#9: 2NE1 - Clap Your Hands

I have a love-hate relationship with 2NE1, as you all may know. There are times when I think they're fantastic, but there are also times when the autotune goes overboard and my ears start registering them as a bunch of annoying chipmunks. However there are also times when I start out hating the song, but end up adoring the heck out of it after seeing them perform it, or even just see the video for it.


2NE1 is basically a performance band in my eyes - you have to see them for the material to make sense, and obviously they don't perform their entire album when they promote. I was less than impressed with To Anyone this year, mainly because the tracks were never given the chance to make sense. However, they did perform Clap Your Hands, and did more than make sense.

I'm not one for rapping, nor am I for autotuned Sandara-fests, but like I said, Clap Your Hands makes all the sense in the world. It's your standard 2NE1 song - the rapping, the autotune, the jam-packed instrumental with YG production at it's finest, and the stick-in-your-head-like-glue hook. What sets it apart from the other two singles they promoted? Everything is bearable - everything was done in moderation, with our ears in mind. That, and it's not trying too hard to be stylish or whatever Go Away was trying to be - what you hear, and see, is basically what you get.

For 2NE1 standards, the hook is pretty laid-back actually, but it's in-your-face and repetitive enough to stick. The chorus as a whole is pretty, actually, without all the computerized sounds running all over the place. The elements flow well, and the song actually progresses, and it's resolved neatly.