ABRACADABRA

First, this song has history

Brown Eyed Girls released “Abracadabra” in 2009 and changed the visual vocabulary of K-pop in about four minutes. The song was adult, strange, electronic, and openly sensual at a time when many girl-group concepts still separated women into cute or glamorous boxes. The choreography’s hip sway became so recognizable that PSY later used it in “Gentleman” with Ga-in herself.

That history makes a cover risky. Perform it too faithfully and the new group disappears. Update it too aggressively and everybody asks why you touched the classic. MEOVV finds the useful middle. The original shape remains visible, especially in the point choreography, but the five members bring the heavier walk and sharper attack that already fit their own performance identity.

Why MEOVV makes sense for this cover

MEOVV has never struggled with looking expensive. The harder question is whether the styling leaves room for personality. “Abracadabra” forces personality because the choreography cannot survive on synchronized counts alone. It needs intent. A hip roll without attitude is physical therapy.

Sooin is the obvious match for the song’s physical confidence, but the cover works because she is not carrying four mannequins. Gawon gives the lines a cooler, more controlled edge. Anna keeps the movement clean without looking nervous about the sensuality. Narin adds bite, and Ella sells the formation changes with her face instead of waiting for a close-up to give permission.

The cover also lets them step outside their own catalog. MEOVV songs often emphasize weight, swagger, and a modern THEBLACKLABEL finish. “Abracadabra” is slinkier. It asks them to hold tension without punching every count.

The practice video earns its place

Normally, I do not need every rehearsal uploaded like sacred evidence. This one is useful. The fixed camera removes KCON’s cuts and lets us see how the formation transfers attention. Five members is a sweet spot. The group can create symmetry, break it, and still leave enough empty floor for the movement to breathe.

The styling is simple enough that the bodies remain legible. No giant sleeves hiding hands. No camera swooping past the one transition I wanted to study. We can see the weight changes, the timing of the walks, and the way each member finishes the famous sway differently.

That last difference matters. Synchronization is not five women pretending to share one skeleton. They hit the same structure while preserving texture. Sooin goes fuller. Gawon stays cooler. Anna is precise. Narin sharpens the accents. Ella reads the room and keeps the expression alive.

What the cover improves, and what it cannot replace

MEOVV gives the choreography a younger athletic force. The dance break is bigger, the transitions are cleaner for a five-member team, and the practice video makes the architecture easier to appreciate than the broadcast stage did.

It cannot replace Brown Eyed Girls’ vocal character or the original video’s grown-woman danger. Nor should it try. The KCON performance used a heavily processed track, and some viewers fairly complained that the vocal element felt secondary. I agree. A cover of “Abracadabra” should eventually give us enough live attitude to match the body language.

The dance practice does not solve that problem. It changes the assignment. As performance footage, it is excellent. As a complete musical reinterpretation, it leaves me wanting a proper studio cover or a live band version with the voices pushed forward.

Details I kept replaying

• Sooin’s dance break: Not subtle, not apologetic, and very aware of the camera even when the camera refuses to move.
• The group walk: Simple movement with more authority than a complicated sequence performed without intention.
• The point choreography: Preserved because changing it would be like covering “Thriller” and deleting the claw hands.
• The spacing: Five members fill the room without making every formation a straight line.
• The restraint: MEOVV adds force but does not remix the classic into unrecognizable protein powder.

Final take

This is how a younger group should approach a classic. Know what people came to see. Keep the signature. Add your own physical language. Do not behave like history started at your debut trailer.

I still want more vocal ownership, especially after the processed KCON audio. The practice video succeeds because it does not pretend to answer that complaint. It gives us the dance, clearly and completely.

For the full lineup, history, and links, open the MEOVV profile.

Receipts

MEOVV “Abracadabra” KCON LA 2025 dance practiceDaily+2.4KTotal views1.9M
Mnet Plus KCON LA 2025 performance archive
Timid Magazine KCON LA 2025 review
Sports Seoul Japan coverage of MEOVV’s cover