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GFriend shoots for the stars with first full-length album

July 12, 2016

SEOUL, July 11 (Yonhap) — South Korean girl group GFriend returned to the K-pop scene on Monday with its first full-length album amid mounting pressure to follow the success of its previous three EPs.

The six-member act, with Sowon, Yerin, Eunha, Yuju, SinB and Umji, showed up for the media case held at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul to promote “LOL,” the group’s first studio album since its debut a year and a half ago.

South Korean girl group GFriend performs in a media showcase held in eastern Seoul on July 11, 2016. (Yonhap)

South Korean girl group GFriend performs in a media showcase held in eastern Seoul on July 11, 2016. (Yonhap)

“We made some changes in the moves after we finished shooting the music video,” said Sowon, showing hints of anxiety. Since GFriend’s popularity owes much of itself to its trademark dynamic dance moves, the members felt obliged to perfect them, the 20-year-old said.

“It has been that long since we fixed the final version of the dance moves,” she said. “You’ll notice that the moves in the music video and the stage performance are slightly different.”

GFriend even reached for the dubstep genre in “Gone With the Wind,” one of the 12 songs on “LOL.”

From left: GFriend members Sowon, Eunha, Yerin, SinB, Umji and Yuju pose in the photo session in a media showcase held in eastern Seoul on July 11, 2016. (Yonhap)

From left: GFriend members Sowon, Eunha, Yerin, SinB, Umji and Yuju pose in the photo session in a media showcase held in eastern Seoul on July 11, 2016. (Yonhap)

The album’s lead single, “Navillera,” derives its name from the poem “Seungmu” by famous Korean poet Choi Ji-hoon. The song sticks to the key elements of “GFriend style,” with guitar solos and upbeat synth sounds — a winning recipe for the energetic girl group singers.

As of 8 a.m. Monday, the song topped seven major music charts, including Naver Music, Genie Music and Mnet Music.

Besides the powerful dance moves and catchy songs, the new album presents a noticeable change with its much wider spectrum of music genres, running the gamut of pop, reggae, rock, R&B and house.

“I was so pleased to see an online comment about our new album, saying GFriend finally showed our true colors,” SinB said.

South Korean girl group GFriend performs in a media showcase held in eastern Seoul on July 11, 2016. (Yonhap)

South Korean girl group GFriend performs in a media showcase held in eastern Seoul on July 11, 2016. (Yonhap)

GFriend has gone the extra mile with “LOL” to develop its own identity, compared to its previous Eps “Glass Bead,” “Me Gustas Tu” and “Rough.” In contrast to the schoolgirl image that GFriend showed earlier, the members’ image on the new album evolved into that of young women in love.

Yet, the members said they are still open to returning to the school life theme.

“We tried to add diversity to the new album to please a wider range of musical tastes,” Sowon said, hoping for the success of the new album and continued teamwork.

About criticisms that GFriend’s success solely rests on catchy songs, Sowon shot back, “It is true that we were lucky to have great songs.”

“But there are plenty of great songs around — even our favorite songs are all different,” she said, contesting the idea that GFriend’s songs are not the only reason for the group’s success.

“GFriend is proud of the new album. We promise to bring good songs and energy to you all,” Yuju added.

South Korean girl group GFriend performs in a media showcase held in eastern Seoul on July 11, 2016. (Yonhap)

South Korean girl group GFriend performs in a media showcase held in eastern Seoul on July 11, 2016. (Yonhap)