Album Review - Wonder Girls - Nobody: The Wonder Years Trilogy

Wonder Girls – Nobody – The Wonder Years Trilogy

01 Intro
02 Nobody
03 I Tried
04 Saying I Love You
05 Nobody (Rainstone Remix)
06 Nobody (Inst)
07 I Tried (Inst)
08 Saying I Love You (Inst)
09 Nobody (Rainstone Remix) (Inst)

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With many hit songs including Tell Me and So Hot under their belts, Korea’s favorite female group, Wonder Girls, have returned once again within four months since their last, with the final installation of retro-music. Their new mini album, titled The Wonder Years – Trilogy, was greatly anticipated by fans, curious about what the girls’ new concept would be. Likewise, I looked forward to their new single, as these girls were known for catchy beats.

The single starts off with a ballad version of their title track, Nobody. It begins with the climax, leading to the chorus; it has a very Dream Girls-like feel to it. The song showcases Ye-Eun and Sun-Ye’s vocals, something that is rarely heard in their other songs. To much disappointment, the song was only half a minute long, leaving listeners hungry for more. The album continues with the original version of Nobody which, unlike the former version, is very upbeat with Motown sounds from the 60s and 70s. The song has very repetitive lyrics with a chorus “I want nobody nobody but you”, which is hard to forget. My favorite part of the song would be the rap, which Yoobin was able to master. Overall however, I felt that this song lacked variety, as I got tired of it after a couple of listens. There is one last variation of Nobody titled Rainstone Remix, which is an R&B version of the original. I enjoyed its beats and style best out of three as it seemed the most modern.

The next number is I Tried which is a R&B ballad track. It is very calming and easy on the ears but nothing worth repeating. The last track is Saying I Love You, which was personally penned by member Ye-Eun. Personally, this is the better ballad of the two with a pretty catchy chorus. The girls did a great job vocalizing most of the time in this song, except for certain parts; I had a hard time listening to So-Hee’s high-pitched vocals.

In my opinion, this mini album was not as great as their previous two. There were basically only three new songs with many different versions of each. The title track was catchy but definitely not their best. Besides Nobody, the only other tracks worth recommending were Saying I Love You and the Rainstone Remix of Nobody. Despite my disappointment, this album seemed to be doing well on the Korean music charts, so I feel that many will still enjoy it nonetheless.

3/5

5/5 – Even if you’re not a fan of this artist/group this album is a must buy.
4/5 – If you’re a fan of this artist/group, you must buy this album.
3/5 – If you’re a fan of this artist/group, you might want to add this one to your collection.
2/5 – I don’t think a fan would even buy this.
1/5 – You might as well just flush your money down the toilet