Hyperfocus #2: Revisiting Mamamoo, one album at a time
Before I finally watch my favorite K-pop group on stage, I listened to all of their albums—some, surprisingly, for the first time. "Where are we now?" is a question I did not expect to answer.
Mamamoo isn’t, by all means, the biggest K-pop group in the world. But they’re my favorite K-pop group. Sure, my relationship with them have seen ups and downs—I mostly consider myself fallen off the bandwagon—but my relationship with the music of South Korea is heavily informed by what these four girls do, among other things.
By the time this goes live there’s only one week left to their concert here in Manila, the final leg of their first world tour. There’s no better excuse to listen to all of their albums and make something out of it than that. (However, I am only focusing on their Korean discography, and I won’t be diving into the four members’ solo stuff.) This is me attempting a follow-up of sorts to the essay I wrote on my old music blog back in 2016, telling the story of my being a MooMoo, a fan of four shy, retro-loving, vocally-harmonious beagles.
Hello (2014)
I wasn’t truly into K-pop yet when Mamamoo debuted in 2014. I was already listening to a few songs1 here and there, but it took a trip to Seoul (and the need to create content for the old music blog) for me to truly dive head on. So, the group’s first two mini-albums weren’t exactly on my radar, although I was already into the singles “Mr. Ambiguous” and “Piano Man” thanks to Monocle 24 putting them on high rotation. But anyway.
I have actually forgotten how the group clearly came from a small label when they debuted. The production in Hello is modest; you really only hear that from C-list groups who have just debuted. But unlike most of their contemporaries, their strength was in their combined vocals2, and the mini showed it off with more soul-flavored tracks. Even “Mr. Ambiguous” embraced the cabaret.
That said, I forgot about the existence of “Baton Touch”: driving, pulsing, building towards something truly satisfying… until it’s all over, and we have to relax.
Piano Man (2014)
I forgot that this is technically a single release, with only one B-side—”Gentleman”, with former labelmate eSNa—and two alternate versions. This thing had a physical version, right? Anyway, I always remember preferring “Piano Man” to their earlier single. I thought it was the jazzier take; I now think it’s because of Wheein.
Pink Funky (2015)
Ask any K-pop fan about what their comeback is, and they’ll talk about the single in which they dove into their favorite group in earnest. As murky as my origin story is, Pink Funky is my comeback. This was making the rounds when we went to Seoul. This is the first K-pop album I bought. Well, officially. I have to clarify that I bought this alongside IU’s Chat-Shire. I tried looking for the other minis, but failed.
As uncomfortable as the cross-dressing music video for “Um Oh Ah Yeh” would soon be—that said, it isn’t the most controversial music video Mamamoo ever made—this mini saw the group start merging their retro-pop origins, soul sensibilities and vocal prowess with K-pop’s demands at the time. (“Self Camera” is the best example of this.) And yet the production still sounds so quaint. It does fit Mamamoo’s status back then: not an obvious group a newbie would start with, but one those who do truly love. They felt like my (and others’) little secret. It was a matter of time, though.
Melting (2016)
I think of all the Mamamoo releases, Melting holds the closest place in my heart. I mean, their first full-length album was the subject of that essay I wrote on the old music blog about me finally going all-in on becoming a MooMoo. The album dropped on the day I fell victim to office politics and lost my job—and I played this to attempt to cope. I eventually got a physical copy and played this a few times in the car. I get this feeling when the next song comes on. I semi-secretly like “I Miss You” even if I’m not a ballad guy.
Every K-pop fan, whether they like it or not, pray for that moment when everyone else stops “sleeping on” their favorites and acknowledges how good they are. Melting was Mamamoo’s moment. It generally continued the work Pink Funky established, but had a bit more sheen to it. It seems RBW, their label, finally threw in more of their money behind the effort, or something. (The “You’re The Best” music video was shot in Thailand, for one.) Also, by their many appearances on other variety shows, the members were allowed to better show off the “beagle” personalities that already bled through on previous releases, and most especially on “Taller Than You”, a song that only exists to diss each other’s height, especially Wheein’s.
Melting’s breakthrough status gave me a chance to be in the midst (well, sort of; I haven’t gone that deep) of a fandom for a group that was seriously having its moment. When people stop sleeping on your favorites, it makes you feel just a bit more powerful. It’s intoxicating.
Memory (2016)
I reviewed Memory positively, although in hindsight I shouldn’t have been so effusive. It’s… not that remarkable an album. Half of the album was released as teaser singles prior. But then, it gave us the showstopper that is “Decalcomanie”, and the Wheein solo track “Moderato”. By now I should mention that Wheein is my favorite of the four—I always called her the group’s secret weapon—and that will play a key role as we go along.
Purple (2017)
I have honestly forgotten how good Purple is, considering how it sits just before Mamamoo’s ambitious “Four Seasons, Four Colors” project. But it’s a further refinement of the group’s merging of the retro and the commercial. “Yes I Am” even comes close to assuming that year’s “song of the summer” title, considering it came after perennial summer girls Sistar announced their split. It also has the first solo track for rapper Moonbyul, whose talents as a singer are inevitably overlooked—and was not served well by her later solo stuff, if you ask me.
Yellow Flower (2018)
Four Seasons, Four Colors is the project that would test my faith in Mamamoo. It certainly was grand: four EPs in one year, one for each member (although they aren’t solo efforts), each reflecting a stage of a relationship. To me, though, it was a recipe for burnout—and it saw the group move towards a more commercial direction, one that proved to be my final straw, sort of.
I wouldn’t have known that with Yellow Flower, aka the Hwasa record. While she has the reputation for being hip and headstrong, the record is actually quite soulful, but with a more modern twist. You hear the movement towards tropical pop in “Starry Night”, sure—and I think this was the group’s first earnest attempt to dance like other K-pop groups would—but it still retained the group’s colors.
Red Moon (2018)
In hindsight, “Egotastic” was all right. It wasn’t my thing. It was too spicy for me. But knowing what they would release a few years down the line, this isn’t bad. Besides, Red Moon—the Moonbyul record, surprisingly—would also have a “Taller Than You” retread (in “Sleep in the Car”) and what I’d call a GFriend3 pastiche (in “Sky! Sky!”). It’s not a bad mini.
Blue;S (2018)
Throughout my K-pop listening life I didn’t limit myself to a few groups. We did make a playlist to accompany the trip to Seoul. But while I listened to all these songs I always considered myself a MooMoo first and foremost. I was a bit of an evangelist on the old music blog. I managed to convince people, even those who didn’t listen to K-pop in the first place, to listen. I managed to make fans. At least two of them.
I always joked that introducing Dale to Mamamoo was revenge for her being able to say hi to Kimbra in person at a concert we both were in. She came on board during Red Moon. A few months later, I managed to convince Allene, another friend I made through the old music blog (and apparently went to the same office building with). She came on board during Blue;S, which is good, because it’s a really good record.
The Solar segment of the 4S4C project is a chilled, ethereal affair. (Makes sense considering it is the break-up record.) More importantly, it sees them return, for a while, to their soul sensibilities. “Wind Flower” makes me feel things that I don’t even feel when I listen again to Melting. It’s warm and welcoming and all that. It’s my favorite Mamamoo song of all time, I dare say.
Both Dale and Allene would be bigger fans than I ever was. They both traveled out of the Philippines to watch Mamamoo live, and proceeded to get every record of theirs they could get their hands on. As for me, well, Blue;S would be the fifth and last Mamamoo CD in my possession. It’s actually a gift from Allene. Also, it’s hard to be a completist at this point.
White Wind (2019)
Listening back to White Wind, aka the Wheein record, I realize I was being too harsh on my first review. It’s definitely because I was expecting a slinkier record considering what Blue;S did, and how Wheein always had that cool quality that reflected on her later work. But then I also remember how I called “gogobebe” a forgettable single. I still think it’s true. It’s an “Egotistic” retread. I recall the disappointment over how it is a sign of the group’s future direction, away from their roots and towards something spicier.
Reality in Black (2019)
Few K-pop groups get big enough and last long enough to have their members make heavily-anticipated solo releases. There were a few attempts early in the group’s career4, but when Hwasa—whose reputation as a one-of-a-kind talent preceded the group’s debut—broke out in 2018 through the reality series I Live Alone (which led to a sudden surge in popularity for gopchang), the sprint had truly begun.
Mamamoo’s second full-length, Reality in Black, was a marker of this new era. With the reputations of the group and its members secured, it was time to forge ahead to the next phase. I get that, but I feel the whole project suffered as a result. Certainly, I had fatigue—and diminished hopes—at the end of the 4S4C project. To be fair, I listened to pretty much everything. (This was the time I went to my first K-pop concert, watching GFriend, my second favorite group, so to speak.) I suppose I was stuck in a nostalgia bubble, and with everything else that was going on in my life, something had to give.
I’ll confess: this is the first time I have listened to Reality in Black in its entirety. It’s… okay.
Travel (2020)
You know what, maybe I was really too harsh on late-era Mamamoo. But maybe it’s the fatigue. Travel is, again, an okay record. But then, it suffers from its lead single, “Aya”, being the group’s most forgettable. I can still hum its teaser track “Dingga”, though.
WAW (2021)
Seven years is the maximum length an entertainment contract can run for according to Korean law. Mamamoo reached that mark in 2021, and as reports of contract negotiations started to filter through, I remember being very certain (for some reason) that Wheein would leave. Indeed, she would leave RBW, signing up with new record label THE L1VE, founded by VIXX member Ravi—but not before releasing the 90s-inspired solo record Redd, and vowing to stay with Mamamoo until at least the end of 20235.
With all that in mind, WAW can be forgiven for sounding like a swan song. “Where Are We Now” is atypical even compared to other Mamamoo ballads, and the rest of the record is varying stripes of contemplative and morose. Yes, I know I’m not a ballad person, and yes, their vocals are definitely on display here, but this feels a record where they all checked out.
I Say Mamamoo: The Best (2021)
Yes, this is a greatest hits album, although technically all of the “hits” here have alternate arrangements. (Fans may remember Mamamoo’s Queendom performance of “Decalcomanie”.) But there are two new tracks here, and “mumumumuch” is pleasant enough. It could’ve made a dent, but the group didn’t promote it on music shows due to conflicting schedules. But then, there was a lot of stuff to keep track of in between, with each member releasing more solo efforts (including Solar finally getting a spicy solo release, which I no longer resisted at this point) to varying success6.
Mic On (2022)
Mic On exists. That’s all I can say about it, honestly. But then, a Mamamoo mini at this point—even if there are only three songs—is something. Groups hitting the seven-year mark is actually rare in K-pop, and even if the members have started going in different ways, the strength of their early work still keeps them together.
Admittedly, a lot of my affection for the group still lies on the strength of that early work. Melting still holds a special place in my heart. It triggers memories of a seemingly simpler time, when it felt that I could accomplish my dreams of having a copy of every Mamamoo album. I mean, I was relatively new to K-pop then. Everything was fascinating. Also, my early preconceptions of the individual members’ contributions arguably got in the way. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with Wheein on straght-out-ballad mode, for example, but am okay with her more hip pop.
June marks nine years since the group officially debuted, and a lot of things have changed. I’m now in my mid-30s, which means most new pop is starting to elude me. Priorities are shifting, and new problems are popping up. To be honest, I wasn’t going to go to the concert. They almost went here in 2019 and the fatigue (plus schedule conflicts) meant I easily said no. This time, my “sproutlings” convinced me just as easily. A confusing break-up aside, this was going to be my one and only chance to watch the group that were my beacon as I dived into K-pop. So, yes, I’ll finally see them on the 12th. Everything else aside, I’m actually excited.
I always mention that the song that turned me on to K-pop is Lee Hi’s “1, 2, 3, 4”. It’s certainly the first Korean song I wrote about on earthings!
It’s not that K-pop groups are bad singers, but you don’t always get idol groups (as opposed to performers like Davichi) that leaned heavily on their vocal strengths. One such group that comes to mind is Spica, a classic example of a “slept on” group. That said, their final single, “Secret Time”, is a staple of my K-pop rotation.
In many ways, Mamamoo and GFriend’s careers followed the same trajectory: both groups came from smaller companies and expectations weren’t big until the right breakthrough came along. For the latter group, it was their third single, “Rough”, another staple of my K-pop rotation. Their paths crossed a handful of times, even, like when they co-fronted the final season of the reality series Showtime. Unfortunately for GFriend, their agency was acquired by Hybe, and they were let go since, I suppose, they didn’t align with the new bosses’ vision. But then, Le Sserafim is a massive success…
Excluding appearances on drama soundtracks, Solar is technically the first Mamamoo member to go solo, with a series of covers under the Solar Emotion umbrella. In 2018, Wheein released “Easy”; it was shortly followed by Moonbyul’s “Selfish”, a collaboration with Red Velvet’s Seulgi, which would later appear on Red Moon. But it was Hwasa’s 2019 single “Twit” which broke the doors open.
2021 also marked the beginnings of Mamamoo’s label, RBW, attempts to follow the footsteps of Hybe and building a K-pop mini-empire of its own. That year they would acquire WM Entertainment, home of B1A4 and Oh My Girl; the following year they would acquire DSP Media, home of KARD, and more notably, the former home of 2nd generation icons Kara. Mamamoo money made all that possible, although a later RBW group, Oneus, did reasonably well, too.
I think RBW felt that they did Moonbyul a disservice by limiting her to a rapping role, so they overcompensated by having her release a lot of solo stuff. She does have good vocals, but they struggled to find a concept for her, so the results felt scattershot. Also, fatigue set in: by the release of the surprisingly insensitive “Lunatic”, I had even less enthusiasm for her later work.