GRAPHIC BY CHRISTINA QUACHBy ANNMARIE LI
STAFF WRITER
Is this upcoming girl group the best in the LOONAVERSE?
On Aug. 7th, Korean pop (K-pop) girl group LOONA officially debuted online with their new music video.
Created by Blockberry Entertainment, the 12 member group, whom had previously been in sub-units of three, finally banded together to create an official debut, furthering the company’s project as a whole.
After two years of various member debut singles and reveals, the time has finally come for the combined units to take the great stage, quickly gathering fans across the world.
LOONA’s new music video has a superb concept and a meaningful message, even with every member having a completely different style individually. As a result, they are able to stand out among various other K-pop groups.
Loona has taken two long years to finally debut, which is practically unheard of in the K-pop industry. Most groups only take a few years to start their careers, but LOONA is a different story. They took some time to develop their individual images. In turn, it allowed them to gather fans who wanted to know about them and eventually have their own fan base, called Orbits.
Above all, compared to their debut music videos, the finalized unit video not only showcases their beauty, but their talent as well. Instead of faking their talent and their images to appeal to the audience, much like some other K-pop groups, LOONA reveals their true selves through their singing and choreography, making them more appealing than ever. For example, their music video connects with the videos for the subunits and solos, resulting in a story being made, with every member showing their true nature. Every member has their own solo songs that showcase both themselves as a person and their personal style.
While their talent is amazingly real, their messages in their music are also meaningful. Subsequently, it makes the songs have depth and satisfies the audience with something worth listening to For instance, in their music video, there is a message of being yourself and stays true to that message throughout the song, while also staying incredibly catchy, due to the music composition and lyric structures.
Moreover, most K-pop groups typically train for a few years at least to train before releasing news about their upcoming debuts by revealing teasers and album samples. Instead of being under an agency for a few years before having an official debut and an album, LOONA has reversed the cycle and has been revealed to the audience with the members and their personalities. This way, the audience can get to know the members and their individual selves, enabling them to gain more of a fanbase. By revealing themselves to the audience with their individual style and character, the fan bases of each subunit collectively band together to create a single group of fans once LOONA becomes a single group rather than three.
But, a controversy still stands, like in every K-pop group. The concept in their new music video is a first big step for them, mostly due to this being the first time the group is a single unit. But, their outfits are a little too bold. They distract from the original idea of the lyrics, mainly because it does not match with the context of the song at all. However, as the video lets the members show their talent due to the various scenes that are able to tell a story, it slowly creates the theorized story, known as the LOONAVERSE that surrounds the members.
Even though LOONA has only been a single unit for a week, their path to stardom will likely grow. Soon enough, the group of 12 will grow bigger in popularity, hoping to gain more achievements and events in the near future.