Hyomin has released two music videos for her first ever solo song “Nice Body” on June 30th – two days ahead of schedule! The teasers created a big buzz with the comedic image Hyomin had in the 15+ version, and the scandalous nature of what was in the 19+ version.

First of all, the MV version (15+ version) of Hyomin’s “Nice Body” is basically a cutesy-sexy concept that focuses on Hyomin’s dream of a Nice Body (literal sense) but also the colourful outfits and dance moves. Hyomin revealed in her interview with Naver that she was going for a bright and cute image contrary to her fierce image in T-ara. As much as it might seem like a very simple and straightforward MV, there are actually other underlying meanings if you take a deeper look at it.

The MV starts off with obese Hyomin in her kitchen, munching away on her donuts, sweets and what not. The whole scene is of a very dark tone, which in a way symbolizes Hyomin-character’s loneliness. She dozes off on the kitchen table and in her dream, a gold donut rolls towards her, she eats it and transforms into fit and sexy Hyomin. Everything brightens up in color and she is seen stepping on a scale.

When Hyomin steps on the scale in her dream, it reads “Nice Body” instead of any weight. This alludes to the fact that society always tells us that a Nice Body is determined by the number on a scale and usually that means being skinny. In reality, the number on a scale isn’t always the true determinate of what a perfect body is and Hyomin progressively aims to debunk that common belief.

When Hyomin is transported to the dream world, every thing is filled with colors scanning the whole rainbow. Everything is filled with positivity and glamour until what seems to be a club scene. At 2:20, we can see Hyomin and her group of friends approaching black silhouettes. If you pause and look carefully, its actually her obese self.

Hyomin’s wearing the label “Nice Body” in her dream

Hyomin’s silhouette showing her real body

Contrary to what a lot of viewers are currently thinking, Hyomin does not in any way insult, mock or degrade obese people. The MV is more of a satire, telling us how the world is so obsessed with the appearance and the superficial aspects of a human’s body. The MV might seem shallow at first sight, but it actually isn’t at all.

The whole idea of the really brief plot is to tell us that girls have to conform to the society’s acknowledgements of a nice body. Hyomin shows the insane ideals of today’s society by wearing a top that says 34, and at the waist area says 24, and shorts that reads 36, which seems to be one of the “perfect” body measurements a girl can ever dream of.

In addition to that, Hyomin’s dance includes a measuring tape, which she uses to measure how many inches her body is. Hyomin plays around with that measuring tape in her choreography and tries to show how little meaning it truly has by using it as an accessory and prop.

I personally think that the MV was shot pretty well, although the comments on YouTube say otherwise (not forgetting some are haters and/or taking a fun MV and song too seriously). The theme of the MV is consistent – a wide range of colors, which we can see in the kitchen scene, despite the overall darker tone of the “reality” scenes compared to the brighter, higher exposure of the “dream land” scenes. The outfits of both Hyomin and the back-up dancers tell us that the whole MV is not to be taken seriously, and some of the references are actually satires of society’s norms.

The only thing that I think can be improved is to focus more on the plot and less on the dance moves of the song, since there IS a dance practice video, and also a dance version. The MV could have concentrated more on telling the viewers what the whole concept of  a”Nice Body” is all about: is it just about having a Nice Body and flaunting it to others, or is it really about exposing the harsh reality of how the society judges people according to how they look and wear? Your stand is your decision to make, but I’m definitely going for the more holistic and logical meaning, simply because the MV is not as straightforward as it looks.

What do you think of “Nice Body“? Is it your summer jam because of its playful and sexy tune and concept? Leave comments of what you think about the song and/or this review!