4Minute and the “Crazy” Comeback

4Minute released their fifth and penultimate mini-album Crazy, featuring the title track of the same name, after an almost year-long hiatus on February 9, 2015. Crazy saw the girl group shift back to what Gayoon called the “‘classic’ 4Minute vibe” but with a “bolder spin.” Before the mini-album dropped, track “Cold Rain” was pre-released along with a music video on January 26, 2015. 

The Music Videos

The music video for “Cold Rain” features the 4Minute girls in a derelict building. While the building may be falling apart, the girls look absolutely stunning. The track itself is a downtempo ballad, the group’s first lead single ballad since their debut, and features a beautiful acoustic guitar paired with the piano. Along the way, they add some synth and more beats to the track, which makes for an interesting spin on the typical ballad we all know. The softer vocals paired with the sincere quality to the rap verses only drives the fact that 4Minute owned any genre they came across. Compared to the rest of Crazy, “Cold Rain” is definitely a more sensitive track. It’s a shame that maknae Sohyun didn’t get as much screen time as the rest of the girls, only appearing for her verse at the end of the track and in the final group shot.

“Crazy” is a complete 180 from the sound and looks of “Cold Rain.” Instead of a beautiful ballad, the girls of 4Minute released a banger, blending in hip-hop, trap, EDM, and dance elements, and even features writing credits for HyunA. Opening with HyunA’s iconic, “Yeah, I’m the female monster,” the track instantly demands attention. The alternation between Jihyun and Sohyun’s flowing vocals, Gayoon’s belting vocals in the pre-chorus, and the sharp, knife-like rap verses from HyunA and Jiyoon help hammer in the feeling of craziness. However, it’s the use of lower pitched beats, siren-esque synths, and drum machines galore that make it hard not to jump up and get crazy, which is what 4Minute urges listeners to do if you go by the lyrics. The music video is almost exclusively in black and white, with the only pops of color being Jiyoon’s teal hair and Sohyun’s red socks after the first chorus.

While the track is one of 4Minute’s most popular, with fans to this day still reacting whenever ”Crazy” is mentioned, it wasn’t without controversy. Many fans of BIGBANG and fellow girl group 2NE1 accused 4Minute of plagiarism, stating that scenes from the music video were too similar to scenes from G-DRAGON’s music video for his solo track “One Of A Kind” and claiming that 4Minute stole 2NE1’s concept. There was a third accusation of plagiarism in regards to the track itself, with a Korean blogger stating that the track had lifted beats from Knife Party’s “Boss Mode.” However, this accusation was laid to rest when one of the producers stepped in on Twitter and said he didn’t hear a resemblance. 

The Comeback Performances

4Minute had their comeback performance on M!COUNTDOWN on February 12, 2015, where they performed “Cut It Out” and “Crazy.” “Cut It Out” alternates between trap and Europop, with the verses standing out as more aggressive and the choruses bringing in the pop element, and the stage design showed this alternation as well. During the verses, the large screens in the back displayed chains over a chain link fence and neon green splashes, but once the chorus kicked in, the displays changed to bright yellow and soft white. And while there is some choreography to the performance, it’s definitely not as prominent as the performance for “Crazy.”

Much like the music video, the stage design for the performance of “Crazy” was all white, with 4Minute wearing outfits from the music video. The coolest part of this comeback stage was the cut between the pre-choruses and choruses, where the members each donned their white bucket hats with their names on them, before cutting back to the girls sans hat. 

The Legacy

Crazy peaked at No. 2 on the Gaon Weekly Albums Chart, No. 4 on the Gaon Monthly Albums Chart, and No. 1 on the Billboard U.S. World Albums Chart while “Crazy” peaked at No. 3 on the Gaon Weekly Digital Songs Chart, No. 6 on the Gaon Monthly Digital Songs Chart, and No. 2 on the Billboard U.S. World Digital Songs Sales Chart. 

“Crazy” would go on to win seven music show wins, with two wins on Show Champion on February 18 and 25, two wins on M!COUNTDOWN on February 19 and 26, two wins on Inkigayo on February 22 and March 1, and one win on Show! Music Core on February 21. Their win for “Crazy” on Show! Music Core is also exciting as it was the first time 4Minute won on that program. “Crazy” is also tied with their 2013 track “What’s Your Name?” for most music show wins.

At the end-of-year awards, “Crazy” was nominated for “Best Dance Performance - Female Group” at the Mnet Asian Music Awards and “Disk Bonsang” as the Golden Disc Awards but unfortunately did not win. 4Minute were also nominated for two separate popularity awards at the Golden Disc Awards—“Popularity Award - Korea” and “Global Popularity Award”—but also did not win either of those.