With dozens of K-pop artists debuting every year, it takes each new ensemble more and more effort to stand out above the rest.
Historically, K-pop artists debut in a number of ways, either being kept relatively secret until the agency releases some hyped-up teasers, or by slowly introducing trainees to the public by featuring them on labelmates' songs or music videos (see G-Dragon’s “BLACK” feat. Jennie Kim of BLACKPINK). A third avenue, which has roots in the early 2000s, has made a resurgence recently. Survival competition shows, which once formed groups such as Big Bang, 2PM, and Wonder Girls, have recently seen a popular comeback, giving birth to groups such as TWICE, Winner, iKon, I.O.I, and Wanna One.
Which leads us to our spotlight group today, LOONA. They are one of the few new groups that is rethinking the K-pop debut in today’s competitive and global market.
LOONA 1/3
LOONA is an 18-month long project created by Blockberry Creative, a subsidiary of Polaris Entertainment. Beginning in October 2016, one member was introduced approximately each month, with the goal of debuting a 12-member girl group at the end of the project. At the time of this article, 10 members have been revealed, with teasers for the 11th member just beginning.
The unique thing about LOONA is that while they’ll eventually debut as a 12-member group, their company is also marketing the members as individual soloists, each with her own single, music video, and concept that will coordinate as individual pieces to make up the LOONA world. By extending the typical debut teaser schedule, this strategy allows LOONA to establish a loyal fan base who will get to know each member individually before debuting as a full group. Blockberry Creative has said that the 12 members will comprise of three sub-units that form one cohesive story in the LOONA world, or what fans call, the Loonaverse.
LOONA Odd Eye Circle
Not only that, but LOONA has invested in popular fan theory culture, hiding clues and hidden meanings within their music videos and challenging fans to connect the dots (think hidden symbols, mysterious texts, reversed URLs - what do these things mean?!). The first five members' music videos laid the foundation of LOONA with sweet stories of love, pain, and hidden emotions, while the addition of the 6th, 7th, and 8th girls created an alternate, but connected, Mobius strip in the Loonaverse with an entirely different sound. The final four members will confidently challenge their fate in society, their music videos laced with new imagery and symbols. While these are the sub-groups that they’re starting out with, don’t be surprised when LOONA starts to shift and transform their image and sound, as the members have been hinting that there will be possibilities for them to move fluidly between sub-units, possibly even forming more collaborative units later on.
LOONA/Yves - "new" Music Video
The members themselves are unquestionably talented and worked hard to get where they are today. Blockberry Creative once stating that at one point, 50 girls were competing for the final four slots in the 12-member line-up. The smartest move by the company, though, is strategically playing to the strengths of each member, and ensuring a stellar production team behind each release. Their discography boasts typical pop songs with a twist, as well as some damn good experimental albums that have already made top 10 in the Billboard Top Worlds Chart. Member Kim Lip’s single “Eclipse” even made it onto NASA’s lunar playlist! The sub-units have already been participating in Korean music shows, and by the time this project ends, the group will be debuting with 12 singles with their own music videos and at least 3 essentially full-length studio albums under their belt. And this doesn't even include the content they plan on releasing as a 12-member group!
Are you intrigued? Now, here’s your cheat sheet to catch up on what you’ve missed throughout the project.
Why the name LOONA?
The group’s name in Hangul is 이달의 소녀, which translates to “Girl of the Month”. By taking the first hangul letter from each syllable and rearranging them, they create the group’s stylized name: LOOΠΔ.
Who are the Members?
[Updated 4/2/18 with full 12-members] At the time of this article (January 2018), there are currently 11 members who have been revealed, each with her own identifying color, animal, and concept in relation to the Loonaverse. These defining characteristics become easter eggs throughout their music videos for fans to interpret into their theories. The music videos were filmed in beautiful places all over the world, taking the girls to France, Japan, Iceland, Taiwan, Busan, and Los Angeles. The last member will be revealed in February, completing the final sub-unit.
Three Sub-Units
The members form three sub-units, with the first two called LOOΠΔ 1/3 and LOOΠΔ Odd Eye Circle. While YeoJin did not participate in LOOΠΔ 1/3 due to her young age and academic studies, she is said to represent the / in 1/3. The final sub-unit currently consists of the latest members Yves, Chuu, Go Won, and the unit name is expected to be announced along with the last remaining member.
LOONA TV
In addition to musical content, LOONA also releases LOONA TV episodes nearly every day at 12PM KST. These episodes share behind-the-scenes and candid moments with the members, and are a great way to get to know each of their personalities. They follow the girls traveling to all the amazing filming locations, supporting each other on set at their photo shoots, and even just hanging out to grab a quick bite. Watching the quick episodes, they members genuinely seem to enjoy the silly banter in front of the camera. Fair warning, there’s now over 250 LOONA TV episodes, but no worries! Each episode ranges between 30 seconds and 1 minute long with English captions, so they’re quick and easy glimpses into the great chemistry you see between the members!
LOONA has created a diverse concept with thoughtful consideration to how the group might change and grow. It’ll be exciting to finally see them officially debut as a full group, especially to see what kind of sound the 12-member ensemble will produce. Will we continue to get the variety of music genres that we’ve sampled from them so far? Or do they have bigger plans and an even bigger sound waiting for us? It’s nearing the end of the debut project with only two members and one sub-group remaining to be revealed, but something tells me it’s only the beginning of the Loonaverse story.