[ASKKPOP] Comparing and contrasting NASTY NASTY and Trouble Maker

NASTY NASTY,Star Empire'snew co-ed project group, releasedtheir music video for their single,"Knock,"earlier this month.  Since their official debut as a group, manyK-pop fans have drawn comparisons toTrouble Maker,Cube Entertainment'sco-edgroup.  There are seemingly many similarities between the group; however, there are many unique qualities in each, as well.  So, let's take a further look andcompare the two!

Members

The main similarity between the two groups is obviously that they're both made up of co-ed members, which is fairly uncommon in the K-pop industry.  Although we'veseen many collaborations between male and female artists, co-ed groups remainsparse.  Both NASTY NASTY and TroubleMaker combine male and female artists from popular groups within their respective agencies.  NASTY NASTY comprises ofNineMuses' Kyung LiandZE:A's Kevin(in addition to newcomer,Sojin) whileTrouble Maker consists ofB2ST's Hyunseungand4minute's HyunA.

Music

The two groups have a similar vibe musically.  "Knock" has a sultry saxophone in the back-beatcombined with a club-banger, drum beat. Trouble Maker, too, has used a similar theme for their hit,"Now."This adds a sultry feel to both tracks.  The lyrics for "Knock" is definitely morerisqué than "Now," however.  Althoughthey are both about lust and love, "Knock" has more sexual connotations—themusic videos for "Now" and"Trouble Maker"make the songs seem more sexualthan they actually are. Now, the straight-forward lyrics to "Knock" by no means bothers me, but I personally prefer the subtlety in Trouble Maker's tracks.

One of the main differences between the two groups is thefemale vocal(s).  While HyunA is arapper, Kyung Li and Sojin are vocalists. Thus, they harmonize with the main vocals very differently.  HyunA's husky rapping offsets the smoothvocals of Hyunseung while Kyung Li and Sojin's feminine/delicate vocalsperfectly complement Kevin's strong vocals. Although different, both have their own benefits and uniqueresults.

Visuals

It is clear that both groups did not opt for the bubbly/cutetheme we often see in K-pop.  Rather,they lean more towards the 19+ rating visuals. There are many scenes from both groups that are prevalent in Americanhip hop and rap tracks such as cars doing donuts and alcohol abuse.  While Trouble Maker focuses on therelationship between a single couple in their ups and downs, the extra memberof NASTY NASTY gives them more freedom (and room for drama), such as thelove triangle we see in "Knock."  As forthe artistic vision of the music videos, I would say "Knock" is a hybrid of "Now"and "Trouble Maker."  It combines thedull lighting and chic ambience of "Trouble Maker" with the theme of atwisted love that we see in "Now."  At the moment, I prefer Trouble Maker with their story lines and catchy dance moves.  But withattractive and multi-talented members, I'm sure that we'll be seeing a lotcooler and different visuals from both groups.

I am definitely a fan of co-ed groups, so I'm lookingforward to following the growth of NASTY NASTY.  As a new group, they may seemingly fall in the footsteps of TroubleMaker.  However, their three strongvocalists give them the potential to create some solid tracks, and I lookforward to hearing more from them.  And ofcourse, I'll always be a fan of Trouble Maker.