The Album is called Act 1 Scene 1 - so you're right about the theather theme. On the 1st song - Chico Malo, is about a bad break up. On the MV, imho Moonbyul and Solar are playing each others bad guy, it was written and composed by Solar and Moonbyul. The Aniri version is the one you watched, the featuring is the singer in the beginning, he's a Pansori artist and got 2nd place on a show that Solar as a judge. GGBB is exacty what you concluded about, it's the only song not written by Moonbyul and Solar. LLL is a song that Solar wrote and composed for the fans and later Moonbyul wrote her part (she actually wrote during an IG live).
The biggest clue to the MV concepts is the title of the album: Act 1 Scene 1. I hate cheesy Broadway musicals so Chico Malo is my preference, tho of course we're talking about MMM so there's a lot to like about GGBB. I'll try to answer some of your questions about Chico Malo while giving you my 2 cents on it. An aniri is a narrative section of a pansori, the Korean traditional song story. The aniri intro that sets the stage for Chico Malo wasn't performed by the former member of TVXQ - he and the pansori singer just happen to have the same name. The three biggest thieves refers to Hong Gildong and two other legendary folk heroes who were all Robin Hood types. The lover is worse than the 3 biggest thieves because unlike them he stole their heart while giving nothing back. The bit about having sore feet 10 miles after leaving her is a reference to the traditional song Arirang. I've seen comments referencing Korean stories such as a legend of the nine-tailed fox and I'm sure there are other things I missed. Rather than a performance video think of it as a stage production. They used a single flexible set with groups of furniture to indicate different rooms and eras, a frame to represent a mirror and stepladders for flowering cherry trees. Everything in Chico Malo is a blend of modern and traditional elements - the lyrics, instruments, dancing, costumes, set, props and even the acting, which includes the aniri narration, Solar switching from old school melodramatic stylized gestures in the intro to modern method acting in the mirror scene, and Moonbyul using a mostly naturalistic style with bits of hip hop dance. I think the point of this equal mix of traditional and contemporary in all aspects of the song and MV is to imply that they're telling a timeless tale of an abandoned woman and to make a connection between two uniquely Korean forms of performing arts - pansori and kpop. Imo everyone involved did a terrific job and I love the song, the concept and the execution. Btw, I saw a comment saying Solar & Moonbyul wrote Chico Malo, which is partially correct. They co-wrote the lyrics and music with Kim Dohoon, who is a legendary songwriter, RBW's co-CEO and the guy who formed Mamamoo.
They are referencing their old songs with Chico Malo vs Bicho Malo in Egotistic (Solar loves adding phrases) and the spitting onomatopoeia for Hip. Three biggest thieves must be a folk tale reference but I don't know which one. The most famous one is Hong Gil Dong who is like Robin Hood.
This is just my own interpretation but i imagine the story of the album goes like: GGBB - They've fallen for bad boys. Bad boys r exciting. (Biggest trap of love. I think most ppl hv experienced it @ one point in life) CHICO MALO - They realize that bad guys r just that; bad. Stop trying to think that u could change them. LLL- Instead lets cherish those who r always there 4 us 😀
LLL is interesting. Solar sang the first half during her birthday Solarsido episode but it was half the length of the current song. Maybe a week after that Moonbyul did a livestream and wrote her lyrics to LLL live, though we didn't know that she was being serious about writing a song at the time. "Loved, Loving, Will Love" is actually a saying of Solar's that goes back years, though the first time I heard it was during the Solarsido interview of Apink's Chorong. I really liked Act 1, Scene 1 a lot and I think it's because Solar and Moonbyul really showed off the side's of themselves that they enjoy showing and that Moo Moos enjoy seeing. Like, GGBB was super cute and indeed MoonSun have a lot of aegyo that simply wouldn't be able to be shown in a group comeback. The maknaes are working on solo albums but even one Wheesa song might break me.
I didn’t know I needed a MoonSun subunit but I know now. I love these two together. 💚 GGBB is my favorite of these songs. It has an almost 50’s vibe at one point. I love how it kept switching up the vibe. These ladies are crazy talented and beautiful!!
They are wearing the tradiotional korean hanbok, the one Moonbyul worn are the male version worn by King. The colours represent the korean flag (taegukgi), blue & red ( Moonbyul & Solar), black & white ( the dancers).
Sm yg jyp biggest thieves lololol. The artistry on chico Malo is top tier, from instruments, outfit, props, and the old fashion/modern poetry on lyrics. Though byul dressed like a king, he didnt portray as the bad guy. Both showed their pov of their frustration, anger, and disappointments of their other half.
Austin, you have to hear their new pre release song called “Save Me” it’s absolutely beautiful. There a mv as well as live version. I feel you will enjoy the live version more. Their new release is on 3 August
You really have to react to Moonbyul's participation in the vocal battle reality show "Second World", where rappers battle each other to prove that they are also good vocalists.
The missing context in Chico Malo might be them using an Arirang reference? Where they were cursing their lover to hurt their feet for leaving them behind. When I search 3 biggest thieves in Korea, Rain comes up along with 2 other men idk. They've been dubbed "the 3 greatest thieves" for marrying these 3 K celebrities that everyone seems to love. They really stuck to the traditionalxmodern theme here. The Aniri ver. has the narration at the beginning that's the only difference. I honestly prefer the Aniri version cause it adds to the theater feel. LLL is a def a fan song. I know Solar uploaded a solo ver. in Solarsido and I think Byul have posted the lyrics in fancafe maybe a month ago before teasing it in IGlive. I also feel like she posted something similar if not the same as the line "love, loving, will love" but in Korean also in fancafe a few months ago but I'm not so sure. Another indication that it's a fan song is the line, "thank you, I'm sorry, I love you" which she have said to moomoos in her 6equence promotions(I think it was also written at the back of one of her stage outfits or it might just be the first syllables of each phrase, again, I'm unsure which of these two).
something interesting I found that while Chico Malo is the prerelease, it actually comes after GGBB on the album tracklist (1. GGBB 2. Chico Malo 3. LLL). So if the songs are supposed to connect as a story, it does make me think the story is about 2 relationships not 1 - the first with the "bad boy" who then ghosts them, they decide to erase that person from their life for someone who loves them, and LLL is the new love they found.