Following the successful conclusion of their La Dolce Vita world tour last month, ONEUS is back with a new digital single “Now” on May 22. The song is a remake of 1st-gen girl group Fin.K.L’s hit of the same name released in 2000. Riding on the recent Y2K trend in the K-pop world, ONEUS recreated this song by infusing their unique colors, at the same time cleverly preserving some Y2K elements of the song. Read on to discover the highlights of ONEUS’s first-ever remake track!
A trendy yet faithful remake
Fin.K.L’s original version of “Now” is a rhythmic dance pop that demonstrates the mature side of the group. ONEUS made a faithful rearrangement of the song by adhering to the overall melody and style of the original version, while skilfully tweaking a few parts of it. They sped up the song slightly, added punchy bass throughout the song, and inserted a dance break before the last chorus, making the song reborn as a trendy and dynamic boy group track palatable for people across different generations.
It is quite rare for K-pop boy groups to remake girl group songs. During an interview before their comeback, ONEUS explained that they hoped to remake a track that suits them well, while at the same time feels familiar to the public. As “Now” was a mega-hit back in the early 2000s and matches the image of ONEUS, they decided to make a fresh attempt of reinterpreting this legendary girl group song to evoke nostalgia among the older listeners and introduce it to the younger generation in a fresh manner.
Five detectives and two ants
Since their debut in 2019, ONEUS has tried out various concepts such as merman prince, oriental, and poker. In the “Now” music video, the members transform into detectives, each possessing different abilities such as disguise and hacking. They try to sneak into a building to carry out a secret mission humorously, showing the funny side of the group, which they have never shown in their previous music videos. The storyline of the music video is also very thrilling, with an unexpected plot twist, which would keep you on the edge of your seat while making you laugh.
Another interesting point about the music video is that two ants are crawling on Seoho’s shoulders at the end. This is referring to the homophonic pun of the first line of the song “Came into my life”, which sounds similar to “two ants” in Korean (개미 두 마리). Many Pinky (Fin.K.L’s fandom) made fun of this and changed the lyrics of the line when they sang this song back then. ONEUS creatively incorporating this pun in the music video delighted many 1st-gen K-pop fans, commenting that this is bringing back the good old memories of the 2000s.
Sophisticated choreography with Y2K vibes
Aiki, the leader of the dance group HOOK, who competed in Street Woman Fighter, created the choreography of the song with her team. Aiki designed powerful and intense choreography for the song and included challenging dance moves during the dance break, which highlights the top-notch dancing skills of ONEUS.
At the same time, she kept some of the dance moves from the original version, including the point choreography of ‘swinging hands’ at the chorus, to pay homage to the original version and bring out the Y2K vibe of the song. Aiki even filmed a dance challenge video with ONEUS, surprising their fans TO MOON. Check out the dance challenge video below!
Support from the original singer
ONEUS’s remake of “Now” not only received love from listeners of a diverse age group but also from the song’s original singer. Ok Joo-Hyun, the main vocalist of Fin K.L., showed her excitement about ONEUS’ remake project when the members contacted her for guidance. She listened to the track before its official release and offered detailed advice to ONEUS on the pronunciation, voice, and feeling of the song. She even promised to watch ONEUS performing the song, showing her support for them.
In the interview, ONEUS also expressed their gratitude to Ok Joo-Hyun, adding that her suggestions and warm words of encouragement made them feel touched, and motivated them to work hard on this comeback to breathe new life into this K-pop classic.
Do you like ONEUS’s remake of “Now”? Let us know on Instagram and Twitter, and stream “Now” on YouTube and music sites to show your support to the 4th-gen representative performers!
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Feature Image Credit: RBW Official Website
