Super Junior makes what could be their last comeback (before EXO kicks their asses) with a 6th album. Sexy Free & Single is the lead track, and boy does it have one hilarious MV.
SM decided to go back to basics with the MV for SuJu's new song, which means dancing in boxes with random closeups for spice. Usually it'd be pretty snoozeworthy, but with the recent glut of "stylish" MVs that attempt to... think outside the box if you'll pardon my pun, this ends up being a breath of fresh air. Ironic I know.
But since this IS Super Junior, the neglected, old, forever sidelined former cashcow of SM, not much effort was given to their boxes at all. They get a grand total of 3: 1 fancy one, 1 decent one scrapped together from EXO's leftover setpieces, and the blank whiteroom they use for CGI editing (but "artisticly" lighted for disguise).
They really went all out on the CGI budget for this one.
If they're not busy bitching out SM for their blatant favoritism of every other group in their lineup, ELFs might argue that the lack of sets only highlights the dance bits of the song's choreo. In this case, they'd might actually have a point. Super Junior's choreography for this promo, although ridiculous/laughable in places (most places), manages to incorporate some interesting formations that make use of their massive numbers. Highly unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome. Some dance highlights I found interesting.
Main dance. Too busy laughing to come up with something witty.
OPPAS ARE PERFECT DANCE MACHINES
This is how you use the main dancer, by giving 'em a properly incorporated dance solo that's halfway decent. Take notes, Hyoyeon.
The only reason why I was anywhere near interested in Super Junior's new album was because I heard Kangin was going to return to active promotions with the group. Say what you will about the guy, but I think he's a just big ol' bear of a guy. It's probably cause of how funny he was on WGM (Okay, I only watched the episode where he and his "wife" whose name escapes me went with Taeyeon and Jung Hyung Don to that clam island and Taeyeon got drunk.), not to mention the fact that he got arrested twice for kicking ass and DUI. #streetcred
But, when I watched the MV, he was even hardly in it!! Poor guy comes fresh out of the military and back into action and all he gets is a few seconds of screentime.
And most of it is filled with SM's shitty ads. FUCKING EMBEDED ADS, SM YOU NEED TO STOP.
Thankfully, the rest of the screentime is dominated by Donghae, one of the few actually attractive people in this damn group.
The outfits are as wack as ever, SM digging especially deep in hipster and wannabe avant-garde dumpsters for some of the shit they got them wearing. The only decent sets are the suits, but that's pretty much a given. It's incredibly difficult to fuck up a suit, and thankfully Super Junior doesn't attempt to prove me wrong. But still. Take a look at what the fuck they put Leeteuk in and tell me you didn't laugh/shiver.
We didn't need to see Leeteuk's titties jiggle, SM.
The song itself is, in another surprising turn of events, NOT a rehash/remix/repeat of Sorry Sorry. It's a pretty solid song, but ultimately doesn't do much at all. Listening to it, it feels rather short compared to what you would expect. The verses and such are far superior to the rest of the song, but there is far too much autotune to be able to distinguish any non-KRY+Donghae voices. Especially in the chorus. The SEKSHI FUREE N SHINGLE I'M LEADY TO BINGLE bits are really annoying, not to mention the loltastic Engrish of it all. Still, this song is far superior to Mr. Simple or anything off that entire hotmess of a 5th album.
Since this is Super Junior KPop, you can't get into any legitimate discussion of an MV without analyzing it for hidden symbolism and imagery. I went ahead and dissected some examples of this powerful metaphor-laden MV.
SO MINDFUCKING
THE SHADE
As you might have guessed from the above, this MV is chock full of as much subliminal EXO-related content as there is evidence that SM is pushing for Super Junior's retirement. It's as if SM was mentally preparing its legion of stans for the inevitable, but along the way to the publishing table, an ELF got a hold of the MV and edited in some anti-EXO bits to warn the faithful. (PROM15E TO 13ELIVE, BITCHES)
TL;DR: Not Sorry Sorry part 4 and one of the better songs since then, but it's still nothing to write home about.
