Rainbow Attempt to Turn ‘Black Swan’ Into a Sultry Disco Track
After nearly two years away from the K-pop scene, Rainbow returned with an unexpectedly dark and sultry concept for new single “Black Swan” with lyrics and a concept based loosely around the film starring Natalie Portman.
The track opens with lonesome synths and a subtle shuffle beat as the girls sing about witnessing a change within themselves. Translated lyrics like, “The reflection in the foggy mirror is not me / Who is it?” and “Trapped inside the red eyes / Dazzling and free” best encapsulate the film before the song ends with member Woori whispering, “It’s perfect” — nearly the exact line with which Portman ended her Oscar-winning performance.
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While the lyrics are remarkable, the most impressive part of “Black Swan” might be its arrangement. The quiet opening slips into the slinky, repetitive chorus that’s stuffed with squiggly, old-school disco synths. A hook-heavy section that presents itself as a powerful post-chorus, while actually acting as a second verse (and the best part of the song), follows before returning back to the chorus. The bridge and middle eight at first sound at risk for a played-out dubstep beat, but instead boil up to a climax belt from Hyunyoung.
Watch Rainbow Goof Off in ‘Sunshine’ Video
Black Swan‘s psychological-thriller theme is further felt in the accompanying music video; a dark, somewhat-creepy video that sees the members finding themselves terrified by the women they see themselves turning into.
Concept-wise, “Black Swan” is a huge departure from the group’s last single, the cutesy-silly “Sunshine,” which hit No. 8 on the K-Pop Hot 100 in mid-2013. But in comparison to Rainbow Blaxx, the sexy, sometimes-controversial splinter group of Rainbow that debuted last year, it feels like a natural progression. Despite their colorful name, Rainbow appears to turning into the darker, sultrier female act under DSP Media that represents bubbly, electro-pop quartet Kara and has announced plans to introduce a young, new girl group later this year.
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