Review: Blackswan - Tonight


Review: Blackswan - Tonight

 This group really has an interesting pre-debut history. When people usually say "major East-Asian girl group family", the 48 groups of Japan is what first comes to mind, but the V.O.X family of Korea deserves mention too. Baby V.O.X was one of Korea's biggest groups in the 90s. They were replaced with the way less successful Baby V.O.X Re.V. For the third generation, the agency brought in Rania, but despite decent music, the group (and its re-branding as B.P. Rania) failed to garner much attention except for the fact that they had one of the first major female foreign members in a K-Pop group (despite the fact that Reid was used mostly as a gimmick). Blackswan is the re-debut of BP Rania which has mostly garnered attention for Fatou, a member of African ancestry. I was once again worried that Fatou would be used as a gimmick, and the group would be unwilling to move forward. While I am still worried, 'Tonight' comes as a pleasant surprise.

The song is based on a guitar loop through percussionist girl-crush elements, without feeling fake at all. I have been waiting for this type of song for a real long time. And Fatou proves all the gimmick worries wrong with a fantastic rap at the bridge (with Korean FYI). The chorus continues the energy of the verses while actually still having singing (!).

That said, I am afraid of the song's longevity. After all, a year from now, what will make me play this song over second generation girl-crush tracks with unique elements. This certainly may hurt the track, but for now, I am just enjoying the fact it was great.

Rating: 8.25/10

Photo Source: kpop fandom

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