Bicycle: Chungha's long-awaited comeback

On February 15, 2021 Chungha came back with her long-awaited studio album "Querencia" and the title track "Bicycle". This album was teased for a very long time with four pre-releases before it came out. If you want to know my opinion on the pre-releases you can check out the "discography" part on Chungha's presentation article. In this article I will mainly focus on the comeback (the music video, the song and the live performance of Bicycle) and the actual album (which contains 4 sides, 21 tracks in total). Before we start, let me remind you that this article is being constructed only around my personal opinion and my own point of view. 

Part 1: Everything about Bicycle

A) The Song

Let's start with the song itself, which was my least favourite part of the comeback. I do want to praise Chungha's control over her voice, because the "slides" she does at the end of some sentences are not easy to do (like the "get out of my way-ah" in the chorus). I also want to praise her for her rap, she's not a rapper but she's got the flow and the attitude. Also, the tone she uses when saying "get on my bike let's go" before the chorus kicks in is very sexy. However, there are some things that bothered me in this song. First up: That "broom broom broom" in the chorus. It ruins the chorus for me just like it did with Cravity's "My turn". Second, I expected the last chorus to be more epic. I'm used to hear such powerful vocals at the end of her songs, or at least a change of mood in the last chorus, but here it was definitely missing something. Finally, I'm so mad that the dance break portion isn't included in the digital song version.

I won't say this song is not title-track worthy because it is. Always remember that a title track is destined to appeal to as many people as it can. I can definitely see a lot of people liking it because it also has this latin and sassy vibe, because it's easy to listen to and it's catchy. But this song is definitely not my favorite of the album, and is average when it comes to Chungha's title tracks. 

B) The Music Video

Holy crap the budget they must've had to film this music video. The outfits are gorgeous and just look expensive right of the bat, the sets are amazing, Chungha is shining in every aspect, and the editing is really on point. Every time there's a close up on her she serves attitude and the colour schemes totally match the vibe of the song. 

There are two outfits I absolutely flashed on: The golden one when she has her curly hairstyle (I would love to see more idols with curly hair), and the one she has in the dance break that is more like my style. And my favorite set has to be the one with the pool, especially at the time of the dance break when they're all in the pool dancing with the water. 

C) The Performance

Finally, let's talk about the choreography. I will never get tired of saying it, Chungha is THE QUEEN when it comes to dancing. Her years of experience in that field say it all. It might not be my number one choreography, but it is definitely one of her best. And oh my god the dance break, it's just so powerful. At some point I thought that she and AleXa should collaborate because the dance break reminded me a little of AleXa's style (and she's also an amazing dancer). 

Part 2: My thoughts on the album

 "Querencia" is a full studio album composed of 21 tracks in total divided into 4 sides:

• Side A {Noble}: Bicycle, Masquerade, Flying on faith, Luce Sicut Stellae.
• Side B {Savage}: Stay Tonight, Dream of you (ft. R3hab), Bother me, Chill.
• Side C {Unknown}: Play (ft. Changmo), Demente (ft. Guaynaa, Lemon (ft. Colde), Byulharang (160504 + 170607).
• Side D {Pleasures}: X, All night long, Everybody has, Come N Goes. 
  
  

The direction this album takes as the songs pass by is original to say the least. Side A starts strong with the title track, followed by "Masquerade" that has more of this latin vibe. But then, we switch to "Flying on faith" that is more calm and slow-paced than the two previous songs, with an amazing guitar sound that got me going crazy. Side A ends with Luce Sicut Stellae (translation: shine like a star) that is also in the slower register.

Then, we start side B with Stay tonight, followed by Dream of You, that are both dance tracks that will make you want to get off your chair and move your butt. "Bother Me" is still in that EDM style but it's more like a song I'd listen to when driving due to the instrumental that's less heavy. Finally, "Chill" lets your heart rate slow down. This is a song I totally picture singing along to at a concert. Imagine the crowd going "Chillhae Chillhae Chillhae"... goosebumps. 

We move on to Side C with "Play". That was unexpected. It would've made more sense to put it in Side B with all the hype songs in it and move Chill in either side C or D. At this point I just don't seem to find any logic in the order of the songs. Play has to be the song that never fails to make me dance, first because it is such a good song, and second because its choreography is amazing. After Play we have "Demente". Never have I ever expected her to sing in Spanish. Her pronunciation isn't the best but it's not that bad either, she surely worked on that. Now, I just don't like this song because this genre has been overdone too many times and I just don't enjoy it as I used to anymore. "Lemon" comes next, and honestly I just don't have anything to say about this song. It's okay, not transcendent but not bad. Finally, to end Side C we have "Byulharang (160504 + 170607)". I know the first number is a reference to I.O.I's debut date (May 4th, 2016) and the second is a reference to her own debut date as a solo artist (June 7th, 2017), and Byulharang is how her fans are called. So this song is obviously dedicated to her fans and I could sense the honesty behind the lyrics. 

Last but not least, Side D. I think this side is the most homogeneous one in the sense that the songs have more or less the same pace and the same mood. The first track on this side is "X", one of her pre-releases. This song is really different from what I'm used to hear from her, but turns out I'm listening to it once every day. I want to praise the way this song progresses, the changes from major to minor are really nice, and there's this distortion of the instruments in the bridge that's really nice. Then, "All Night Long" plays, and we're still in that calming register with the instrumental being less crowded than in X. The piano chords are soothing and her pronunciation is neat and clear, in coordination with the main beat. I find this song very satisfying because we know exactly where it's going and its composition is not complex. Next we have "Everybody Has". Just like for Lemon, I don't have anything to say about this song. It's very slow and repetitive, and there's nothing interesting happening. These two songs could've been removed from the album it wouldn't make any difference to me. Lastly, we have "Come N Goes". What a good way to end a song. I can totally picture this song playing at the end of her concert. It's not too hyped up nor too quiet. I absolutely love the second part of the chorus when she says "It comes and goes", this part really felt good. 

To put it in a nutshell, I think this album marks a big turn in Chungha's career. I think she's on the road to finding her trademark, and even though there are some tracks on the album I didn't enjoy as much as the others (that was bond to happen anyways with that many tracks) the overall result is really satisfying. If I had to choose my favourite songs of this album (putting pre-releases aside) it has to be "Chill", "Comes N Goes" and "Flying on faith". 

Feel free to comment down below your opinion on Chungha's comeback and what you think of the album overall!

Take care, and I'll see you all soon ;) 

Love, Swan