[Mini-Album Review] T-Ara – ‘Black Eyes’

Tracklist

1. Cry Cry

2. Goodbye, OK

3. Oh My God

4. I’m So Bad

5. Cry Cry (Ballad Ver.)

6. Cry Cry (Ballad Music Video Ver.)

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On November 4^th, 2011, T-Ara officially announced their comeback by releasing jacket photos for their album ‘Black Eyes’.  On November 9^th, 2011, T-Ara released a dramatic music video for their promotional single “Cry Cry”.  Three days later, their third mini-album ‘Black Eyes’ was released.  The song quickly rose to #1 on many sites and even managed to achieve the coveted ‘all-kill’ on music charts.  Promotions for “Cry Cry” began on November 17^th, 2011, on M! Countdown.

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When the music video to “Cry Cry” was first released, I was so excited to watch it.  I immediately stopped everything I was doing and began watching the sixteen-minute music video, only to find out you don’t really hear the full audio!  When I finally heard the full audio a few days later, I was surprisingly disappointed the final product.  I was expecting T-Ara to really blow me away with this comeback, but I was honestly not that impressed with this song.  I will however admit that I really enjoyed a select few parts, and one of those is the video game style introduction.  This is without a doubt my favorite part of any T-Ara song ever released; I just wish the rest of the song kept that intense and dramatic feeling.  What really disappointed me throughout the entire song was how the verses didn’t really fit with everything else.  There’s no doubt Soyeon and Hyomin’s voices are beautiful in verse one, but when I compare it to the chorus and introduction, it just feels so out of place.  The chorus, which is the highlight of the track for me, is very uplifting and fit surprisingly well with the slower verses.  I even liked the Hwayoung and Hyomin break following; it was pretty unexpected and made the short chorus seem longer.  The second verse isn’t too different from the first; the only difference is the addition of Jiyeon.  This made me wish they had utilized Jiyeon more throughout this song, as her voice fit perfectly with the style they went for.  I loved the little saucy instrumental break following the second chorus; it really broke up the monotony that was starting to happen.  I’m glad they decided to close everything with the Hwayoung and Hyomin break; it helped the song go out on as intense of a note as it started.

“Goodbye, Ok” is a very subtle and welcomed change from the previous track.  It may not be as upbeat and intense as “Cry Cry”, but I actually think the sound they went for would have fit their concept and music video much better.  (I personally think this would have been a better song to promote.)  Much like “Cry Cry”, I found myself really enjoying the introduction.  Unlike it though, I found myself enjoying the rest of the song!  Soyeon and Jiyeon’s voices in the first verse were just beautiful and went very well together.  I don’t know what it is about Soyeon’s voice, but it always gives me chills.  I’m glad her company is finally starting to notice how wonderful her voice is, it’s refreshing to hear more and more of he in every album.  The chorus is actually very lovely; I just wish they made it longer than four lines.  Hwayoung’s rap break following the chorus may just be the first time she has ever impressed me.  I’ve never approved of Hwayoung being a member of T-Ara, but she is slowly proving her worth to me.  (Let’s just hope we never get another “Roly Poly” styled rap break…)  I was pleasantly surprised to hear Eunjung in the second verse as it feels like she’s been almost non-existent in this album so far.  Other than her addition, it’s nearly identical to the first.  Things start to get really interesting after the second chorus passes.  Jiyeon, Soyeon and Eunjung’s lines really help break up some of the monotony that was going on.  I absolutely loved Eunjung’s high notes; she hit them perfectly.  The closing was very sweet and simple; I thought it was a pretty nice way to end everything.

I wasn’t too surprised when I began listening to “Oh My God” and realized it was a more Christmas themed song.  I’m normally not a fan of this style of music, but T-Ara managed to make this a very sweet and lovely song.  What really made me happy though?  This is the first song on the album that Qri and Boram actually sing!  (This may actually be the first T-Ara song ever where the two of them have more than one or two lines.)  The first verse is almost entirely Qri and Boram, and I love it.  Their cute and higher-pitched voices fit perfectly with the cheerful spirit of the song, so I’m glad they chose them for it.  As much as I love them, the chorus is where things really start to pick up and get fun.  Eunjung and Soyeon do a great job at speeding things up, while really driving home that Christmas feeling.  What really ended up impressing me in the second verse was that note Jiyeon hit.  I was not expecting her to be able to hit such a high note, I honestly thought that pitch was out of her range.  It was very unexpected and very much welcomed.  The remainder of the song is basically just a repeat of what already happened, so there’s not much more to discuss.

“I’m So Bad” is another track that I’m not quite feeling.  I was actually enjoying the introduction, but it slowly started sounding like a boring second version of “Oh My God”.  It’s not necessarily a bad song; it’s just so similar to the previous track that I don’t even want to bother with it.  The only thing it really has going on that interests me is the catchy little “oh baby oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh” lines.  Other than that… I don’t really like anything else going on here.  It’s pretty much a basic filler track.

I was a little hesitant to see “Cry Cry (Ballad Ver.)” included on the album, as I did not enjoy the original version.  Much to my surprise though, I actually ended up enjoying it more!  Unlike the original version, the slow delivery of the verses really fits with the rest of the song.  There’s a few things removed here and there, but it’s essentially the same as the original version, just in ballad form.  I think more than ever, Soyeon’s beautiful vocals are showcased.  It’s easy to appreciate them in an upbeat song, but when she’s singing a ballad such as this… It’s just chilling to listen to.  I’m quite sure I would not have enjoyed this version as much as I do if she wasn’t the one singing a majority of the lines.  If you weren’t really feeling the original version like I was, I recommend you check this out immediately!  I don’t have too much more to say about it as I pretty much discussed all my feelings in the original version.

I will not be reviewing “Cry Cry (Ballad Music Video Ver.)” as the only change to the song is the swapping of a few stanzas.  If you want to see how I feel about this song, please refer to my section on “Cry Cry (Ballad Ver.)”

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I did not have high expectations when I got into this album as we are coming off the disaster that was ‘John Travolta Wannabe’.  Luckily, Core Contents Media did not take the easy way out this time and stick on six awful remixes!   As I said before, I was not too pleased with the promotional song “Cry Cry”.  The great thing about this album is that the real treats are hidden throughout the other tracks.  I really found myself enjoying “Goodbye, Ok” and “Cry Cry (Ballad Ver.)” more than anything else.  I did enjoy a good chunk of this album, but I still feel as if T-Ara hasn’t quite found the perfect balance.  I rarely listen to a non-title track by them and automatically say to myself ‘this is T-Ara 100%’.  A part of me feels like they will never be able to impress me as much as they did with ‘Breaking Heart’, but who knows… T-Ara doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

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Album Rating: 7/10

Recommended Songs

Goodbye, Ok | Cry Cry (Ballad Ver.)