Courtesy of AllKPop.com
Five-member girl group Ace of Angels (AOA), recently went viral for their cover performance of MAMAMOO’s “Egotistic” while competing on Mnet’s girl group survival show “Queendom.” The performance, while great for the group’s attention to choreography, elegant vocals and high production quality, really shined because of its commentary on Korean society and statement against gender bias and inequality. So, just how did AOA do this? It was just a performance, was it not? Let’s reflect on the most impactful aspects of the performance.
From the very beginning of the performance, member Jimin sent the audience into awe with the lyrics to her introduction rap, which she penned herself. The lyrics translate to: “Z-I-M-I-N says we the queen / CD, DVD, TV, the stage is my home / When the fine hair falls / The cherry blossoms also fall / I don’t want to be the falling flower / I’m the tree.”
Jimin’s lyrics are a commentary on several girl group stereotypes. Girl groups are constantly raved about for their looks, causing female idols to go to extremes to take care of their appearance, adopt strict diets and more. Similarly, girl groups are known to fall victim to the seven-year curse, in which a group disbands seven years after their debut. AOA refutes both of these stereotypes by stating they don’t want to be looked at like pretty flowers; instead they want to be looked at as a powerful, sturdy force – a tree. AOA uses the symbolism of a tree, something that lasts for a long time and is grounded, to reflect that they want to last forever and continue to be a force in the K-pop industry, which they have already done by breaking the seven-year curse.
AOA’s hidden weapon for the performance was using drag queens as backup dancers in the latter half of their performance. It was a revolutionary move that shook the entire studio as well as audiences around the world. Many compared this to MAMAMOO’s use of drag queens in their 2016 MelON Music Awards performance of “Décalcomanie.” However, AOA’s performance took this to new heights using the platform of “Queendom,” being aired on one of South Korea’s largest music channels worldwide, to showcase the LGBTQ+ community. The backup dancers had an entire section of the dance break to themselves, where they were front and center. At the end of the performance, the members of AOA surrounded each of the drag queens and pointed at them while hyping up the crowd as the drag queens strutted their stuff and wowed the people with their powerful dance moves.
Many people may have missed this in the performance, but AOA broke the metaphorical “glass ceiling” through the choreography of their performance. Known as a highly misogynistic society, South Korea has endured a constant struggle for gender equality, and things such as the #MeToo movement have only recently begun to pick up traction in the country. In their “Egotistic” performance, AOA took handkerchiefs from their backup dancers, a symbol of purity and cleanliness, a common portrayal of Korean women, before they threw the handkerchiefs forward and raised their fists up in the air to the sound of shattering glass while shouting “bicho malo,” which translates to “bad boy.”
The result? AOA went viral for their performance of the hit song, not only in South Korea, but worldwide. The group topped real-time search charts in South Korea after the performance aired on episode three of “Queendom.” The performance has over 15 million views (across both video versions of the performance combined as of Monday, Oct. 21).
Despite the success, AOA only placed third (out of six) for the second round of “Queendom.” However, they were victorious with how much buzz the performance generated and how much their popularity boomed afterwards.
It’s very inspiring to see AOA use their platform as K-pop idols to comment on unfair gender standards and generate dialogue on an issue that goes wider than the K-pop industry. Though AOA may not have won “Queendom,” they truly won with the new fans they attracted and the interest they gained during their time on the show. It will be interesting to see how AOA continues to use their platform as a top K-pop girl group when they return with a new album in November.
