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U-KISS’s “Quit Playing” Music Video Review & Rundown

Well, let’s get right to it. Within the first 10 seconds of “Quit Playing,” we have already seen numerous amounts of bare skin, male and female. U-KISS has definitely set the tone for this music video and comeback. The opening shots are quick cuts of numerous scenes. Some with fully clothed individuals and some with not-so-fully clothed individuals.

Right from the beginning we see Hoon and Kiseop in a room with a woman. Kiseop takes off his shirt as Hoon (already shirtless) caresses the woman in a seductive way. As the music video progresses, we see the the three of them… interacting… at a club and other locations. Toward the end of the video, we see the shirtless shots of Hoon and Kiseop with the woman, as both of them hold and seduce her at the same time.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that Hoon and Kiseop are the only shirtless ones in the video. Hey, with bodies like theirs, why not show it off, right? Aside from the bare skin, Hoon, Kiseop, and Eli are the only three U-KISS members that have intimate scenes with a woman.

And speaking of intimate, Eli… Whew, those bed scenes. Eli was the only member that had steamy scenes, yes they were both clothed, albeit underwear for the girl, but still. He also had the most close up face-to-face shots with his female lead.

Along with the bed scenes and kiss shots, he had a few scenes of the woman seducing him as she sat atop the bar, which lead to her wrapping her legs around his torso as they are, presumably, about to go to second base. Eli’s individual shots showed the seduction and lust between a man and a woman erotically.

Now let’s focus in on the last scene of Eli exhaling smoke. In many films (mostly older ones), characters in steamy scenes (hardcore make out session that undoubtedly leads to sex) are often times seen smoking afterwards. The good ol’ post-sex cigarette, if you will.

Now I may be pushing this symbolism too far, but it’s a 19+ video with plenty of steamy scenes. As I mentioned before, Eli is the only member with bedroom scenes and he ends the video exhaling smoke from a cigarette. Moments before we see him laying down with his female lead, in another steamy scene. So I’m sticking to this theory, you don’t have to agree with me on it.

Kevin and Soohyun also had their solo shots in the cinderblock room and hallway/corridor/alley, respectively, as they sang and danced with a backup dancer. But neither of them had any individual one-on-one shots with a woman that did not include the choreography.

With this music video, KISS ME got their first official look at new member Jun in action. Although there were not many shots of him, I think he held his own in the music video. It will be nice to see more of him as time goes on.

A lot of fans and other people are asking the question how can U-KISS have a 19+ rated music video when their maknae is only 17? If you watch the music video, Jun’s individual scenes are definitely PG-13. The only time he’s with a girl is during the group dance parts and when he’s in the yellow Hummer. There are three girls around him who run their fingers and hands up his arm and on his fully-clothed chest. In my opinion his scenes were done tastefully and realistically in regards to his age.

The choreography was pretty good. I like the interactions with the female dancers, it obviously suits the song. I love that each member has their own back-up dancer to dance with as well. The dance definitely fits the sexiness of the music video is done very well. The guys are strong partners for the girls and the girls know how to move their bodies and make the dance look sexy, not trashy.

I hope they release a dance version of the music video so we can see the whole dance from start to finish without any interruptions. Unfortunately we won’t be able to see the dance on music shows because U-KISS’ choreography was deemed inappropriate for the televised music shows.

I also liked the muted color tones throughout the video. The color schemes were tones of blues, grays, and greens, which fit the tempo and lyrics of the song. There wasn’t an over abundance of bright colors or peppy objects in the scenes. The muted tones reflected the sentiments of the song.

Obviously, in some scenes there were pops of color. For instance, the yellow Hummer and the red lipstick, red hot pants, and red velvet wall. Red lipstick pops whether it’s highlighted in a black and white scene or surrounded by color. The dance scenes were mostly black and white, which really allowed for the female dancers’ red hot pants to really be the highlight of the scene.

The lyrics to “Quit Playing” express a man’s desire for the woman he loves, and tells her to stop with the mind games, hence the title of the song. He doesn’t like that other men give her attention and the she welcomes all of the attention and reciprocates by flirting with these men. The man wants her for himself and all she is doing is playing with him. These lyrics clearly state what the man feels:

That smile you only showed me
Why are you showing it so easily to others?
Words that I held in but can’t anymore
If you love me, then stop.

It is clear that the man is far more into the woman than she is into him. She enjoys the attention from other men and doesn’t seem to mind that she’s toying with one or more of them. Clearly these two are not on the same page.

As for the music of the song, I enjoy the acoustic guitar that begins the song and it goes into a modern, mid-tempo beat. You can hear chimes and some funk guitar thrown in there as well. I think the music suits the style of song quite well. In all honesty it took a few listens for me to like the song. The chorus is where I got hooked.

Overall, the music video is steamy and sexy. I enjoyed watching it and seeing a more grown-up concept for U-KISS that reflects their age better. Check out the music video and let us know your opinion:

Do you guys like the song and music video, or was it too much? Don’t forget to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, TwitterInstagram, Tumblr, and Bloglovin’ so you can keep up with all our posts.

Let’s Talk About: U-KISS’s Comeback & Its Member Changes

U-KISS has been around for several years, but it has gone through numerous member line-ups. As of today, only three original members are still part of U-KISS. But in spite of these line-up changes, the group still has a loyal fanbase. Let’s take a look:

Timeline

2008: U-KISS debuts with Soohyun, Kevin, Eli, Xander, Kibum, and Dongho.

not young

2009: Let’s add in Kiseop!

Man Man Ha Ni

2011: Bye Kibum and Xander. We’ll miss you!

2011: Oh, hi, AJ and Hoon. You guys seem pretty good!

Neverland

2012: AJ will randomly be going to Columbia University once in a while? Okay!

alone

2013: And now Dongho is leaving because of his health.

2014: But we have Jun joining now!

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So What’s Going On?

U-KISS debuted in 2008 with a goal of being the most approachable group for international fans, with members like Xander, Kevin, Dongho, Kibum, and Eli who spoke multiple languages.

But the problem is that U-KISS never really gained popularity in Korea before going to other countries, like how most groups do that. Even though U-KISS has loyal fans throughout the world, in Korea and outside of it, it isn’t considered to be one of the most popular K-Pop acts. Members may be in variety shows, dramas, movies, etc. but they, unfortunately, are simply just not gaining the love that they deserve.

Let’s go over the facts: The group may go around the world touring, but Korean fans didn’t love U-KISS automatically, and the group hasn’t won any major awards over the years. This means that something is a bit off, since U-KISS still isn’t appealing to the average Korean K-Pop fan. Even among international fans, U-KISS lacks the numbers of groups like EXO and INFINITE have.

So how do you fix something that’s a little bit wrong, but is still working to some degree? You try to change things up.

First, Kiseop was brought in, an ulzzang (best face), who was popular among ulzzang fans. It was an obvious attempt to gain Korean fans, since Kiseop was already pretty popular.

Furthermore, Kibum and Xander’s contracts were terminated, apparently because U-KISS’s company believed the two of them to be lacking.  Fans were disappointed and worried that U-KISS may be dissolved.

Instead, two new members, Hoon and AJ, replaced the two positions. Both Hoon and AJ had already debuted, one as a solo artist and the other as a member of former idol group Paran. Like Kiseop, this also seems to be an attempt to bring in an already-built fanbase for U-KISS.

When Dongho left, fans all over the world were really sad, considering that Dongho left due to health issues. But because Dongho was not only a rapper but also the youngest member (and AJ is away at school for half of each year,) U-KISS had a void- every group needs a resident maknae (youngest member). So Jun came in. He’s still a wild card, but there’s some speculation that it’s U-KISS’s attempt at once again reaching out to a new fanbase.

Hopefully U-KISS will get all of the attention that they deserve not only because of Jun but also because of:

The Amazing, Sexy Concept!

Yup, I love it and everyone else should too. My first reaction when I saw the Mono Scandal video teaser was: Wow. U-KISS is really trying hard this time, coming out with a sexy concept that’s a bit different from what we’ve always seen from them in the past.

The group has definitely done sexy, but their song style has generally been the same, synthopop, dance sound. 0330 was a sharp change for them, and gained a generally good response, but since then the group returned to the type of sound that has treated them best.

But Mono Scandal seems to be a song that incorporates flamenco-style elements, opening up a whole new variety of music for U-KISS. Considering that the group has an extremely large Latino fanbase, and was the first K-Pop group to tour South America, this may be a conscious decision.

The music video will also be rated 19+ for it’s sexy concept, hinting to U-KISS’s maturity as an artist. And, of course, the members. Moreover, the group released extremely sexy teaser images, showing off the member’s bodies and not a single fan around the world is disappointed.

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I, for one, love the sound and can’t wait for the full video. This may be able to turn around everything for the group, launching them to stardom in their own country!

U-KISS is an extremely hard-working group that has persevered despite the fact that it’s not gaining the recognition that it’s worked so hard for.

What do you think? Does Mono Scandal suit U-KISS? Or should they go back to synthopop? Don’t forget to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, TwitterInstagram, Tumblr, and Bloglovin’ so you can keep up with all our posts.