‘Macarena’, Los Del Rio’s immortal hit, has been sampled dozens of times since its release, but never in the world of K-pop. Thus, LE SSERAFIM have honored the anagram of their name (I’M FEARLESS) and have put all their effort into ‘BOOMPALA’, the most talked about song from their latest album. Works?
As in most songs that dare to sample such a massive hit, what sounds the most in ‘BOOMPALA’ is the chorus of the original song, although its use also extends to the instrumentation and, of course, the choreography. The song itself aims to be a club banger, with half-rapped verses, a playful chorus and even a made-up word that means nothing, but is fun.
‘BOOMPALA’ could fall into the category of ‘Songs that you know are bad but that you still like’, if it weren’t for the fact that both the verses and the beat become tired after very few listens. The mix with ‘Macarena’ can be entertaining, but in the end it ends up being the only excuse to stay and listen to the song.
When reading the lyrics, we find that the mixture of styles and eras goes further. Above all, one wonders what ‘Macarena’ looks like between phrases with Buddhist references such as “my celestial chakra is amazing”, “namaste, namaste, I’m going to stay standing” or the repetition of words like “zen”. In the video clip, we also see the members of the group adopt the meditation pose.
More than for this reason, ‘BOOMPALA’ has been highly criticized by fans of the South Korean group for being seen as a step backwards in the group’s trajectory. In a Reddit post, one user complains that “this song does nothing for the vocal criticism they have been receiving throughout their career.” Another focuses his hate on the use of the Los Del Rio song: «The ‘Macarena’ is the herpes of pop music. For some stupid reason, it always comes back when you think it’s gone forever.
Charging …
