[Review] CL Says “Hello Bitches.” I Say I’m Not Impressed

I’ve been out of the mainstream Kpop loop for a little while now, but news of the return of CL had me excited to get back into the swing of things. Plus, after the let down of her last single “The Baddest Female,” I was hoping for some slick rhymes, good word play and a dope beat. I was pumped.

Then, the video came out, and my hopes were dashed.

CL can dance, but she is not nearly as good a dancer as she is a rapper/singer, and for that reason I think she just needs to stick with being the The Baddest Female. The choreography was, dare I say, cringe worthy. It wasn’t horrible but it definitely wasn’t spectacular either. If her goal was to appeal to the Western audience, then I can sort of, kind of see why she made this ‘dance-in-the-parking-lot’ styled video, because that’s what’s popular. And there’s nothing really wrong with that, but when everyone is doing it (Editor’s Note: and doing it better), CL’s attempt to do, is just boring.

But, my biggest problem overall is that “Hello Bitches” is painfully anticlimactic. There’s nothing in this song that grabs my attention and makes me say “Now that’s a dope song, let me go buy it on iTunes!” Instead this makes me think of the talented ladies on MNet’s Unpretty Rapstar that are working so hard to get some recognition, while CL is over here with the spotlight fully on her, but wasting her talents on lackluster club tracks.

If “Hello Bitches” is a preview of things to come with CL’s solo career, then I’m thinking the title of ‘The Baddest Female’ may need to be passed on to someone else.