[CELEB] Viviz is bringing fans a 'Loveade' in its new EP 'Summer Vibe'

K-pop

Published: 06 Jul. 2022, 18:14 Updated: 06 Jul. 2022, 18:33

[CELEB] Viviz is bringing fans a 'Loveade' in its new EP 'Summer Vibe'

Girl group Viviz, comprised of three former members of GFriend, poses during a showcase event for its new EP "Summer Vibe" at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul on Wednesday. From left: SinB, Umji and Eunha [BIG PLANET MADE]

Girl group Viviz is vying to grab the crown of “summer queens” with its brand new EP “Summer Vibe,” which dropped Wednesday.

The trio — consisting of Eunha, SinB and Umji (officially stylized with all capital letters) — performed the lead track “Loveade” during a showcase event at the Yes24 Live Hall in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, a few hours before its drop on music sites.

“Loveade” is a funky retro pop song that is about a summer love that is likened to a sweet, refreshing drink — an “ice loveade” — like lemonade.

“Summer Vibe” comes five months after Viviz released its debut EP “Beam Of Prism” in February with the lead track “Bop Bop!”

“Summer Vibe” has six tracks: “Loveade,” “Siesta,” “Party Pop,” “Love Love Love,” “#Flashback” and “Dance” (translated).

“If ‘Bop Bop!’ was a song that introduced what kind of group Viviz is, this album represents our identity,” Umji said. “We made sure to show who we are to those who are still unsure about us, and we added summer vibes to the album to make it fit for the season.”

Viviz also performed "Love Love Love," a deep, house music-inspired track, which Eunha explains as a song whose "melody will immediately get stuck in your head after the first listen."

If “Loveade” resembles a bright summer day at the beach, then “Love Love Love” is a summer night at the club.

Concept photo for Viviz's EP "Summer Vibe" (2022) [BIG PLANET MADE]

“Among the six tracks, we made sure to include the numerous facets of summer,” Eunha said. “Even just by the lead track, you will be able to tell that it is perfect for the summer, but the other tracks also portray hot summer day vibes as well as the dreamy summer nights.”

“We wanted to make a summer album, but while we were discussing with our agency, we liked the idea of making a profound concept, while also making sure it had an easygoing atmosphere,” Umji added. “We thought that it would be more appealing as it is fresher and more sophisticated.”

Viviz may seem like any other normal rookie girl group, but it actually goes way back to 2015. The three members were all debuting as part of now-disbanded girl group GFriend, along with three more members: Sowon, Yerin and Yuju.

GFriend [SOURCE MUSIC]

GFriend debuted with the EP “Season of Glass” (2015) and its lead track “Glass Bead.” It kept a steady career and saw success following the songs “Me Gustas Tu” (2015), “Rough” (2016), “Navillera” (2016), “Time for the Moon Night” (2018) and “Mago” (2020).

The group was noticed for its distinctive musical style — poetic lyrics with melancholic melodies, yet vigorous, synchronized choreography. Many of its songs, like “Rough” or “Time for the Moon Night,” look back at a previous romance and yearn for a loved one, eliciting a sense of nostalgia and a roller-coaster of emotions.

Concept photo for Viviz's EP "Summer Vibe" (2022) [BIG PLANET MADE]

However, in May last year, the sextet decided to go its separate ways when the members’ contracts with agency Source Music came to an end. At the time, fans expressed their shock on social media, collectively saying it was “unexpected.”

In February this year, Eunha, SinB and Umji debuted again as Viviz after signing under agency Big Planet Made together. It performed “Bop Bop!” in an appearance on Grammy’s Global Spin video series, the first K-pop girl group ever to appear on the show.

Viviz also competed in Mnet’s “Queendom 2” (2022) back in March, which saw six high-profile female K-pop acts compete against each other, and came in third place among WJSN, Brave Girls, Loona, Hyolyn and Kep1er.

SinB of Viviz during a showcase event for its new EP "Summer Vibe" at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul on Wednesday. [BIG PLANET MADE]

Eunha of Viviz during a showcase event for its new EP "Summer Vibe" at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul on Wednesday. [BIG PLANET MADE]

Umji of Viviz during a showcase event for its new EP "Summer Vibe" at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul on Wednesday. [BIG PLANET MADE]

When asked what their secret was to maintaining such great teamwork for a long time, SinB said that it was thanks to being able to give feedback to each other comfortably.

“There’s really no secret,” Eunha said. “We just really enjoy each other’s company and we’re like a puzzle — our preferences fit together pretty well.”

Eunha of Viviz [BIG PLANET MADE]

Eunha (Jung Eun-bi)

Date of birth: May 30, 1997
Zodiac sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Geumcheon District, southern Seoul
Debut: 2008 as an actor
Agency: Big Planet Made

Eunha debuted first as a child actor in 2008, playing small parts in television shows. She then became a singer as a member of girl group GFriend in 2015. GFriend saw steady success starting with its debut EP “Season of Glass” (2015) with the lead track “Glass Bead,” and following with songs “Me Gustas Tu” (2015), “Rough” (2016), “Navillera” (2016), “Time for the Moon Night” (2018) and “Mago” (2020). Eunha has also been active in featuring in other artists’ songs or releasing solo songs as part of television drama soundtracks. “Inferiority Complex” (2016), a song by singer Park Kyung on which Eunha is featured, ranked especially high on local music charts. After GFriend disbanded in May 2021, Eunha became a member of the trio Viviz, along with other fellow GFriend members SinB and Umji.

This information was confirmed by Big Planet Made on July 5, 2022.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]