Plus Magazine

After winning the intense competition of the survival program [Girls Planet 999: The Girls Saga] and standing before their fans, Kep1er has returned to the stageafter six months, their longest hiatus since debut. The members, known for surprising the world with their unique choreography and music every time, directly shared the special stories behind their fourth mini album [LOVESTRUCK!] through the interview with M Countdown Magazine.

Kep1er members, who have returned with their fourth mini album [LOVESTRUCK!] after six months, please say hello to M Countdown Magazine readers!

Hello, readers of M Countdown Magazine! We are Kep1er, who have returned with our fourth mini album [LOVESTRUCK!]. We are very nervous and excited to greet you after six months since our last mini-album [TROUBLESHOOTER], which was released in October last year. As we have come back with an album that deals with ‘love,’ we will show you a great performance that can make you fall in love with us when you watch Kep1er’s stage!

As you have had the longest hiatus since your debut, do you have a different level of determination for this comeback?

XIAOTING : We have met many Keplians while releasing Japanese singles and visiting K-CON in Thailand, and they all did a great job following our dance moves and singing along. While meeting fans, we were able to gain more strength, and we put a lot of effort and thought into preparing for this album in order to show you our better side and improved performance.

As much as your unique debut process, your albums always contain interesting stories. So, what is the story behind your new album [LOVESTRUCK!]?

YUJIN : This album, [LOVESTRUCK!], tells the story of girls who are facing the emotion of ‘love’ for the first time. In this story, we tried to express the various forms of love, from the excitement and nervousness of the girls, to their awkwardness as they experience it for the first time, and their honest desire to be loved.

Your albums always grab our attention with your unique album art, and this time, the heart-shaped lock with cat paw prints is especially eye-catching. Is there a message behind it?

YESEO : It’s all about ‘love’ and ‘catp1er(Ke Nyang-E)’! Through our album [LOVESTRUCK!], we told stories about the emotions of ‘love’ and created a character called ‘Ke Nyang-E’ to symbolize our cute and loving image as Kep1er members, like a cat that people want to love and care for just by looking at it. It seems like the concept and characters of our album are well reflected in the objects!

The dance that reminds people of a cat loved by everyone is particularly noticeable on your stage. What does the main theme of this album, ‘Ke Nyang-E,’ mean?

YOUNGEUN : ‘Ke Nyang-E’ is a combination of the words Kep1er and cat. At first, cats may be cautious and show awkwardness or shyness around people, but once they receive affection, they become very playful and friendly. We applied the concept of cats to represent the image of a girl who wants to experience love for the first time and be loved.

What would be your own appealing aspect if you could really become a cat?

DAYEON : Among our members, fans say that Xiaoting resembles a cat the most, and she has the nickname ‘Ting-nyang E’. If Xiaoting were a cat, wouldn’t her captivating gaze be her most attractive point that can capture people’s hearts?

What kind of song is your title track ‘Giddy’? Many people may not be familiar with this English word, which means dizziness.

YESEO : The title track ‘Giddy’ captures the dizzying and thrilling feeling of a girl encountering the emotion of ‘love’ for the first time, just as the word ‘giddy’ suggests. We expressed everything from the powerful impact of meeting ‘you,’ who attract like gravity, to the awkwardness of experiencing first love, the trembling excitement, and the honest desire to be loved in the disco funk genre.

What was the reason for the change from the strong and fast-tempo house music that captured fans’ ears from your debut title track ‘WA DA DA’ to your last album ‘We Fresh,’ to the disco funk genre that you have returned to this time?

DAYEON : The title track ‘Giddy’ is a story about girls who have faced the emotion of ‘love’ for the first time, and I think the genre that best captures the atmosphere of this song is disco funk. Also, there are many energetic chants and easy-to-follow dance points, which seem to blend well with this genre.

What would be the aspect that you paid special attention to as much as your changed music style? If there is something that we should pay attention to on your stage, what would it be?

CHAEHYUN : Talking about the emotion of ‘love’ for the first time since our debut seems to be the most noteworthy point. If we have shown intense performances with songs like ‘WA DA DA’ or ‘We Fresh’ until now, this time we have filled our performance with loveliness that makes you want to love us just by looking at us.

Among K-pop fans, there is a trend of following their favorite artists’ choreography through short challenges on SNS. Just like how Kep1er’s ‘WA DA DA’ choreography became a hot topic among fans, what is the point choreography that you want to appeal with in your new title track?

HIKARU : The point dance of our title track is called the ‘Ke Nyang-E’ dance. There is a part where we make cat ears with our hands like a lovely cat and throw a meow punch with a graceful feeling. It’s an easy point dance to follow, so it would be great if many of you could try it out.

Every time you release a mini-album, you have released a few more tracks, and this time [LOVESTRUCK!] also includes four more songs in addition to the title track ‘Giddy’. Please choose your favorite song.

YUJIN, XIAOTING, CHAEHYUN : The track ‘Happy Ending’ is always good to listen to and it makes us feel comfortable. It’s a genre that we enjoy, and when we listen to this song, we feel that our expression as Kep1er has improved a lot. So, we hope many people will listen to it as well.

MASHIRO, HIKARU, HUENING BAHIYYIH, Kang Yeseo: The track ‘Back to the City’ is a song that makes you feel energized and excited when you listen to it. It’s a song that we also listen to every time we have a schedule, and especially when we listen to it on the way to work, it feels like we can start the day happily.

DAYEON : I think the song ‘LVLY’ is addictive, and most of all, I really love the members’ voices in the song!

YOUNGEUN: I think ‘Why’ is a song where the thrilling melody that seems to contain the heart of a girl in love and our lovely vocals blend well. If you listen to the lyrics, I think anyone can relate to it!

Did you have any memorable episodes while preparing for this comeback? Please share the behind-the-scenes story of [LOVESTRUCK!].

YUJIN : It happend when we were shooting the music video for ‘Giddy’. Chaehyun and Yeseo happened to make eye contact through the mirror, and as if they had promised each other, they stuck their tongues out and played a prank on each other. So all the members burst out laughing at that moment.

Your music video for ‘Giddy’ has reached 10 million views in just one day. Do you feel the growth of your upward trend?

CHAEHYUN : We think that we have grown together with our fans from the very beginning. Seeing so many fans continue to show us love, it makes us feel like we need to work even harder. It also motivates us to show our best by putting in more effort. Please look forward to Kep1er’s further growth!

What is your goal that you want to achieve through this comeback?

HUENING BAHIYYIH : Our goal is for all of our members to be healthy and happy on stage, and to become Kep1er, who can only receive love! We also want to perform happily and make everyone watching our stage feel happy. And this time our album talks about love. We hope many people who got to know Kep1er will love us and become our ‘Ke Nyang-E butler’.

What message do you have for fans who support Kep1er?

MASHIRO : Thank you so much for always loving us sincerely. As always, we worked hard for this album [LOVESTRUCK!], especially thinking about the love sent by Keplians. Please enjoy it beautifully. We always love you, Keplians!