October began the last quarter of the year, and many K-pop groups released their second or even third comeback of 2024. Groups had the opportunity to establish a core sound, or display new sides to themselves and their music. Let’s take a look at some artists from this month who might have made some surprising, but ultimately fitting choices in music and concepts this past month.
82Major – ”Stuck”
82Major, nominees for Best New Male Artist at the MAMA Awards, celebrated their first anniversary in October. They followed up their previous comeback “Choke” with an attention-grabbing MV for “Stuck.” The MV adopts the aesthetics of 80s martial arts and spy movies and TV shows, complete with a cheesy theme song, slow motion, and freeze frames. The plotline begins with the presumed villains slicking their hair back and 82Major opening an attaché case full of pink combs, and only becomes increasingly more absurd (in the best possible way). One of the group’s targets is labeled “Actually Bald,” and one of the climactic scenes involves his toupee getting blown off with the swing of an oversized comb. Directed by Mother Media, the silly and quirky MV makes one want to watch on repeat.
The hip hop track, however, definitely has charms of its own, including switch-ups in its old school samples. “Stuck” has most of the members confidently rapping in the verses, including the singers, though main vocalist Dongyun brings his smooth tone to the refrain. While the melodies are laid-back and minimalistic, the composition and production choices bring a lot of interest, particularly with a surprising, slowed-down instrumental outro. With their fun, idiosyncratic approach, 82Major have an exciting career ahead of them.
Billlie – “Remembrance Candy“
Billlie has also been known for quirky concepts in the past, which partially emerges in the MV of “Remembrance Candy” in the presence of a furry yeti figure. The song itself, though, has very different vibes from songs like “Gingamingayo,” with the members’ warm vocals grooving along to jazzy piano, bass, and drums. IU penned the song’s lyrics, which capture the bittersweet experience of reminiscing about the past by likening it to eating candy:
Purr it’s a feel-good but sad flavor
Oh, it’s so mystical
I have a faint hunch
With the moment before I taste this memory
This probably wouldn’t be the same
The MV features images also present in Billlie’s pre-release single “Trampoline”: most obviously the members jumping on a trampoline in a field, but also shots framed as though on a strip of film. In “Trampoline,” Billlie seek to recreate the carefree feeling of jumping in the air. In “Remembrance Candy” they also want to relieve their troubles, but steadily realize they cannot do so alone.
In the MV’s final chorus, the members break into a boarded up building spray painted with “Billlie.” They enter a room where Suhyeon sits alone, surrounded by balloons, streamers, childhood toys, and a giant cassette reading “of all we have lost.” Moon Sua hugs her, and it is hard not to read into the MV the back stories of their recent hiatuses. Sentimental and poignant, “Remembrance Candy” emphasizes Billie’s togetherness in their first comeback as a complete group in nearly a year.
Purple Kiss – “On My Bike”
Purple Kiss’s title tracks have spanned many genres, from the hard-hitting “MemeM“ to light and summery “Seventh Heaven” to the hip hop-inflected “BBB.” Their new song “On My Bike,” with its grungy guitars, could be categorized as rock, but has enough dark elements to feel like a welcome return to the Purple Kiss of tracks like “Sweet Juice” or “Ponzona.” The eerie tinkling music-box instrumentals in the intro and post-chorus, for instance, make the song feel cohesive with the spooky sound often associated with the group.
The lyrics literally focus on riding a bike, and the MV is similarly straightforward, with the members performing choreography black leather jackets and posing alongside motorcycles. At other points in the MV, they don black wings and white bridal dresses and veils, which feel like their attempt to match the “good girl gone bad” concept spelled out in the lyrics. Fortunately, it is a concept that they can pull off, particularly when Yuki coolly raps her verse while slinging a wrench on her shoulder. Though “On My Bike” might not be their strongest MV, it feels satisfying to see Purple Kiss release a title track that fits the group’s unique flavor.
The Boyz – “Trigger”
Billlie and Purple Kiss have both dabbled in various genres and concepts, and similarly The Boyz usually alternate between bright and dark sounds. Following up the sweet and sentimental “Nectar,” “Trigger” definitely falls into the latter category. Reminiscent of SuperM at times in its bouncy electronic instrumentals, post-chorus chanting, and overall bombast, “Trigger” feels like it is from the past, in the best possible way. Unlike many other recent singles, the song includes a bridge to ramp up the drama, building from Kevin’s vocals to Sangyeon’s soaring high notes before bursting into the final chorus. The theatricality of the song fully plays out, with shifts in tempo and mood in each section of the song.
The MV matches the grandness of the song, depicting a dystopian future in which people are rendered passive, constantly wearing virtual reality headsets. References to the myth of Prometheus bookend the MV, implying that humanity has misused the resources they have been given, whether fire or modern technology. The MV’s limited color palette of black, gray, and green hues underscores this world’s unnatural state. The Boyz’s defiance comes across in shots from below, with members appearing to stomp on the camera lens. Most prominently, though, the choreography sequences feel like the members uniting in resistance. “Trigger” effectively uses multiple aspects of music video making to convey epic intensity.
StayC – “GPT”
As its title suggests, StayC’s “GPT” also refers to technology—but uses ChatGPT as a clever metaphor. The airy electropop song depicts an unrequited romantic relationship in which the speaker feels her significant other does not take interest in her life:
Tell me, I’m calling you G-P-T
Answer me, G-P-T
Don’t you wonder about me?
GPT has no curiosity about its user, thus representing a one-sided relationship. The song replicates the tensions depicted in the lyrics, with dreamy vocals floating above whimsical, clinking synths. The members sing wistfully, “Baby, I love you,” followed by “dot dot dot dot dot dot.” That repetition could have been grating in another song, but in “GPT” it illustrates both the robotic personality of the love interest and their lack of response (with the dots resembling ellipses).
The MV portrays the members pursuing mysterious figures cloaked head to toe in white. In one scene, Yoon attempts to touch one of them, but her hand passes through it. Like the love interest depicted in the song, these people resemble humans, but are not fully. The clever metaphor grows into a full-fledged storyline, with J convincing the others to break out of their illusions— a moment of realization timed with the song’s bridge. After the bridge, Seeun hurls a giant key into a crystal, destroying the lab that has trapped the members. As they run away, Sieun’s ad-libs bring the song to new emotional heights — fittingly, just as the members are claiming their independence. As with the other MVs in this edition of Unsung Artists, the music and imagery reinforce storytelling together.
(YouTube; [1][2][3][4][5]. Lyrics via Genius: [1][2]. Images via Great M Entertainment, Mystic Story, High Up Entertainment).