Viviz - VarioUS (era)
VIVIZ, the South Korean girl group, has made a significant impact on the K-pop scene with their latest release, "VarioUS." This EP, marking their third mini-album, showcases the group's growth and versatility since their debut. The six-track collection explores various musical territories, demonstrating VIVIZ's ability to captivate fans and critics alike with their unique sound and artistic range.
The album's title track, "Pull Up," has already gained attention for its catchy melody and impressive music video. With its energetic brass-filled sound reminiscent of the mid-2010s girl group era, "Pull Up" offers a fun listening experience that gets listeners nodding along. The song's concept, as explained by Eunha during their album showcase in Seoul, is about "getting cute, satisfying revenge on people who talk about you behind your back".
VIVIZ's "VarioUS" EP has been well-received by fans and critics, with many praising its cohesiveness and mature sound. One reviewer described it as "one of my favorite albums from Viviz," highlighting its tight bass lines and bright synths. The album's success extends beyond critical acclaim, as it debuted at No. 4 on the worldwide album chart and secured the No. 7 spot on the European iTunes album chart.
As VIVIZ continues to evolve and explore new musical territories, they're setting the stage for a promising future in the competitive world of K-pop. Their ability to maintain a consistent sound while introducing innovative elements keeps their discography exciting and fresh, making "VarioUS" a must-listen for K-pop enthusiasts.
VarioUS
Type
Mini
Artist
VIVIZ
Released
January 31, 2023
Format(s)
CD, PLVE, download, streaming
Recorded
2022
Genre
Swing, pop, R&B, city pop, nu disco
Length
19:57
Label(s)
BPM Entertainment
Swing Entertainment
Distributor(s)
Kakao Entertainment
Track list
"Pull Up" - 2:55
"Blue Clue" - 3:16
"Love or Die" - 3:39
"Vanilla Sugar Killer" - 3:17
"Overdrive" - 3:31
"So Special" - 3:19
VIVIZ's Musical Evolution
From GFriend to VIVIZ
VIVIZ emerged from the disbandment of the popular K-pop group GFriend, marking a new chapter in the members' musical careers. The transition showcased a fresh side of the three members, as they debuted with a sleek, glamorous, and trendy image. This evolution was particularly evident in Umji's transformation, as she stunned netizens with her gorgeous visuals and confident girl crush style.
Second-Generation K-pop Influence
VIVIZ's musical style draws inspiration from the second generation of K-pop, which was instrumental in the global rise of the genre between 2003 and 2013. This era, known for its emphasis on live vocal ability and intense training, has influenced VIVIZ's approach to music. The group's sound incorporates elements reminiscent of early 2010s K-pop, particularly evident in their title track "Pull Up".
New Musical Direction
VIVIZ's third mini-album "VarioUS" represents a significant step in their musical evolution. The title track "Pull Up" showcases a mature and elegant concept, bringing fresh early 2010s vibes to their discography. The album features interesting rhythm changes and tonal shifts, demonstrating the group's growing musical sophistication. B-sides like "Love or Die" and "Overdrive" further highlight their versatility, with the latter evoking a dreamy, fairy-like mood reminiscent of GFriend's earlier work.
'VarioUS' - A Deep Dive into the Album
Album Concept and Theme
VIVIZ's third mini-album, "VarioUS," released on January 31, 2023, showcases the group's versatility and artistic growth. The album's title, stylized with capitalized "V" and "US," represents VIVIZ's intention to display their diverse images and colors rather than adhering to a stereotypical image. This concept allows the group to explore various musical territories while maintaining a cohesive sound throughout the EP.
Track List Overview
"VarioUS" comprises six tracks, offering a well-rounded listening experience. The EP's track list is as follows:
"Pull Up" (2:55)
"Blue Clue" (3:16)
"Love or Die" (3:39)
"Vanilla Sugar Killer" (3:17)
"Overdrive" (3:31)
"So Special" (3:19)
The total runtime of the album is 19:57, providing listeners with a substantial musical journey.
Musical Genres Explored
VIVIZ demonstrates their musical range by incorporating various genres throughout the album:
"Pull Up": The lead single features an addictive melody with brass sounds and a groovy bass, showcasing a chic and charismatic side of VIVIZ.
"Blue Clue": This track introduces a swing rhythm with a witty top line and distinctive vocals, exploring unique ways to express love.
"Love or Die": An R&B-influenced pop song with bold lyrics and a rhythmic top line.
"Vanilla Sugar Killer": An urban R&B song with a vintage EP sound, creating a mood that celebrates sharing trivial moments together.
"Overdrive": A city pop genre song featuring a funky rhythm and fairy tale-like flute sound, offering a fantastic escape from daily life.
"So Special": A mid-tempo nu-disco track with hopeful lyrics, solid bass line, and retro synth sounds.
Standout Tracks Analysis
'Pull Up' - The Title Track
VIVIZ's title track "Pull Up" brings a fresh and energetic sound to their discography. The song harks back to the mid-2010s girl group era, featuring a brass-filled bop that proves to be a surprisingly good match for VIVIZ. Compared to their earlier singles, the members sound more assured and showcase more personality in this track.
The song opens with a boisterous brass loop that immediately captures attention. As it progresses, "Pull Up" flirts with disco and funk elements before dropping into its percussive chorus. While not reinventing the wheel, the track maintains focus and drive throughout its runtime.
One of the song's strengths lies in its varied arrangement. It moves through distinct segments without sacrificing its central appeal, keeping listeners engaged. The chorus, while opting for a slinky bassline, manages to meld it with a hook that feels like a natural peak, contributing to a satisfying whole.
Despite clocking in at under three minutes, "Pull Up" delivers a full experience rather than feeling like a fragmented dance song. The repeated rap during the bridge and outro adds a touch of goofy fun, showing that VIVIZ isn't taking themselves too seriously.
'Blue Clue' - A Swing Rhythm Adventure
"Blue Clue" stands out as a groovy B-side that grows on listeners with repeated plays. The track introduces a swing rhythm, complemented by a witty top line and distinctive vocals. It continues the sound and feel of "Pull Up," making it an instant earworm.
The song's mysterious, brooding vibe and catchy melodies have garnered praise from fans and critics alike. "Blue Clue" showcases VIVIZ's ability to explore unique ways of expressing love through their music, adding depth to the album's overall concept.
'Love or Die' - R&B Vibes
"Love or Die" emerges as another standout track on the album, challenging "Mirror" as VIVIZ's best B-side to date. This R&B-influenced pop song features bold lyrics and a rhythmic top line that captivates listeners. The track is composed in the key of G minor with a tempo of 98 beats per minute, creating a smooth and engaging listening experience.
The song's melody, groove, and vocals combine to create a summery yet elegant atmosphere that has resonated strongly with fans. "Love or Die" showcases VIVIZ's ability to deliver mature and sophisticated R&B vibes, further demonstrating their musical versatility and growth as artists.
B-Sides That Shine
'Vanilla Sugar Killer' - Urban R&B
"Vanilla Sugar Killer" showcases VIVIZ's versatility with its urban R&B sound. The track features a vintage EP sound, creating a mood that celebrates sharing trivial moments together. The lyrics paint a picture of a good time with close friends, enjoying sweet desserts and catching up on life. This song demonstrates VIVIZ's ability to blend nostalgic elements with contemporary R&B, resulting in a catchy and relatable track.
'Overdrive' - City Pop Nostalgia
"Overdrive" takes listeners on a journey through the city pop genre, a style that has seen a resurgence among younger generations. The song features a funky rhythm and a fairy tale-like flute sound, harmonizing the sweet vocals of VIVIZ members with lyrics that evoke a fantastic drive away from busy daily life. This track taps into the current trend of city pop nostalgia, offering an optimistic fantasy realm where idyllic music is accompanied by pure joy. The song's retro elements, including era-defining synthesizer sounds, may ease the barrier of entry for younger listeners while allowing it to be accepted as an extension of music they already hold fond memories of.
'So Special' - Nu Disco Comfort
Concluding the album, "So Special" brings a mid-tempo nu disco vibe with hopeful lyrics that comfort and encourage listeners. The track features a solid bass line and retro synth sounds, creating a warm emotional atmosphere. With its uplifting lyrics and catchy bassline, "So Special" encourages listeners to feel good about themselves. This song exemplifies VIVIZ's ability to create music that resonates with their audience, offering a positive and encouraging message wrapped in a nostalgic sound.
Lyrical Themes and Storytelling
Empowerment and Confidence
VIVIZ's latest EP 'VarioUS' showcases a strong theme of empowerment and confidence. The album's title track "Pull Up" embodies this concept with lyrics that speak to self-assurance and standing up for oneself. The song encourages listeners to speak freely and disregard others' opinions, reflecting a bold and confident attitude.
Love and Relationships
The album explores various facets of love and relationships. "Blue Clue" stands out with its witty lyrics expressing love in unique ways. "Love or Die" presents bold lyrics about relationships, while "Vanilla Sugar Killer" creates a mood centered around sharing trivial moments together. These songs demonstrate VIVIZ's ability to portray different aspects of romantic relationships through their music.
Self-reflection and Growth
VIVIZ's lyrics also touch on themes of self-reflection and personal growth. The album's content suggests a journey of self-discovery and maturation as artists. For instance, "Mirror" reflects on the members' transition from their previous group to VIVIZ, conveying a sense of continuity and evolution in their identities as performers. This introspective approach adds depth to the album's storytelling, allowing listeners to connect with the group's personal experiences and growth.
Production Quality and Arrangements
Instrumental Highlights
VIVIZ's "VarioUS" EP showcases a diverse range of instrumental elements that contribute to its unique sound. The title track "Pull Up" features a boisterous brass loop that immediately captures attention, flirting with disco and funk elements before dropping into its percussive chorus. The song's varied arrangement moves through distinct segments without sacrificing its central appeal, keeping listeners engaged throughout its runtime.
Mixing and Mastering
The mixing and mastering processes play crucial roles in shaping the final sound of VIVIZ's album. Mixing involves blending individual tracks together, balancing ten, twenty, or upwards of a hundred tracks into a single song. The mastering stage, on the other hand, focuses on enhancing the overall sound, creating consistency across the album, and preparing it for distribution.
Mastering engineers work predominantly with a single stereo track, aiming to make each song fit with every other song in the project. They utilize tools such as EQ, compression, and limiting to achieve a competitive edge that holds on every playback media. The mastering process also involves purging problems on an artifact level, catching random ticks, pops, plosives, distortions, or spectral anomalies that might have been missed during mixing.
Use of Samples and Synths
While specific information about the use of samples and synths in VIVIZ's "VarioUS" EP is not provided in the given excerpts, it's worth noting that modern music production often involves creative use of these elements. Producers can transform any sample into a synthesizer, allowing for unique sound design possibilities. This technique can be particularly useful when working with creative limitations or when access to traditional synthesizers is restricted.
VIVIZ's Vocal Prowess
VIVIZ, consisting of former GFriend members SinB, Eunha and Umji, has demonstrated their vocal abilities through various performances and releases. Their vocal prowess is evident in their ability to showcase individual vocal colors, blend harmoniously, and deliver emotionally charged performances.
Individual Vocal Colors
Each member of VIVIZ possesses a unique vocal timbre, contributing to the group's diverse sound palette. As with all singers, their individual vocal colors are influenced by factors such as body composition, resonators, stature, background, and native language. This distinctiveness in their voices creates a vocal fingerprint as unique as their individual fingerprints.
The members' voices can be categorized into primary colors:
Light (pastel)
Bright (neon)
Dark (rich)
However, it's important to note that singers may possess more than one of these attributes or a combination thereof. Their vocal characteristics may also vary when singing in upper or lower registers.
Harmony and Blend
VIVIZ's ability to harmonize and blend their voices is crucial to their performances. The group's approach to vocal harmony can be likened to the Latin phrase "e pluribus unum," meaning "from many, one". This concept captures the essence of their choral-like performances, where individual voices come together to form a cohesive sound.
The positioning of singers within the group can affect the overall sound, although the benefits often come from how the singers perceive themselves and their roles within the ensemble. VIVIZ's performances of GFriend songs, such as "Time for the Moon Night" and "Rough," showcase their ability to adapt their vocal blend to different musical styles.
Emotional Delivery
VIVIZ's emotional delivery is particularly noteworthy, as demonstrated in their performance on "Queendom 2." Their rendition of GFriend songs not only showcased their vocal abilities but also evoked strong emotional responses from both the audience and fellow performers. Eunha's tearful reaction after the performance highlighted the deep emotional connection the members have with their music.
The group's ability to convey emotion through their vocals was evident in their performance of "Rough," where they incorporated symbolic gestures and choreography changes to represent the passage of time and their journey as artists. This emotional depth in their vocal delivery has resonated strongly with fans and fellow artists alike, demonstrating VIVIZ's ability to connect with their audience on a profound level.
VIVIZ (비비지) - 'PULL UP' MV
VIVIZ - PULL UP (Romanized) Lyrics
[Verse 1: SinB, Eunha]
Nae yaegi geuman tteodeureo I'm sick of your lies
You know me da aljana singyeong an sseo nan
Neon jakku tto cham useupge ganeul bwa
You fool honja meongcheonghan jinman
[Pre-Chorus: Umji]
So what you wanna do museun baneungeul haejulkka
Guji mareul eonjeo mwohae oh, nan walk away
Jom aradeureonni geumanhal mam saenggyeonni
Why don't you back off?
[Chorus: Eunha, Umji, SinB]
So just pull up gidaehaji malgo back it up
Yeah, I say buzz off ne mam ttawi
Algo sipji anchi, yeah
Geogikkajingeol ppeonhan soringeol
Neoui heotdoen sangsangeseo nan ppaejwo
Neowa dalli naega jogeum bappaseo (Oh, yeah)
[Verse 2: Umji, SinB]
Meotdaero nal yecheukae aneun cheok geuman
Hanabuteo yeolkkaji matji anneunde
Ppeonppeonhan tu nal geokjeonghandaneun mal
Pardon geunde nugusyeotdeora
See upcoming pop shows
Get tickets for your favorite artists
[Chorus: Eunha, SinB, Umji]
So just pull up gidaehaji malgo back it up
Yeah, I say buzz off ne mam ttawi
Algo sipji anchi yeah
Geogikkajingeol (Yeah, yeah) ppeonhan soringeol (Yeah)
Neoui heotdoen sangsangeseo nan ppaejwo
Neowa dalli naega jogeum bappaseo
[Post-Chorus: SinB, Umji]
So geurae neon geunare meomchun chae bamsae honja tteodeulla hae
Repeotori tteoreojyeosseum go away, pull up, pull up
Mwon sori bull sikkeureo beep, beep, quiet
Geurae jeokdanghi jom hae
Igeon neoreul wihan joeon understand
Pull up, pull up
[Bridge: Eunha]
Ja seolmyeonghaejulkka imi beoreojin long distance
Banbokdoeneun story ijen jaemieomneungeol
Now turn off neoui voice nae ane neon not at all
What you waiting for? (Oh-oh)
[Chorus: SinB, Umji, Eunha]
So just pull up nunchi eopge kkieodeulji ma (Yeah)
Yeah, I say buzz off
Miryeon ttawi eopseo imi baby, yeah
Ppeonhae ppajin talk (Yeah, yeah) byeolgeo eomneungeol (Yeah, yeah)
Neon ttak geogikkajijana nobody
Aldasipi naega jogeum bappaseo
[Post-Chorus: Umji, SinB]
So geurae neon geunare meomchun chae bamsae honja tteodeulla hae
Repeotori tteoreojyeosseum go away, pull up, pull up
Mwon sori bull sikkeureo beep, beep
Quiet geurae jeokdanghi jom hae
Igeon neoreul wihan joeon understand
Pull up, pull up
Conclusion
VIVIZ's "VarioUS" EP has made a significant impact on the K-pop scene, showcasing the group's growth and versatility. The album has been praised for its cohesiveness and mature sound, with many fans considering it one of their favorite VIVIZ works to date. The trio has successfully taken a step out of GFriend's shadow, establishing a distinct sound of their own.
The EP offers a variety of tunes with different sounds and ambiences, while maintaining a smooth and polished delivery throughout. This approach has resulted in a cohesive album that's perfect for easy listening. The production quality across all tracks is consistently high, contributing to the overall appeal of the album.
VIVIZ's vocal performances on "VarioUS" have been particularly noteworthy. The members, especially those who didn't get to showcase their vocals as much in their previous group, have excelled in this release. SinB and Umji's vocal growth has been described as "crazy," while Eunha's unique vocal color continues to captivate listeners.
While some listeners found certain tracks to be somewhat safe or minimalist, others appreciated the group's confidence in settling into their new sound. The mature concept introduced in songs like "Pull Up" feels natural for the members, who have already spent nearly a decade in the industry.
"VarioUS" represents a solid addition to VIVIZ's young discography as the trio continues to shape their own musical identity. As they move forward, VIVIZ has demonstrated their ability to adapt and evolve while maintaining the essence that made them popular in the first place.
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