2PM – Hands Up: Kpop Music Mondays

Filed as: Kpop // Responses: 176

PUT YOUR HANDS UP PUT YOUR HANDS UP PPPPP.

Ok, now that we got that out of our system, let’s begin by saying this: we started doing our Kpop reviews back in 2008 as a guide for people teaching English in Korea. Korean students often refer to Kpop lines and dance moves during class, and – before we got into Kpop – we were totally confused by these references. Anyhow, long story short, THIS SONG IS PERFECT FOR TEACHERS. Got unenthusiastic students unwilling to participate? PUT YO HANDS UP PUT YO HANDS UP PPPPP. Say that in class and you’ll see an immediate reaction. You might even have some students putting their hands up. Great success!

As for the song and video itself, we do like noting similarities between videos, but we don’t really think it’s fair to compare this video to other club videos. We’ve heard people comparing them to GD&TOP’s “High High” and Far East Movement’s “Like a G6″, and we’d be tempted to do so as well, but what’s the point? They’re club videos! What do you expect? Are there really any revolutionary dance club videos, apart from Hot Chip’s? Doesn’t seem that way. You can probably accuse every other club video that’s ever gonna come out as copying some other club video.

With that being said, that doesn’t make this a perfect club video. For starters, that whole “look at me doing rich things” montage at the beginning was just a bit awkward, no? Pour me a drink in my private cabin on the airplane while I awkwardly look out the window! And then Taecyeon gets into a car while everyone else is in a limo, but were does he get that car? Looks like he gets into it right in the middle of the street. Did he steal that car? We’d understand if he got into it from his hotel or home or something…but the setting , to us, looks like he stole the car.

Anyhow, forget about the montage: shouldn’t clubs be a bit more packed and bumping? 2PM had a loooooot of room to dance, while the ten extras in the back look really bored. In fact, one of them seems so bored at 3:24 that they cut her out instantly the next second for the guy who’s taking off his jacket. Check it out:

The backup dancers in this video are booooored.

But this is just one screencap. Watch the video and pause randomly. You’ll see plenty of bored people. We’re not saying that this in any way reflects 2PM. It’s just the movie making process. They probably did the same take 20 times, and it was probably reaaaaallllly late at night, and everybody was floored. We know this from our 2PM interview. All we’re saying is, next time, if you’re gonna shoot a music video, at a club, that late at night, when everyone’s exhausted…CALL US YO! We’d totally rock that club inside out! But it’s a good thing that they didn’t call us, because we’d steal the spotlight by rolling down our sexy windows.

2PM Hands Up Album

On another, more important note, we mentioned this at the end of the video, but zombies put their hands up. And zombies are scary. Feel free to discuss the scariness of zombies. We’ve been discussing this recently: can zombies pull doors open? We know they have forward momentum, but do they have the motor skills to pull a door open? We don’t think so. Luckily, the stairwells to our new apartment have pull-doors, so we’re safe. Yes. Safe. Oh, and didn’t 2PM’s “Heartbeat” have a zombie dance in it? Coincidence, or have we just unraveled the biggest Kpop conspiracy out there? Nah…probably just coincidence.

Ok no, on a non-joking note, we’re happy that 2PM released a fun song. Heartbeat, Without U, and I’ll Be Back are all serious songs. Good songs, yes, but serious songs. Not really fun songs. This song was fun and lively, and we’re totally getting the new album, which we recommend as well. PUT YO HANDS UP PUT YO HANDS UP! You can buy the album by clicking on the image here :D

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http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OAATC6VFRVMF3NGPODJ6FGGNBU Maria L

Umm…I have to say, I’m a tad shocked you consider this video perfect for teachers, considering theÂ blatantÂ use of alcohol. I mean seriously, unless you’re teaching college students, your kids are underage. Is it appropriate for a teacher to promote alcohol use and club culture in a country that already has issues of unrecognized alcoholism, binge drinking, and prevalent underage drinking? Just because these problems are common, doesn’t mean it’s ok to go along with them-especially as teachers. I really love your videos, but I do ask that you think about their impact a bit more, especially as you grow in popularity with foreign teachers here. Â

http://www.eatyourkimchi.com Simon and Martina

Did we say the video was perfect for teachers, or the song was perfect for teachers?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OAATC6VFRVMF3NGPODJ6FGGNBU Maria L

While you did say the song is perfect, you certainly did not say anything about the video being inappropriate. Considering the summary was in regards to the video for the song, its easy to take your suggestion to imply both. Second, I would suggest the song’s lyrics are still inappropriate. “Get your drinks up” hardly refers to Coke, and I doubt any of the students hearing it would think it does. Please understand, I don’t want to be a big downer on you guys, it’s just a concern of mine and perhaps food for thought.Â

http://twitter.com/ABlogAbroad A Blog Abroad

Idk, I teach 3rd graders (elementary) just outside Seoul, and they’re
the ones singing it to me. It’s not like the NETs will be introducing
the songs to these kids and they’ll never hear it otherwise. And it does
work. I used it to get the kids attention when they had to put their
hands on their head, and they both did what I said right away, and did
it with a giant grin on their face. They’re kids. They’re not thinking
about binge drinking when hearing the song. And if they ARE, they’re
going to think it whether or not the NET mentions the song. The Korean government does a good enough job of censoring the media here, there’s no need to censor it even further.

Rachael Murphy

Before I vote, I must say that I actually quite enjoyed the finger snapping. But then again I’m super nerdy. Most music that my parents would let me listen to growing up was oldies (Beach Boys, Beatles, Rolling Stones etc.). Since then I have (obviously) branched out. Still the finger snapping is pretty nostalgic.

I loved the scene you guys threw in about the rich people club. I just got done taking a super hard math final for my graduate studies (it’s likely I bombed it) and I needed a super good laugh. That scene did the trick.

And now for my vote: What song makes me most want to put my hands up?Â 2pm’s “Hands Up”.

I originally thought I’d go for Far East Movement’s song (mostly because I seem to hear it everywhere and it gets stuck in my head (in fact it’s stuck there now as I just watched the video to make the comparisson)), but after watching the video I didn’t feel the need to put my hands up. I did feel like it was appropriate to do so for 2pm’s song. So there you have it.

Actually, I feel way more inclined to put my hands up for Se7en’s “Digital Bounce”. The fact that it features TOP has *nothing* to do with that though :D
Anonymous

I’m really surprised you guys didn’t face off 2pm’s hands up against Big Bang’s hands up for the k-pop battle. After all, I do like Like a G-6, but it isn’t k-pop. Which is fine, but, you know…k-pop music Mondays…yeah. Song-wise, I do prefer G-6 overall. (But I would’ve voted for Big Bang had I been given the chance, just fyi)
http://twitter.com/danielseanlee Daniel Sean Lee

I prefer Hands Up.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1774707311 WenXuan JunHyungg

2PM’s hands up :)
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1429685663 Leah Gage

they look.. they look.. They look DRUNKKKKKK . ahhaha
http://twitter.com/sid_simone sid simone

I prefer 2pm’s hands upÂ
Sascha Wong

2PM FTW!
Lorena Abrodos

ohh!! mama and papa in the video right? yeahhhhÂ ajajajajaja love your make up Martina. love your wife’s make up Simon. =)
http://twitter.com/xxkora kora

i kno u guys didnt like the finger snapping but that was actually my favorite part. the whole chorus (chansung and junho’s parts) where the finger snapping and putting their hands up part

id vote for 2pm cuz g6, even tho i love it, doesnt make me put my hands up XD
http://twitter.com/purinsesu511 mohanie endaila

Aaaw <3 Martina is so sweet.^^
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SPTO5CDXQL7A4M5PFXQMKGO7EQ Momo

Great review, as always!!!!
SHEK ROBERT

f(x)” Hot Summer” Win!! and is no surprise to me as Kara’s ”Go Go Summer” is a Japanese song!! Moreover, the style of the song is what so called “Super Eurobeat” that Avex Trax Japan used to promote a lot with the “Para Para” dance, and I can see a few familiar Para Para move from Kara’s dance in the MV!! (so if the poll is in Japan only, Kara may win easily, but not for K-POP fans!!)
Norliana Khamis

actually.. i thought i’m the only one that realized junho can’t really dance with girls.. he seem really awkward with a girl dancer.. hehehehe… =p
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_CWCPKGETIE6ANZHPTZ24LQFKPQ petmik

You guys did not mention the awesome camera work. I really liked the work with the steady cam and how the entire screen moves based on the dance moves.