CLC and the “Hobgoblin” Comeback
On January 17, 2017, CLC released their fifth mini-album, CRYSTYLE, and the music video for title track “Hobgoblin.” This comeback saw a shift in the girl group’s concept, transitioning from their bubblegum pop cutesy look to a darker and more charismatic concept. 2NE1 and 4Minute had both disbanded the year prior, leaving space for another sexy, dark group to make their entrance, which is what Cube Entertainment and CLC intended to do with this comeback. Featuring six new tracks, the first half of CRYSTYLE saw CLC explore a more aggressive hip-hop style laced with EDM while the second half was more dance-pop meets EDM.
The Music Video
CLC and Cube Entertainment worked with HyunA on the choreography for “Hobgoblin,” but that’s not all the former 4Minute member did for this comeback as she is also credited with helping write the lyrics and was a creative director for the music video. It’s also been said that Sorn helped with the lyrics, but this has never been confirmed and she remains uncredited.
“Hobgoblin” is considered by many to be a part two of 4Minute’s track “Crazy,” and while the music video may not carry over the comparison, the sound definitely does. The music video does, however, seem to pay homage to former girl group 2NE1’s music video for “I Am the Best (내가 제일 잘 나가).” Yujin’s hair is styled in a horn-like fashion similar to how CL’s hair was styled, though there’s a certain cutesy quality to Yujin’s. Another similarity is the baseball bats, with Eunbin opening the music video with one slung over her shoulder and the other girls sporting different bats throughout the video, which was also seen in the 2NE1 video. That’s where the comparisons stop, however, as CLC completely owned “Hobgoblin” and looked stunning in this choreography-heavy music video.
The Comeback Performance
CLC had their comeback performance for “Hobgoblin” on January 19, 2017 on M!COUNTDOWN. Something interesting for anybody who was unfamiliar with CLC at the time of this comeback is the opening video reel before the girls took the stage, as it shows them in 2015 when they debuted, in 2016, and then in 2017, where you can see how they shifted from the cute schoolgirl concept to “Hobgoblin.” The stage design for their performance was similar to the warehouse set in the music video, with graffiti on the walls and red lighting. Though some members appeared to be wearing exact outfits from the music video, many wore outfits in a similar style.
The Legacy
CRYSTYLE debuted at No. 10 on the Gaon Weekly Albums Chart before falling to No. 40 the second week. It then jumped back up to No. 28 on the third week before dropping completely from the chart on the fourth week. The mini-album also appeared on the Gaon Monthly Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 30, and on the Billboard U.S. World Albums Chart, peaking at No. 6 and making it their first album to chart in the United States.
“Hobgoblin” debuted and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard U.S. World Digital Songs Chart, their first track to chart in the United States. The week it debuted, it caused “FXXK IT” by BIGBANG, “Stay With Me” by Park Chanyeol and Punch for Goblin: The Lonely and Great God, “Blood Sweat & Tears” by BTS, and “It’s Definitely You” by V and Jin of BTS for Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth to drop on the chart. The track did not chart in Korea.
While “Hobgoblin” didn’t do very much for CLC in the domestic market, it did introduce the girl group to the international market. The darker concept was a nice change of pace, but was somewhat dropped in subsequent releases, with CLC leaning more towards a more mature, yet still pop-based sound.