ILY:1: Exotic debuts

4 April 20225 April 2022 Shawn

FC ENM group ILY:1 makes its debut today with a first single, called “LOVE IN BLOOM“.

Composed of members RONA, NAYU, RIRIKA, ARA, HANA and ELVA, it was during a face-to-face showcase in Seoul that the girl group was presented to the world for the first time. The showcase begins with the broadcast of a teaser introducing each member, before the group goes on stage to greet the journalists present on site. The young women begin by posing in front of the cameras, and they may not all be foreign to you since most of them participated in the show “GIRLS PLANET 999“, broadcast on MNET.

Their debuts are expected, since their songs have been produced by famous American composers; Steven Lee, Sean Alexander and Darren Smith. Once the shots are taken, the singers introduce themselves with joy and energy, announcing their roles in the group, and what distinguishes them from each other. Thus, NAYU describes herself as the charismatic of the group, RONA as being in charge of the physical, ARA as being the rabbit, RIRIKA as being the one with the best vocal skill, HANA as being the cutest and finally ELVA as the rapper of the group.

ARA presents the group as a group representing love, since its name, ILY:1, means “I love you“, and the number 1, the desire of young women to be one with their fans. Initially, RONA reveals that they wanted to name the group only 1, but were afraid that this would generate additional pressure, because it could be interpreted as a desire to become number 1 among the other groups. To express their desire for uniqueness, all the members, as well as the pre-debut song of this first single, “Azalea” have the letter A. A video is then broadcast, where we discover the debut of the group on the Arirang channel TV, three weeks ago. This television debut was like a dream for the members, especially since they were quickly compared to the group OH MY GIRL for their fairytale and flowery concept.

RIRIKA declares having participated in international auditions for the JYP ENTERTAINMENT agency, alongside the other foreign members of the group. Indeed, RIRIKA and HANA are Japanese, while RONA and ELVA are Taiwanese. ARA and NAYU are Korean. However, the foreign members are all doing very well in Korean, and their accent is imperceptible for most of them. Being a group made up mainly of foreigners, they all had to work hard to communicate together, and create a team spirit.

At the request of journalists, ARA sometimes imitates a rabbit, sometimes a cat, before attention is drawn to ELVA who talks about her past as a model, before joining the group. NAYU once again broaches the subject of OH MY GIRL, since the producer of the song “Non stop” is the same as for “Love in bloom”, the title track of this single. The resemblance cannot therefore be denied since the musical inspirations are the same. “Azalea” is about love, which grows like blossoming seeds in spring, the song possessing modern orchestra-style sounds. During the showcase, a moment of beating is felt since the MC does not yet have access to the questions posed by online journalists, sent in advance. To fill the wait, the singers talk about their favorite foods, RIRIKA citing the rice tenderly prepared by her mother, and ARA a chicken pizza.

« I called my mother this morning crying, not realizing that today I was finally making my debut » – RIRIKA

Once the questions have been received, HANA discusses her participation in the show “GIRLS PLANET” which gave birth to the group KEP1ER. She is grateful for this opportunity, because it allowed her to train more and feel ready for this day. As for ARA, she says she is still in contact with the other girls who also participated in the show. Finally, RONA is happy to have been able to improve her Korean, and to learn English as well.

Then addressing the question of the model, ELVA quotes OH MY GIRL and SNSD. NAYU speaks up when asked what the group’s goals are, only to respond that they want to become professional singers and reach number one on a music show. Completing the Q&A session of this showcase, ILY:1 positions itself to perform for the first time the song of its debut, “Love in bloom“. From the debuts, exotic and summer sounds take possession of the room, however lamenting the group’s playback. We recognize the OH MY GIRL inspirations in the song, but the dance stands out, because it has a brief break dance. The distribution of lyrics seems to be fairly even, and the choreography easy to follow. Once the performance is over, the clip for “Love in bloom” is broadcast, the exotic atmosphere still being present. The clip is very colorful, and has various kinetics to highlight the singers.

« I find the clip beautiful and am grateful for the work done on it » — HANA

Regarding the other songs of this first single, these are the instrumental versions of “Azalea” and “Love in bloom“. After the performance and the broadcast of the clip are over, the young women return to the stage to discuss the title song. They cut the key moment of the choreography as the first line of the song, where they form a heart with their hand. RONA reveals a filming anecdote: during a scene, while she was not wearing shoes and the ground was cold, she was hopping on the spot to warm up, but the producer thought she was dancing, so the kindly reprimanded asking her to keep her energy up.

Afterwards, they present the album, each choosing which photo they prefer in the photobook. They choose poses that want to be soft or charismatic, and reproduce them after having selected them. Most take their pick from the album cover photo, showing the members looking their best. NAYU then talks about the support she received from her family and friends, who were happy for her to see her everywhere on the internet, and on stage realizing her dream. The other members also received a lot of support, their loved ones asking them not to get hurt, and to live this experience as happy as possible. Some of their friends sent them photos with proof of pre-orders of the album, which made the young women all the more happy.

It is with these last words that the group concludes this showcase for their debut, asking that we bring them a lot of love, saying that they work hard to win fans. They also send a message to each other, saying that they love each other and that they will achieve their dreams together. Finally, just before leaving the stage, they simulate what reaction they would have if they won first place in a musical show, miming to break down in tears, before leaving the stage with final thanks.

For the most seasoned in Korean, you can find the entire showcase, posted on the group’s channel: