn't have been perfectly fine to simply bask in their voices, but I like seeing a little bit of it. Also, I'm a fan of the very practical way they limit the current singer's part in the choreography so that it's easier to actually sing. Going through some of the comments, I apparently need to go take a look at the actual lyrics because Yulhee's rap that I like so well is apparently incredibly sappy and references their other songs, which is what I am fully here for. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar enough with the discography to appreciate it, but that's still something really good to mention. 

Other highlights from this performance are Haein's voice being so sweet, apparently Solbin's existence, and the members' smiles.

Comments from this one told me the titles of the songs, which are in Korean, but that's fine because BTOB's song The Song also does that in Korean and I love finding the titles, so I imagine that it's the same for the Lattes. Apparently the titles in Yulhee's rap are What About You, Sugar Sugar, AALOW AALOW, and Journey to Atlantis. One of the other comments sent me into the credits to verify that information, and yes! One of the members, Yujeong, helped compose this song! And if this is a fan song as it seems to feel like it is a little bit, that makes it all the more precious. 

Cool thing about this stage is the fog and the LED behind them, which certainly makes the whole thing a lot more ethereal at the beginning. Then it clears out and everything gets a little more solid when the choreography starts up, which thematically is really cool, because it's like they become more present when they're not just sitting and they're performing as a K-Pop group rather than as just a singing girl group. 

Oh! You can hear the fan chant in this one! Yes! This is a shortened version of the song, which is a boo from me, but also I can't complain too much because at least they got a performance. I'm a little greedy that way. Still, this time we do get the fan chant, which is my favorite part of the music show performances, and because of my tendency to listen to the boy groups, it was a little startling to hear male voices do a fan chant. Also, according to the comments, Soyeon is a bias wrecker here. I love that for her. And someone, I don't know who, has her dimples on fully display and it is absolutely adorable.

I was waiting to mention this for this video because it's the choreography video, but there have been multiple comments mentioning the choreography and how it references previous dances. How cool is that? Not only do they mention earlier songs, including their debut song somewhere though I wasn't able to find it (the price of unfamiliarity), but their choreography does the same thing. It's great when the song and the choreo match in theme so perfectly that you get moments like this. For a fan, this is cause for complete celebration, and it's even more incredible when they happen with a group's first win. The win went to the title track, but it's still the same album, so congrats to the fans who littered these videos with comments to the effect of "Let's get them their first win!" You guys achieved your goal!

Last but not least, a video from a concert the year after this song was released. Alas, there are no comments and less than a hundred views on this video, so you're unfortunately stuck with me and my thoughts. This is a great song for an encore stage. And this was the first time I noticed a very specific movement in the choreography where it looks like they're grabbing something out of the air. It comes a little bit after the rap, and it's adorable and precious. The whole group is cute. The song is cute. The members are cute. The choreography is cute. It doesn't feel cutesy, but it is still cute.