Falling In Love With OH MY GIRL BANHANA

Have you set your gamemode to OH MY GIRL BANHANA’s pop-up album yet? If you haven’t, hurry up! Now that we’re all buckled up for a thrilling adventure, let’s start the game!

Banana Allergy Monkey

OH MY GIRL has returned with a cute sub-unit consisting of Hyojung, Binnie, and Arin, releasing a pop-up album (a special unit album) with the concept of monkeys.

But, as you can see, they’re not just normal monkeys. Unfortunately allergic to bananas, the sub-unit’s expedition heads to a forest with one goal in mind: to find banana milk. Let’s take a look at their journey!

When the video starts, Binnie is seen playing a game. Since the rest of the story takes place in the game itself, this music video gives fans the chance to experience playing the game “Banana Allergy Monkey,” the main purpose being to find the three monkeys’ love: banana milk! The scenes illustrate the different elements that can be seen in an actual game. The little details—such as the 3P, 2P, and 1P indications and the banana on top of a character possessing bananas—really shook my heart (so cute!). The general color scheme was also pretty satisfying, and the variety of costumes was a nice switch to see along with the location changes: from a forest to an indoor cafe, a spaceship, and even more. The rest of the OH MY GIRL members (YooA, Seunghee, Mimi, Jiho) showed their support by making their appearances with cameos as relatively normal monkeys (or monkeys without a banana allergy).

To The Next Level

This special mini-album consists of three other tracks that continue the “Banana Allergy Monkey” game. At first glance, imagining the group with a concept this unique was kind of difficult, especially the part where monkeys are allergic to bananas…it just didn’t seem quite right. However, once you hear the song, it becomes easier to see; here’s why.

“Banana Allergy Monkey” starts off with a familiar set of sound effects, or chiptunes. The beginning sets up an arcade game-like atmosphere as the track builds up to a playful mood and progresses on to form a catchy beat and melody line. Additionally, the choreography adds to the bright tune, emphasizing the general concept. Highlighted by the several point dances that portray their distinct characters, OH MY GIRL BANHANA succeeded in transforming from their goddess-like images to three adorable monkeys.

First on the album, “Ukiuki Waikiki (Intro)” gives off a peaceful vibe—just like the background music that plays until someone presses the start button. With the base of the ukulele smoothly harmonizing with the drum and alongside other instruments, the intro leads the listener into a dreamlike state.

“하더라” is a song sung by the “regular” monkeys (YooA, Seunghee, Mimi, Jiho). Filled with extraordinary lyrics about their perspective of the unusual OH MY GIRL BANHANA expedition, the song carries on the whole concept of a game and incorporates a mix of musical genres such as tropical house and a minor inclusion of trap.

Seunghee’s solo song, “반한 게 아니야,” is an acoustic track that serves as a great ending to this album. Although the song doesn’t have the special sound effects the other tracks contain, the unexpected twist in the lyrics is quite a surprise. Initially denying that she fell in love with the banana milk introduced to her by a friend, Seunghee ends up admitting her love for the drink as well. The contrast between the calming, sweet melody and the true meaning behind the lyrics is the key point to focus on while listening to this track.

As much as this surprise release brought up a lot of contrasting reactions from fans of the K-Pop community, this special pop-up album was an adorable switch from the girls’ last album, Secret Garden. OH MY GIRL BANHANA attempted a concept with distinct character by transforming into cute monkeys while shyly confessing their difference from others (due to their allergy). Now, with the debut of the first sub-unit from OH MY GIRL, is it too early to look forward to a surprise release from another?