And so June has rolled along and we’re nearly at the midpoint of the year! We’ve had comebacks this week from the boy groups ASTRO, Highlight and we get to see newbie girl groups as well as soloists! We say goodbye to another well-known group of artists as SISTAR is the latest to reveal that they have disbanded, but like always they leave behind their music which will be a lasting memory for their fans.
The first group that had a comeback this week is ASTRO! They have returned with their 4th Mini Album ‘Dream Part.01‘ and released the M/V for ‘Baby‘ on May 29. With ‘Baby’, it a fresh pop song with the vibrant M/V showcasing their boyish charms in a mixture of using first person experience for the watcher and sleek choreography in between cuts!
Highlight, formerly known as BEAST, released their 1st Mini Album Repackage ‘Calling You’ with the same name title track on May 29. The group returned with a chill, relaxing vibe which is further echoed through the M/V, the lyrics pours out the feelings from the members as they feel like they are stuck in a one-sided conversation. One line in particular ‘I’m little bit drunk, but I’m as sober as a judge’, shows how deep rooted their emotions may run but it’s only once they drink they feel like they can finally be open.
The sweet toned soloist from JYP is back with her 3rd Mini Album ‘Bittersweet‘ which was released on May 29. The title track of the album is ‘Sweet Lies’ which features the retro trio The Barberettes! The acoustic strumming creates light listening alongside her dulcet vocals, we get to see the cute, expressive side from Baek A Yeon especially in contrast to ‘So So‘. The lyrics starts off with a sense of her being hopeful only as time passes, she realised that she allowed herself to believe the ‘promises’ which were carefully disguised as lies.
The HIGHGRND artist gave us old school vibes in ‘Who Do You Love‘, which is included his 3rd Album Part. 1 which came out on May 30. For those who aren’t familiar with The Black Skirts, it is comprised solely of just one man, Bryan Cho (also known by the names Holiday Cho or Jo Hyu-il) who takes up the usual roles in a group by being collectively the vocalist, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, and percussionist of the band!
Goodbyes can be difficult, especially as we say adieu to an established group in the K-pop industry. Though it is a sad time, this chapter for the girls may have ended but it means that while their future paths may separate them, the bonds and memories that they shared as a group will always remain as they were. SISTAR came back with the single ‘LONELY’, despite the bittersweet tones the girls still have fun in the M/V as they cherish the time filming for the video.
Here comes a rookie girl group ‘ELRIS’! They were one of the first to release their music on June 1 with their Debut Mini Album ‘We, First’ with the same title track name’. It’s a sugary sweet song coupled with a Carnival theme which may have drawn some inspiration from Alice In Wonderland possibly!
Coming back for the 2nd time this year after a couple of months is Girls’ Generation’s Hyoyeon! This time, it’s a collaboration track with rapper SAN E. The soloist released a digital single ‘Wannabe’ on June 1, which starts off with an edgy tone then the tempo shifts in a different direction once the chorus hits, though it is quite catchy after a few listens! Hyoyeon shows every bit the confident performer she is in the M/V, give it a watch below!
To finish off this week’s Release Round Up, singer Suran released her 1st Mini Album ‘Walkin‘ on June 2. The title track is ‘1+1=0’ which features soloist Dean, it’s a funky pop song which really matched with Suran’s quirky, airy vocals as well as harmonising well with Dean! The M/V itself illustrates the struggle of how repetitive the days can get, almost seeming like the same day gets repeated over and over again. The work routine never changes, her life just remains stagnant.
