MUSIC

The Boyband Era is Resurrected in New Monsta X and Steve Aoki Music Video

"Play it Cool" is a glittery blast from the past with a few modern twists and turns.

Steve Aoki is back with yet another EDM-pop banger.

This time he's aiding South Korean boy band, Monsta X, on the posh banger, "Play it Cool." The song initially appeared on Monsta X's Take.2 We Are Here, which dropped in February and climbed to the number five spot on the Billboard World Albums chart by March 2nd. The highly anticipated music video for the English version of "Play it Cool" dropped yesterday, and it's a fun bit of nostalgia packaged in a glitzy blend of Eastern and Western culture.

Parts of the video make you forget what year it is – a five-piece boy band doing some high-energy choreography in perfect unison while flashing bedroom eyes at the camera? Surely this is 1999 and NSYNC will be appearing on TRL tomorrow. The only thing that firmly roots this video in the present is when it cuts from the pop group's nonstop dance parties and pillow fights to show Steve Aoki driving his car aimlessly, jamming along to the song until he just can't "Play it Cool" any longer and is compelled to pull over so he can get out and dance like mad in the middle of nowhere.

The song is three minutes of fun bubble gum K-pop infused with plenty of Steve Aoki's signature vocal sampling and infectious drum loops that are sure to energize the clubs when it comes on —from Seoul to New York City.


Dustin DiPaulo is a writer and musician from Rochester, New York. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from Florida Atlantic University and can most likely be found at a local concert, dive bar, or comedy club (if he's not getting lost somewhere in the woods).


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