Back in 2008, J-pop superstar Namie Amuro released the triple A-side 60s 70s 80s, where she recorded three songs inspired by those titular decades. My favorite was the 80’s-tastic What A Feeling, but the 60’s pastiche New Look wasn’t far behind. For their new single, Twice’s Japanese sub-unit Misamo have covered that track, tossing away the 60’s girl group sound in favor of a more modern approach.
The thing is, the 60’s sound (and Supremes sample) is what made New Look so much fun! When it comes to covers, it’s important to distinguish your recording from the original. Otherwise, what’s the point? Misamo could have gone a number of ways with this track, especially given the strength of its chorus. Those enduring melodies poke through here and there, but they’re buried by a half-hearted (and painfully sluggish) arrangement. It’s as if the producers set out to drain all the energy from the song, opting for a noncommittal blend of cheap percussion.
I suppose the point of this approach was to shine more spotlight on the girls’ vocals. If so, New Look should be absolutely drenched in harmony. We get some during the chorus, but not in a particularly creative way. Misamo perform as well as expected, but nothing about their delivery feels unique or revelatory. Rather than make the song their own, it’s as if they were simply handed a track from J-pop’s past for a quick, bare bones cover.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 6 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
im just waiting for people to call this “SOTY”.
anyways, ik its a cover but its somehow more boring
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meh
7/10 for me (7, 7, 7, 7)
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Huge TWICE fan here but there is nothing interesting about this song sadly.
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they got rid of almost all of the brass for this…
a huge bastardization, how dare they
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Speaking of Namie Amuro, for some reason most of her music was pulled from Spotify in the last year or so. I wonder why?
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I know in Japan most people are theorizing that it was by her request. It’s not just streaming that her music is gone from, it’s been pulled from purchase digitally and physically as well. So the reigning theory is that she wants people to move on from her, but no one knows for certain.
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Thank for that info. I had no idea, and was really curious. And I didn’t know she did the same thing in Japan, wow. I had thought maybe her catalogue was being remastered, and she wanted those to replace the originals. Such a mystery!:)
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I can’t in good conscience even give this a mediocre middle of the road 5, since sapping the life out of a Namie Amuro track is a crime in itself. I have no idea what JYP was thinking for this… a cover makes it seem like a last minute, low effort cash grab.
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Maybe because I didn’t know the original,I really enjoyed it. I’d give it a 7.5 or 8.
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As someone with no connection to the original, I don’t think this is that bad. I actually prefer the approach to the chorus in misamo’s version. However, I do miss 60s production during the verses
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There was no need for a cover. The original is great on its own.
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i liked it. perfectly lovely song. wish i had more enthusiastic opinions to share than that. hope it performs well in the japanese market.
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I did NOT like the MiSaMo cover… but I’m still glad that they released it, simply so that I (along with others) can learn about the star that is Namie Amuro. I love the original version of this, it’s so sad that the cover is so disappointing.
A lot of Namie Amuro’s stuff has been pulled from Spotify and Youtube, but a lot of her stuff has been archived at amuroarchive.tv. Here’s the link to New Look on that website if anyone is interested: https://amuroarchive.tv/video/namie-amuro-new-look/3896a44e8a12c29a718704c28df50532
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Thank you for providing this link.
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Misamo’s 2024 rendition is quite lovely on its own!
Amuro’s original released in 2008 however is definitely far superior ❤️ strongly recommend everyone to try search for her 60s 70s 80s – New Look, Rock Steady, What A Feeling!
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Even removing my nostalgic joy for the original this version is too slow and too smooth all around the edges. If this was at a concert or something live then I could appreciate it but as a title track it doesn’t do a lot to make itself present. It feels like a pre-release or a bonus track video for an album track or even like their version of Jade (Thirlwall)’s Angel of my Dreams (S.A D. version). As is this is just….just ok.
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This song is just boring and bad… I wish JYP would put more effort into his subunit/non Korean language groups. A full girl crush concept in Japanese would be a much better use of resources…
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What an insult to Namie Amuro.
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This song really bothers me, unfortunately. I had high hopes for Misamo, as “Masterpiece” was one of my favorite K(J)pop albums of the year, but this first release just misses the mark. The production choices are honestly baffling to me. I don’t understand why the hook regresses musically, losing the driving drums from the second and third hooks—yes, there are four hooks in 3 minutes and 16 seconds—in favor of strings reintroduced from the first hook, which slows it down considerably. This is generally an odd choice, but in a song that relies so heavily on a catchy hook, I would almost go so far as to call it a genuine mistake.
This is a departure from the original piece, which develops more naturally. Although I find the singing an interesting reimagining of the original, the instrumental turns the nice bass into these stock FL Studio drums that sync with a high beeping sound for most of the track, losing all the subtlety the bass initially had. Listening to the instrumental alone is an out-of-body experience that accurately simulates purgatory—it’s barren.
Overall, the more time passes, the harder it is for me to ignore the shortcomings of this track: 6.5/10.
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