Is this recurring trend in Kpop MVs actually ineffective?

[☾vroomvroomilikethat★]

Pretty sure every Kpop fan has come across this effect in Kpop music videos at least once in their time as a fan.  The earliest example I could think of that tried to incorporate it is CN Blue's I'm a Loner. Check it out below:

 

 

 

 

Did you notice something that stood out which would later on repeat itself in multiple Kpop MVs?  Well, I'm talking about minutes 2:10 onwards.  That disruptive pause was quite the sensation at the year of its release and even now, which is years after, I can still remember its details quite well.

 

Fast forward to 2017, I think I've lost count of how many music videos that have incorporated a huge break in the middle of the song to fit the entirety of the video in.  A few recent examples:

 

Mamamoo's Mr. Ambiguous

 

 

BTS's Blood, Sweat and Tears

 

 

Gfriend's Fingertip

 

 

Do you think that this trend is interesting and effective at accomplishing its purpose?  Or do you feel like the pause is completely jarring in the video and should not have been a thing?

 

 

Personally I do not like it at all and I think this is not how you make your videos different and intriguing.  One of the reasons many people were initially put off by Mamamoo's Decalcomanie video (aside from the controversial editing) is the long break after the bridge which in their opinions completely take listeners out of the song, and the way the main song was introduced back after that break ended wasn't very smooth either, and it's really a shame bc I think both the song and the video are a masterpiece.  Decalcomanie should've been the career defining moment for Mamamoo imo, but alas, it's all water under the bridge now and they're still enjoying great success anyway.

[KiraDoru]

It's just making lyric video views rise

[Marshmallows]

If the MV has a storyline yes if not then it's unnecessary

[Gilean]

If I want to listen to a song, I don't play a mv, I stream it on a music service.

I watch mv's for the visuals, the dance, the storylines etc so if the breaks serve a purpose and are well done I like them.

[chokemekjm]

It can get anticlimactic. Lord knows how much I think the rap break in 2NE1's Come Back Home is unnecessary. I've never seen one example where it was value-adding. I'd like for someone to prove me wrong though~

[Rose.]

I mean, MVs then had stories didn't they? But then, they usually had it in the beginning of the story to add a little spice to the purpose of the song. BIGBANG's old videos had stories in them heading to the song being played. 

 

What's making it "disruptive" now is that the MV's are more used as background music so it does throw off the person listening and having to go back and see what's going on. 

 

You're better off just listening to lyric videos instead of the official ones if this is a problem with you. 

[Belkiss]

It depends on the storyline of the mv

[PrazzyJazzy]

Its usually not done well, and unless there's a narrative in the MV that's as interesting as the song, I don't like it.

[echobunny]

don't like it

twice's signal had one too

[chiirbii]

As someone that likes playing MVs for background music/visuals, I hate it. 

 

I don't mind minor breaks when it's more incorporated with the song. K.will's Please Don't is an example of this with a beat of silence and some car noise, but it doesn't take me out of the song.

[Kayou]

It depends on the song, personally I don't like the break in BST, one thing because it's too long. I like the one in Run, it adds dramatic effect to the MV, so beautiful

[adelightfulsong]

Most of the time these breaks are super tacky.

[Jamoneitor]

It depends on the song, personally I don't like the break in BST, one thing because it's too long. I like the one in Run, it adds dramatic effect to the MV, so beautiful

Omg! I think the same, in BST I was surprised how long the pause was (not that I mind the visuals, the scene itself is interesting but so long... though I don't find it anticlimactic like others). In Run it was great!

 

Also Twice's Signal, the MV would've done much better without that pause 

[TalkingSeaweed]

I can only speak about BTS music videos, since I haven't pumped into one anywhere else (at least I don't remember)

 

In BST case, the longer pause actually made me appreciate the chorus drop more and I think that was the intention in the first place - to make the drop stand out and make it memorable.

 

For RUN, the pause was great in music video and story context, but not as much for the song itself, since the chorus drop there isn't as big.

[My Everything]

I think it fit well for the Decalcomanie video

[RiseLikeACrowTit]

BS&T is more than justified, the seven teasers and the video itself is a platform for the climax moment at the end of the MV

[Guardian of the Galaxy]

I don't mind it the first time I watch it, but afterwards if I want to look up the song and stream the MV to listen to it it gets annoying

[Aearom]

It was in this iconic video first 

 

 

Personally it works for me cause the pause sounds kind of musical. But I prefer to just listen to the actual song more.

[PurachinaDisuko]

If the MV has a storyline yes if not then it's unnecessary

 

 

If I want to listen to a song, I don't play a mv, I stream it on a music service.

I watch mv's for the visuals, the dance, the storylines etc so if the breaks serve a purpose and are well done I like them.

[Sdm]

The one in bst and run are annoying af

[MadameVastra]

I actually like it....I want a different thing for MVs...and I watch MVs to get that something more, be that more: different/dissonant/strange/or simply aesthetic, to make the all experience something else from what I feel when listening to the music

 

if I want to simply focus on the music I listen to the track

 

so for me it works well

 

 

but I am also the kind of person that sometimes crave to rewatch a MV...and even enjoy on a very high level to binge watch MVs when I feel like it!

[Chuuei]

If I want to listen to a song, I don't play a mv, I stream it on a music service.

I watch mv's for the visuals, the dance, the storylines etc so if the breaks serve a purpose and are well done I like them.

Same here.

 

In general i like these breaks when watching MVs. but what's also true, often these are not executed that well. The one's in t-aras mv's i like most often. In Lovey Dovey you got several good breaks to advance the zombie story line or the 15 minutes Day by Day mv is also a masterpiece.

 

 

One of the reasons many people were initially put off by Mamamoo's Decalcomanie video (aside from the controversial editing) is the long break after the bridge which in their opinions completely take listeners out of the song, and the way the main song was introduced back after that break ended wasn't very smooth either, and it's really a shame bc I think both the song and the video are a masterpiece.  Decalcomanie should've been the career defining moment for Mamamoo imo, but alas, it's all under the bridge now and they're still enjoying great success anyway.

I can agree with you, that the story break wasn't the smoothest, but the performance of the song in general has nothing to do with the mv. Like the quote above said, when people want to hear the music when they're out, going to work, school etc., they don't watch the mv's.

 

And i think you're example with decalcomanie doesn't work thatt well. It was indeed career defining for them. It had a really slow start, but that's not because of the mv but the song in general was quite different from their previous songs like YTB or UOAY, more mature. But with their persistent performances of it in music shows, festivals and end of year shows/award shows, they gained a lot of attention and the Blue Dragon Award performance even went kind of viral (after that they got to Melon #1 which wasn't the case before).Decalcomanie beats YTB in most metrics, the fandom grew alot in that time and it might be considered their most successful song until YIA. So, i don't see the decalcomanie example working with your arguments.

[mikmak]

I think they can be great when I think of their initial purpose. I feel like people mostly dislike it because they stop thinking of MVs as MVs in a way. When you first watch the MV you are looking and analyzing everything, and every pause is meaningful and "cool" so to speak. It's just that the pauses don't really stand up to time because you've already seen it, it's over for you. If you click it again you don't want to wait for the hidden surprise anymore, you just want to hear it through. 

[Wheein's Fringe]

I think they can be great when I think of their initial purpose. I feel like people mostly dislike it because they stop thinking of MVs as MVs in a way. When you first watch the MV you are looking and analyzing everything, and every pause is meaningful and "cool" so to speak. It's just that the pauses don't really stand up to time because you've already seen it, it's over for you. If you click it again you don't want to wait for the hidden surprise anymore, you just want to hear it through. 

 

Same. I have a tendency to watch MVs first to get the full feel of a song and then watch it again if I like the song. I just end up skipping the pauses. If there is going to be a pause/monologue, I would rather it be as an intro or outro. I don't like having a gap break up the song.

[glow]

These were the first 2 I thought of: 

 

 

at 4:05, 4:41, a couple other spots (also they stop the song to use parts of Coma a couple times)

 

 

1:20 (this one is SO fucking annoying to me)