[Review] MY TREASURE – TREASURE

Also making their comeback yesterday was TREASURE. For those who missed the second half of 2020, TREASURE made their debut with BOY back in August and made comebacks with I LOVE YOU and MMM. And with these releases under their belt, the newest male group to the YG Family have been sweeping the rookie awards of this ongoing award season. They are also my pick for best rookie of 2020 (hint hint). This comeback with a full length album and (I guess) the title track, MY TREASURE, was originally hinted to be a December release. But their company made the decision to delay it slightly to allow the members focus on more special performances which they are performing at award shows and end of year music festivals. But as we are now in mid-January (and YG delivered on their promise), we are here today to check out MY TREASURE.

I personally find TREASURE to be a very interesting group, given their company’s background. MY TREASURE doesn’t conform to anything that YG Entertainment is known for. I had that inkling through their earlier releases. But MY TREASURE seems to confirm that TREASURE is going in a different direction to what the roots of the company were based on. The new song itself is very cheerful and vibrant in a pop music manner, which works extremely well with the uplifting nature of the lyrics. I feel that the company/members ultimately chose this song as their comeback track for these characteristics. It definitely brought some light back into our lives after such a hard year. I appreciate this greatly and think the effort pays off, as the song does make you want to smile as you listen to it. I also really like the warm feeling the song gives off thanks to the brass- and string-based instrumentation, particularly during the chorus. Another positive aspect of this song is that with this style, more of TREASURE’s vocals are showcased. I definitely enjoyed this as well, as it really allowed TREASURE to show more of that side of their music. The rapping was still quite good, giving the song some much needed oomph and additional intensity. The hooks were catchy and memorable. But while this upbeat and pop sound is fantastic, I just wished there was more to the song. At the moment, MY TREASURE feels like it could have been pulled off by any other male group. I just wanted a bit more personality and indivduality, adding to what we saw in their earlier works from last year. I also wonder where TREASURE would go from here and how this more pop-centric sound would alter YG Entertainment’s portfolio. But it still a great listen, nonetheless.

With such uplifting lyrics and such a vibrant sound, it was clear that this music video would be along the lines of that bright and cutesy style. I am glad that the members didn’t get dragged into a cutesy concept, as that would be a bit much for me (as always). ‘Bright’ would be the best term to describe the song with. There is a lot of smiles in this music video, and also frowns being turned upside down. I also liked the splash of colour in their sets, making this a really pleasant video to tune into. The video does take a slightly serious turn, showing a lonely child, students taking exams in a very harsh environment and a child blocking their ears from hearing their parents arguing. But we see their hearts shine, showing us that they will shine through the hard times no matter what.

Like the music video, the performance was definitely bright and vibrant. But I will be honest, there isn’t much else to the performance. I didn’t find any moves that were captivating or worth mentioning. You could blame the song, but I felt the creative minds could still manage to find somehow one-up their MMM and other performances.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 7.9/10