Known particularly for their bubbly brand of funky pop songs, Mamamoo return with “Paint Me,” a soaring ballad that emphasizes the group’s more soulful side.
The single, released worldwide on on Thursday (Jan. 4), kicks off 2018 for the K-pop girl group after a quiet 2017 that saw them release just one single, “Yes I Am,” from their Purple EP in June.
“Paint Me” is a powerful pop ballad dominated by a piano melody and the women’s dynamic voices; it is one of the rare occasions when member Moonbyul joins the three vocalists with a display of her singing rather than her dominating raps. Lyrically, the song mournfully compares a relationship to a variety of colors: white represents the uneventful period before meeting, yellow reflects the happiness that came with love, red refers to the passion, and blue stands in for the tears that arrived during hardships.
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The new single was accompanied with a color-popping music video featuring relatively simple sets that draw the viewer’s attention to the flowing, elegant outfits that tie-in to the solo verses. Meanwhile, the finale features the quartet in regal gowns. It’s a new look for Mamamoo, who usually play up their more jovial side, both musically and visually, but continues the group’s exploration of their sound.
The powerhouse vocals of Mamamoo has propelled the group to prominence in the K-pop scene, thanks to their romantic R&B ballads and jazzy retropop tunes which lifted Purple to the top the World Albums chart.
Watch the music video for “Paint Me” here: