A*M*E’s new K-pop-inspired single “Play The Game Boy” is brilliant

When it comes to pop music, there’s two things that I’m 100% guaranteed to love all of the time: K-pop, and anything that sounds like an old video game. Much to my delight, A*M*E‘s new single “Play The Game Boy” contains both.

I first introduced you to A*M*E back in January with her MNEK-produced buzz single “City Lights”. As brilliant as the nineties house banger was, I wasn’t entirely convinced back then that A*M*E had the stuff to become a real star.

Now I am.

Produced by Norwegian hitmaker Electric, “Play The Game Boy” bubbles with eighties synths and retro arcade effects. It’s also heavily-influenced by K-pop (A*M*E is a loud and proud K-popper), which is most obvious when adorable dynamo drops a sassy rap break in place of a traditional bridge.

The official music video is beyond a blast, with A*M*E climbing out of a doll box, “Sekshi Lub” style, before working it like a fly girl in front of a bubblegum colored backdrop and some low budget T.O.P. clones from Japan.

She’s only 17-years-old, but A*M*E has swagger juice oozing out of her pores. She’s at her sassiest during the second verse, calling out, “You’re gonna watch as I lose all control / get my Madonna on and watch me vogue!” with a playful smile.

So, now that A*M*E has stepped up to the plate and slayed the game, I guess it’s time for us to forget all this Rita Ora nonsense and welcome the real new princess of Brit-pop. Am I right?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 26th, 2012 at 11:08 pm and is filed under Music Videos, New Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • Salamander

    Holy Crap man, I have loved her since city lights and have been anticipating this for ages! she did NOT underdilver, the booming drums and 90′s synths are right up my alley. The k-pop references are pure bliss, but it would have been nice to see robotic SNSD aegyo or if she Shot all the T.O.P.’s with a pistol Dal Shabet style and then started doing some ridiculous booty shakin’ jig. But overall AMAZING :D

  • http://twitter.com/DarkKard4 Sunny

    I hate the video. It screams YG and i hate their videos lol. The song is hot though but I don’t think she’ll make it.

  • jayjay85

    wow this was hot! i need more from her now!!!

  • http://twitter.com/thsbtch_ andrew

    slay*m*e tbh

  • Rudry

    WOW this is the best thing ever!

  • GameBoy

    i must admit, i like this. why haven’t i ever heard of her before?

  • http://twitter.com/paddlepopandrew byoing~byoing.

    L. M. F. A. O.
    Your comment translate too: durrr, i like yg fam so everything copies them.’
    Just ’cause she’s a fan doesn’t mean she’s copying them.
    Also, hoe, pls. T-ara’s Sexy Love/Gee was obviously the inspiration for the most of it. Get yo’ head checked gurl.

  • music enthusiast

    good song, does she bust a rihanna move, or am i seeing things?

  • Chamber

    “Forget all this Rita Ora nonsense?” Are you fucking kidding me? Have you heard Rita sing live? Her vocal range is bananas, and her talent is only comparable to the likes of Adele and Jessie J. I mean, this girl is alright, and the song is fire, but no way is she taking the reigns from anyone.

  • theprophetblog

    DEAD, Rita BORA has stans?? LMFAO

  • http://twitter.com/patinterrupted Patrick Cigana

    holy shit talk about snatching my wig

  • http://twitter.com/TheHomosocial The Homosocial

    After I watched the video it suggested her cover of JLS – Hottest Girl in the World… fuck she’s good.

    I like this one!

  • http://twitter.com/TheHomosocial The Homosocial

    Her Neyo Let Me Love You cover is even better… winner!

  • http://twitter.com/DarkKard4 Sunny

    I clearly said i hated YG videos. I don’t even like Big Bang or 2NE1 for that matter. The video is too 2NE1-ish. Just not my cup of tea. I didn’t say she was “copying them” did i? I believe she was influenced though. You’re one of the reasons i can’t stand kpop fans. Totally obnoxious. Quit putting words in my mouth moron.

  • http://ohdenny.com ohdenny

    Surprisingly decent song.

  • http://www.out-of-korea.com/ Claire

    So amazing, I found my new Carly Rae Jepsen. If I am honest, I see Kpop but I don’t hear it. It’s more like an awesome -open-minded- Brit pop track, and one could hear many influences.

  • http://twitter.com/sasha_evilsin Alexander Pavlov

    The girls is yet to disappoint me.

  • TJ

    “her talent is only comparable to the likes of Adele and Jessie J”

    JESSIE J!!!! *death* honey, Jessie J? Really? Take a step back and look at who you just put out there….

  • simonseziam

    Yes, yes and YES! Rita Snora needs to take a seat and A*M*E needs to slayyyyy – this is who I want representing the UK.

  • http://www.twitter.com/illuminateh Brandon

    *tosses my 32 inch burgundy weave*

  • Cabemaru

    LA AME!! I love this sound. So refreshing. It’s a old-but-futuristic song

  • http://twitter.com/charliekelso C. K.

    this is better than every single released these past two weeks.

  • Chamber

    No.

  • INCAS

    Sing and dance. This is what a lot of so called singers these days need to do. A*M*E’s looking good!

  • theprophetblog

    The rap bit is pure K-Pop but otherwise most the kpop is in the visual.

  • iAmAwesome

    LMFAO!! HER HAIRLINE!!!

    cute vid tho..

  • http://www.out-of-korea.com/ Claire

    Rap could be any song with a rap break to me, including Kpop. We know she likes Kpop but otherwise, wouldn’t have picked up on it at all. I think shes having fun with the visual and wait for fans if she makes it big to say the video has racist undertones (the slanted eyes kind). Still completely on repeat though.

  • theprophetblog

    Well the Korean language intro of the video kind of gives away that it’s a K-Pop inspired project lol. And the rap is done like K-Pop artists do their rap breaks. In K-Pop many songs contain a rap break instead of a bridge, no matter what genre the song or artist doing it is. In Western pop you don’t see Rihanna, Beyonce, Britney, Katy Perry etc doing rap breaks instead of bridges.

    And the eighties synth-pop genre reminds me of K-Pop too. In K-Pop they release a lot of songs that are in trend with whatever America and the world is doing (Psy’s LMFAO-inspired Gangnam Style is a good example) but they also release music that’s totally different, like 70s, 80s, 90s type songs, tango-pop, orchestral etc etc, and those songs still become huge hits in Korea. In America if you do a pop song that isn’t on trend, it won’t chart. A*M*E’s song isn’t your typical sound of the moment, so that makes me think of a K-Pop approach.

  • http://www.out-of-korea.com/ Claire

    Yeah I’m familiar with Kpop unavoidable “rap” breaks, but hers is done differently, it’s fully integrated into the song, mostly because she does the singing and the rapping and there is not a so-called “rapper” who does it. it is compeltely lost in other influences to me, which makes the song awesome and not a pack of lego with bricks piled on top of one another, like Kpop sometimes sounds. It does not sound so unopportunistic to me, it is just drawing from less top 40-ish trends, but it’s still trendy. First came across the song via Popjustice, damn it. Kpop seems to me more like a gimmick and then again, she seems to be having fun with it and just borrowing the general attitude, not the musical style perse. You go girl, I say, since it’s awesome.

  • http://www.out-of-korea.com/ Claire

    There was some Korean throughout Nicki Minaj’s “Check it out” because it was the work of Will.i.am, I don’t think it betrayed a huge Kpop inspiration, other than a huge gimmick due to his 2010 kpop phase we have yet to see materialised. The song did not sound like Kpop at all.

  • eplizo

    meh decent

  • http://www.facebook.com/thebLainekelley BLaine Kelley

    my thoughts EXACTLY. LoL

  • http://twitter.com/tinka_2910 tiggles

    this is awesome.