HyunA has returned with her solo mini album A Talk, and its title track RED.
The teasers released for RED didn’t line up any mixed messages, as the mv is as one would expect from its build up.
So, I ask, who has dancing in your pants, bright lipstick, sexual innuendo, monkey friends, thrones and elaborate palaces in common?
HyunA, Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry of course.
HyunA’s RED includes imagery and styling we’ve seen in music videos from the western stars. This isn’t the first time HyunA has referenced a western music star. Her Now mv with fellow Trouble Maker star Hyunseung has often been spoken about regarding its similarity to Rihanna & Calvin Harris’ We Found Love.
We Can’t Stop | Wrecking Ball | Roar | Dark Horse
Though not unique to HyunA’s styling, one of the more striking visual elements of RED is the mass of imagery with sexual inference.
One of the opening images, and a visual that correlates with the lyrics is that of the monkey’s butt. Know anything about monkeys and you might know that there are species in which when the female is in heat its behind will become a very distinct red colour to signify this to males.
The apple is often seen as a symbol of sexuality, and sexual seduction. As in G Dragon’s Heartbreaker the apple shows an exploration of sexuality, a descent into the full knowledge of ones sexual power.
Also supporting this idea is the scenes of the caged press. Rather than a scenario in which HyunA is the caged one, trapped under the ever watching eyes of the press, HyunA is in control of her image, and how she is viewed.
There is often talk of how HyunA dislikes the overuse of her sexy image and that it is purely pushed by her company for sales, but the imagery speaks otherwise.
Often used sexual imagery is that involving phallic symbols. The banana speaks for itself.
The other main phallic symbol in the mv is the giant lipstick tube. Of course, there is reference to lipstick in the lyrics but the exaggerated tube in the visual hold more than its make-up meaning.
Some of the scenes involving the tube are self explanatory, though this too serves to display HyunA’s power. In the moments the tube is turned on men it shows HyunA has control, she is the dominant image and figure, no man is above her.
Coincidentally all three stars have tattoos on the inside of their upper arm, though this is more a useless fact, rather than something that determines HyunA’s referencing of the others.
Surprisingly RED has been passed for broadcast on all three major channels, despite the current extreme strict nature surrounding the broadcast regulations.
There is probably no question about HyunA’s fanbase appreciating RED’s mv, and it takes the brand she has been building to its next logical step.
ConceptLore
Graphic Designer and lover of all things Punk and Indie!
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