[Review] Classified – OH MY GIRL

Another comeback from earlier in the week is OH MY GIRL’s Classified, the lead single off their 10th mini-album Dreamy Resonance. It comes over a year after their last comeback with their 9th mini-album, Golden Hourglass, and leading single, Summer Comes.

Classified is an intriguing track. It reminds me of Red Velvet’s Feel My Rhythm, another orchestral and synth composition. However, Classified is slightly different, with relatively less texture in its background. Don’t misunderstand — Classified still has plenty of texture through its bass and beat, making for a more pronounced bounce to the music. I enjoyed that side of the song, as it adds a playful element. The orchestral elements of the song make it dreamy and sophisticated. Together, these sides of the instrumental are beautifully balanced, making Classified feel and sound modernly energetic and classically elegant. The vocals in the song are spectacular. OH MY GIRL made their mark in this song, especially with SEUNGHEE, HYOJUNG and their ad-libs in the background of the second and last choruses. I loved the melodies and flow they brought to Classified. Now, the vocal parts are not 100% perfect. Some parts in the verses didn’t meld as nicely with the instrumentation as I had hoped for. And it was these moments that stood out to me in the first listen, which had me thinking it was a questionable song. But repeat listens have definitely warmed me up to those moments. What the repeat listens haven’t warmed me up to in Classified is the rapping. It sounded awkward, making me question why it was even needed in Classified in the first place. MIMI had a good vocal moment that the producers could have continued to explore in place of the rapping. But besides those minor flaws, Classified is still a sound track and an excellent addition to OH MY GIRL’s repertoire of artistic hits.

My understanding of Classified‘s lyrics is about cherishing the memories we made when we were younger, especially when people in those memories grow up and apart. The music video looks to be set in a dollhouse with the OH MY GIRL members acting as dolls who lived in that doll house. The music video interprets the lyrics by focusing on the idea that we all have made memories with our toys as we were growing up. But as we all grow older, we will unlikely play with those toys again. As dolls in the video, OH MY GIRL are wishing us the best and hoping we only remember the good memories. We also see OH MY GIRL venture into the fake outdoors and a fake city, as if they are putting themselves into our shoes and imagining what it is like beyond the dollhouse. I like how the end of the video confirms my interpretation by showing us the plushie’s POV and the young girls running off into the distance, leaving their schoolbags and plushies behind. It is a cute video overall.

The accompanying choreography for this comeback is elegant. However, I don’t find myself focusing too much on the choreography, as I am distracted by OH MY GIRL’s vocals. This limits me to only remembering the introductory sequence. But that is fine, as the intro sequence for this routine is definitely one of the most beautiful intros I have seen to date and is the standout sequence in my mind in this routine.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.3/10