THROWBACK #12: B.A.P- ONE SHOT

Released: February 12th, 2013

B.A.P was one of the most promising artists in the past decade, redefining the limits a boy band group can achieve. Their sharp-knife type choreography, their powerful hip-hop image, their ability to take on any concept, and their multi-talented members took the world by storm. At the forefront is the leader Bang Yong-Guk, who has built a platform of recognition even before BAP's debut in January 2012, due to his songwriting and composing skills. The group had all the right ingredients to make it big in the industry. Despite seeing some early success, one ingredient remained missing but ultimately resulted in the group's demise; good company management. It was revealed in November 2014 that all 6 members filed a lawsuit against TS Entertainment for harsh working conditions and unfair pay. Although B.A.P settled with the agency and stayed, they were never the same anymore as they lost of popularity, and unsurprisingly left the company in 2019. I don't want to go into further detail, but behind all of that smoke lies a discography of songs that are begging to be heard. One of them caught my ears and remains to this day as my favorite B.A.P tune.

One Shot basically takes every possible symphony instrument you can think of and puts them with a drum-heavy hip-hop beat to produce one of the deeper singles B.A.P has released melodically. The percussion and what sounds like the piano takes no time to kick off the vehemence of the song in the verse, while the brass family leads the song's rising tension, while strings add depth to the percussion chords as well as controlling One Shot's dynamics throughout. Even background vocals make an appearance as well as the rock guitar. As said earlier, the rap is written very effectively where the strings and the brass are thrown in later to stir up momentum, before toning it down, rising up again and adding in another octave of the brass to really carry that momentum to the chorus. The chorus plays to the strength of the vocalists with their high notes, along with the small "wooh-ooh-oooh" hook which to me dampers the song's intensity a little bit, but nevertheless is an effective formula in closing that section. The post-chorus hook is also a nice addition where background vocals are introduced, bolstering the chant "Only One Shot" to send us off into the sunset before another storm starts to brew. The rock guitar thunders in the second verse with a vengeance, adding variation to the way the song builds up. The song finally tones down at the bridge, where the drums cease and the vocalists do their magic, delivering quite a climax if it weren't for that pause right before the final chorus plays again. I felt as if it killed the rejuvenation of the song's tone because the high vocal notes were the perfect setting to gracefully introduce the last section for the last time.

If I looked back at the song in terms of longevity, I think repetition is what's keeping One Shot from reaching its true potential. The "One Shot" chant, although intense, does get bland over time, as its being used for too long, especially at the ending; 2 measures of it would have been better. Other than that, One Shot exceeds with using all of the symphonic instruments properly, although I would loved to hear more of the piano especially as a tone-setter in the bridge. The instruments wonderfully captures the mood and emotions of what the group was aiming for, setting a scenario where you had just one shot left to live.

RATING: 7.6/10