I got bored again and decided to do a quick review of Hey Mama by EXO's first unit CBX (Chen-Baekhyun-Xiumin)!

I watched this right after I got finished with Bastarz's new MV then watched VIXX's new MV after CBX. I am feeling attacked at all angles at this point. I spoiled myself by watching the last Hey Mama teaser and it had that same feel that Love Me Right and Lucky One had, so I knew that I would like it. But in the end, I didn't like it. I loved it.
 

The song: There's a lot of layers about the song that I liked, but what I enjoyed the most was the cohesiveness and unity of the song. None of the parts seemed out of place to me and the member's voices smooth in together nicely. I haven't listened to the album yet but I'll do it after this random post is done. The chorus kinda reminded me of B.A.P's Feel So Good that released earlier this year. Listening to the track, I enjoyed how the tone wasn't so cheery but something funky. I figured that Xiumin would sing the chorus since he has the voice for it, but I was caught off guard with Baekhyun possibly-kinda rapping? He doesn't really have the voice or tone for it but it sounded okay for someone who's only a vocal. Xiumin's rap was okay too.
Speaking of Xiumin, thank you SM for showcasing his voice.
Chen and Baekhyun, also thank you for your vocals.
 

As for how the members look: A+ points for their stylist. I know that everyone is either ye or nay about Chen's haircut, but I personally like the style on him. Okay, it's not LMR or Lucky One era hair, but this is a new way to see him and it looks fantastic. I just...hope that it isn't cut any shorter because I don't really want to see a bald Chen just yet. Xiumin was the hidden gem that got to shine and Baekhyun just exploded with more charisma that I expected out of the MV.
There's some specific that I really appreciated in the MV this time. Their skin tones don't match. Now, I know that sounds kinda weird but after seeing all of the styling of EXO, it seems like SM likes having the members have a pale skin tone, but Hey Mama's lighting showed off the members' auras and I can see that they don't all look the same. I have nothing against makeup but in nearly all of Kpop, the preferred skin tone is light and pale. No no, Baekhyun was supporting a lovely bit of color on his skin that looked very natural. And it is beautiful.
And for some reason, I see Chen as an orchestra conductor.

The MV itself: I'm not even going to ask about what the storyline is. The colors were fun and catchy. The dance was highlighted well with the colorful sets. Seeing the flowers in bottles reminded me vaguely of several scenes in Love Me Right. The little desk scenes remind me of the SM box concept (but now everyone has their own little box!).

I can't wait to see the performances of this. There's so much that I'm anticipating, and there's also a part in the dance that kinda looks like a dab? I cringe hard that people who dab (looking at you Bambam and V) but maybe for this choreography, we might see CBX dab.

All in all, great debut! CBX fighting! EXO-Ls fighting!

Edit: One more thing to note about this is that the precussion and bass line was shining so much in the song. Pretty much all the instruments made the song feel really fit and perfect together. There's also small little things that I think Chen fans will like with his little ad-libs here and there throughout the song. The harmonies were tight and the song was mastered really well.
Listening to the song a second time, I appreciate the rap effort from Xiumin and Baekhyun more. It sounded cleaner than I thought it would a second time. Xiumin rapping again gives me throwback feels from when he used to rap more in EXO.
And God Rapper Byun.