RaNia’s slick and successful “Style” comeback
Despite being some of the fiercest female performers in K-Pop, the sexy ladies of RaNia have had a tough time making a dent on the charts since their controversial debut last year. That looks set to change with the group’s newest single “Style”, which polishes the group’s electro-POPPOPPOP sound and comes complete with a classy new look for the former coochie queens.
Before we get into this, I’ll let you know that the group has (temporarily?) lost yet another member, but think of it this way: each time RaNia lose a member, they get better. It’s the opposite to After School, really.
Surprisingly, RaNia’s “Style” comeback was entirely put together by YG Entertainment, who apparently owed RaNia’s agency CEO a favor. It’s a huge coup for RaNia, since Koreans will buy almost anything YG-related — regardless of whether it’s actually any good or not.
Don’t worry, though: Mr. YG hasn’t thrown RaNia some 2NE1 leftover that’s been gathering dust on the cutting room floor for three years. The slick electro-pop production, courtesy of Choi Pil Kang (BIGBANG, Se7en) and Tablo (Epik High), is cool and current, and the most legit single that RaNia have ever released. There’s no more of that so-trashy-it’s-amazing shtick that we got from “Dr. Feel Good” and “POP POP POP”.
Lyrically, the girls assert their independence by turning down an ill-fitting man through a series of fashion metaphors. (“You’re not, you’re not, ma-ma-ma style,” they stutter robotically with a cheeky wag of the finger.) Although this is hardly a new song concept, RaNia pull it off better than most because their image has always been one of strong and sexy women — they’re not simply some innocent girl group playing dress up to get a hit.
For the official music video, RaNia were clearly going for an extremely bold and luxurious look, and while their budget isn’t quite big enough to serve pure opulence in the way that they obviously wanted to, it still works really well. For one, the group’s new high fashion makeover looks incredible, positioning them somewhere between an older Girls’ Generation and an edgier Nine Muses. Overall, the video does contain some similar sets and props to what you might find in a 2NE1 MV, so it’s obvious that it’s the work of YG Entertainment, but luckily RaNia have their own style (pun intended), so they have no problems making it their own.
The all-new RaNia proves to be working so far, with “Style” ranking in the top thirty of the Instiz real-time chart since its release. This could seriously end up being the group’s first (and very much deserved) hit.
After you enjoy the MV, check out RaNia’s fabulously fierce Music Core comeback stage below. They basically mimed it all, but with all that glamorous choreography and sexy strutting, I don’t care!
