K-pop girl group Kep1er transformed from heroes to love-struck girls for their fourth mini album, 'Lovestruck!', which dropped on last Monday. – Photo: Swing Entertainment
K-pop girl group Kep1er transformed from heroes to love-struck girls for their fourth mini album, Lovestruck!, which dropped on Monday.
The return comes six months after the group released its third mini album, Troubleshooter.
The story of this new album is about the nine members landing on Earth due to a magnetic attraction towards someone that they all fall in love with.
This is the first time Kep1er members encounter the feeling of love and sing about how being in love is romantic and makes them feel "giddy."
Kep1er’s fourth mini album comprises five tracks, led by Giddy, alongside LVLY, Back to the City, Why and Happy Ending.
The titular track, Giddy, is of the disco-punk genre and is composed of addictive lyrics and melody with Kep1er’s signature energetic chanting.
"We tried to incorporate each of our members’ unique vocals into the song. You will be able to see Kep1er embarking on a new journey to be loved. We are confident that all bits of the song are highlights so please tune into it," explained Yeseo during a media showcase on Monday.
Kep1er visualised the concept of a girl that falls in love for the first time with a cat character named Ke Nyang-E.
The lovely kitsch concept of the group is also deeply infused into the choreography.
"There are two point dance moves in the titular track. One is doing a fist punch like cats while moving our hips, and the second one is putting our hands up and down in a cute way like cats," Youngeun showed the point dance moves.
Kep1er poses for a group picture at its media showcase for its 4th mini album. – Photo: Swing Entertainment
Kep1er performed their titular track, Giddy, and sidetrack Back to the City for the first time on stage during the media showcase.
Just as much as they are well-known for their perfectly aligned choreography, their performances were powerful and energetic.
"We are all very competitive people so before we get on stage, I always tell my members to do better than before. Once we get on stage, other members are doing better than me," said Hikaru.
"We practice our performance without music to be able to hear our footsteps when we dance. When we hear that our footsteps are on beat together, we feel proud that we practiced well," said Yeseo.
Kep1er is looking forward to its first arena tour in Japan in May after making its debut in the country with its first Japanese single album, Fly-Up, last September.
"I never thought I would be able to carry out my career as a K-pop artist in Japan but when I finally got to, I was so happy. I’m so happy to get to meet with our local fans in Japan again," said Mashiro.
"We have performed in Japan before at a festival. I was really touched by our fans singing along and dancing with us. This is our first arena tour, during which we will be able to meet with many more fans. I am so excited for that," said Hikaru.
Kep1er poses for a group picture at its media showcase for its 4th mini album, 'Lovestruck!', on Monday in Seoul. – Photo: Swing Entertainment
The group recently marked its first debut anniversary as it entered the music scene with debut album First Impact in January last year after winning Mnet’s idol competition program, Girls Planet 999.
"Recently, I watched Boys Planet and that brought back old memories of me working hard and passionately to debut. A trainee in the show called me 'seonbae' (experienced senior artist), and I thought I should do better to live up to that standard," said Chaehyun.
"These days, girl groups are opening up a new era of K-pop and we hope to be part of continuing the flow of that era with this new album." – By Hong Yoo/The Korea Herald/Asia News Network
