Zerobaseone aims to be summer icon with 3rd EP

K-pop group Zerobaseone is back with its third EP, led by a bubbly summery song, and is confident that the song will be the soundtrack to everyone’s summer.

“This song is a perfect blend of refreshing music and powerful performances that goes very well with Zerobaseone,” member Kim Gyu-vin said during a press showcase held in Seoul a few hours before the release of the EP, “You had me at Hello,” on Monday.

“We hope to become the summer icon that comes to people’s mind when they think of summer.”

Fronting the album is “Feel the Pop,” a powerful mixture of D&B, UK garage and jersey club rhythms with lyrics that encourages listeners to shed their worries, embrace the moment and enjoy life together.

“This summer, we’ll fill your hearts with refreshing energy and blow away your worries and anxieties with heart-pounding pop music,” Park Gun-wook said.

Set for release at 6 p.m., the nine-piece group’s latest work will conclude its youth trilogy that started with “Youth in the Shade” and continued with the second EP, “Melting Point.”

Each album builds on a narrative centered around discovering a fateful love and the efforts to protect it, culminating in this latest release, which celebrates the joy of falling in love.

Beside the lead track, also included in the seven-track album are “Solar Power,” “Dear Eclipse,” “Sweat” “Sunday Ride,” “Hello,” the group’s first fan-dedicated song, and a sped-up version of the main track “Feel the Pop.”

“We’ve captured the story of reckless yet thrilling youth in our own unique style, and this song completes the fateful confession that has been unfolding since our debut album,” team leader Sung Han-bin said.

Composed of the nine winners of Mnet’s idol survival program, “Boys Planet,” Zerobaseone made its debut in July last year with “Youth in the Shade.”

Supported enthusiastically by viewers of the TV show and fans, the group has emerged as a leading force among fifth-generation K-pop groups, with both of its previous albums selling over 2 million copies, a rare success for a rookie group.

Despite the group’s recent successes, Sung Han-bin emphasized that he and his fellow members approached the upcoming album with an eagerness for the future rather than feeling any “anxiety or pressure.”

“We thought it was a crucial period for laying the groundwork for our future endeavors,” he explained.

Asked how the group feels about its upcoming first anniversary, Kim Gyu-vin shared, “Every moment spent with my bandmates is a continuous source of joy.”

“Just by looking at my bandmates’ eyes, I could tell now that our movements were perfectly in sync,” he said, recalling the filming of the music video for the lead song.

Kim Ji-woong expressed confidence about the group’s stage performance for the song.

“The song is so addictive that its choreography is also full of detail. We put a lot of effort into matching every single fingertip for sharp group movements,” he said.