♪CANVAS♪

Praying for you! I didn't get one, unfortunately, but I really wasn't expecting much. They should have been clear on how many were printed tbh.

/looks outside for further signs of the apocalypse

This is the most anal point ever, and the quality is so screwed that I could be wrong, but I think those are shorts, not a skirt. They appear to be in a more flared and loose style to imitate a skirt, but I think they're shorts like these. These are cutlottes but also a good example of what I mean. Which is actually equally brilliant because they kept the feminine style yet let her wear something that a) suits her preferences and b) is better for those leg split moves. In less anal points: Goddammit, when will they learn to upload quality cuts I need to ogle those outfits in HD. Wheein's two-piece is gorgeous.

Oh Hwasa would casually rock it that's for sure. She looks weirdly fantastic in Ricky's getup when the jaw isn't attached. But I'd love to see MB do it for a photo shoot or something.

Moonbyul is embracing her goth side this comeback with the constant black nails and now all black outfits again? Living for it. Would quite like to see her in a full on rock chick or goth concept tbqh.

Who was responsible for the lightsticks? I want to send them a thank you card. What traits/strengths of the other members do they admire? If they had to debut as a member of another idol group, which would they choose?

^ But there's this one

Jung Hana: busiest idol in the industry. /sarcasm

This entire post was beautiful. But I loved these bits especially. I think you really can notice a difference in how girl groups with a larger female fanbase act vs girl groups with a lager male fanbase, and I also think Mamamoo is one of the clearest demonstrations with which I'm acquainted. They're very authentic, for lack of a better term. Are they? Who knows, it is still the idol business and I expect some airs are still put on, but they're either not putting on a lot of them or they're very, very good at making their roles seem real. That definitely seems to be something that helps ensnare female fans because the women seem comfortable in their own skin when performing, regardless of whether they're doing sexy concepts or not - because MB might not enjoy sexy concepts but Solar is the queen of booty dropping and Hwasa is pure sexuality encased in an overly talented and gorgeous shell. And fans know this; we have confidence that Solar probably said "I'm dropping down when we do the chorus for Mr. Ambiguous because I look hot as hell" as opposed to being told "now wiggle your ass for the camera". It means they have sexiness in spades, regardless of whether they're doing sexy moves or not - simply because of confidence. I mean, who hasn't at one time went HOT DAMN MOONSTAR when she starts rapping like a boss? Or spent far too long staring at Wheein on stage because she's like "yep, I rock at this and you're all hopelessly in love with me"? And we've all just sat with hearts in our eyes when Hwasa makes faces at the camera or Solar belts out a high note like it's NBD. (And this applies in part or whole to pretty much every other girl group/artist that has a large female fanbase, IMO.) WRT their style development, I love that you noted that it's necessary for artists to become the best. Because it is. Sure, some artists might get famous off a specific sound and stick with it, but after 3 albums of that same tune, you get bored. Hell, no one likes Nickelback in part because they just play the same song at different tempos. I can think of several groups I stopped following because after the third album of hearing the same sort of music I got bored. Sure, have your strengths and use them, but a lack of experimentation means those strengths will never evolve either. If Mamamoo spent another title track belting out high notes, not only would their voices probably suffer (because really, how long can you continue doing power songs most days of the week without growing tired), but they'd never learn anything. Solar wouldn't get to strengthen her lower register (of which I love the tone) if she was just the requisite high note singer, they wouldn't get to learn the importance of restraint when singing, Hwasa wouldn't get chances to keep performing raps and improving on them, and Wheein and Moonbyul wouldn't get the chance to choreograph something different (or maybe even to work with another choreographer). Well, sure they could do those things in their spare time, but they wouldn't get a chance to really test those skills if they're just doing them in RBW's basement and nor could they test audience reactions. They'd be pigeonholed with the retro/ballad style and not considered versatile, which is an incredibly important thing to be in any walk of life. Experimenting with non-retro tracks not only shows their versatility, but also means that they and their team have new sources to draw from - they can look at UOAY and say 'well, how can we improve on this? What do we need to work on?' and 'What worked on this track and how can we incorporate it into the next one?' I genuinely believe UOAY was a great song to release as a title track and was VERY Mamamoo. Not only for the harmonisations (also people saying their wasn't enough harmonisation - did we listen to the same song?) and the powerful moments, but the humour, the pep, the overall impression it left.

Idk, just gonna weigh in on this debate. For me, it's not the people who are disappointed with this track - like w/e you like retro - as long as they realise that uoay doesn't represent the whole of the pink funky mini. Which is how i distinguish moomoos from random casual fans who didn't bother to check out the rest of the album and think rbw/kdh et al. have sold out with this release. I get a weird vibe from some of those casual fans, like they almost want mamamoo to stay under the radar so they can continue complaining about peoole not appreciating talent. Which is stupid because mamamoo are almost universally critically acclaimed in terms of kpop listeners, their talent is well appreciated and they were never, imo, underrated. Which some people seem to want? Like they want mamamoo to exist as long as they can use them for kpop hipster points and have their ult groups remain unthreatened, Idk why i get this vibe from some people's complaints but its there.

Return of the thigh highs? Hold me.

Most important- there's an ifan board at the official cafe!

These, definitely! I've been wanting to know their thoughts on their IS2 perfs for the longest time. I'd be interested to know how they feel about Um Oh Ah Yeh compared to their previous releases. Since they were building up a reputation of powerhouse retro singers (and a fantastic rapper), were they nervous about the reception of it, and how do they think UOAY showcases Mamamoo's colour? What kind of guy would Solar play if she'd dressed in drag? In their IS2 performances, Moonbyul has her own rap segments, obviously. What involvement did she have in the creation of them - was she involved with flow and delivery, with lyrics? And also - for each member, which of the IS2 performances did they find the most challenging and why?