After a year-long hiatus, K-pop girl group Apink is back with its third studio album, Pink Revolution
BEFORE the slew of K-pop girl groups like Twice, Mamamoo, G-Friend and Exid, there was Apink.
Debuting in 2011, the six-member outfit quickly established itself in the thriving K-pop scene with catchy hit singles like NoNoNo, Mr Chu and LUV.
After two studio albums and five EPs, Apink is still a musical force, having recently released its latest full-length record Pink Revolution.
Initially, the six members, Cho-rong, Bo-mi, Eun-ji, Na-eun, Nam-joo and Ha-young, featured a warm and bubbly energy in their music.
But Pink Revolution covers a wider range of genres and concepts, a progression in its musical quality as well as a move away from its innocent image.
Nam-joo says: “For this album, we have stepped away from our innocent image for a more mature concept.”
The album, comprising nine tracks, collectively encompasses sounds that describe the emotion of first love.
“Fans will definitely relate to the themes in the songs and we hope they’ll enjoy this different side to our music,” she says.
ONLY ONE
The tracks in Pink Revolution are Only One, Oh Yes, Boom Pow Love, Fairy, Drummer Boy, To Us, Ding Dong, Catch Me and The Wave.
Produced by some of South Korea’s most sought-after composers and songwriters such as Shinsadong Tiger and Beom & Nang, the lead single is Only One. It represents the group’s first collaboration with award-winning songwriting team Black Eyed Pilseung.
To date, it has produced many K-pop hits such as Sistar’s I Like That, Miss A’s Only You and Twice’s Cheer Up.
Only One is a medium tempo R&B dance number with a hip-hop rhythm that highlights a girl’s feelings for her boyfriend.
Apink says the song shows how the group has mature musically, especially the parts where the members’ emotive vocals gel smoothly with the beautiful guitar sounds.
The music video for Only One accordingly follows the different image that Apink is trying to convey with this album.
Naeun explains: “It’s slightly different from our previous videos. It features a diverse concept for each member, so the scenes look like a magazine spread.”
“There are different symbols that represent each member,” Chorong adds. “Please look out for them.”
BOY, MORE GEMS
Oh Yes, produced by Shinsadong Tiger and Beom & Nang, is a dance track filled with positive energy and happiness.
A pop ditty with R&B and soul elements, Boom Pow Love is about that uneasy feeling when someone first finds a new love.
Fairy is a ballad featuring piano and strings that captures a yearning for innocent, youthful love through the untainted eyes of Tinker Bell, the fairy.
Drummer Boy is Apink’s spin on western pop, which plays on the title of a boy who makes a girl’s heart-throb like a drum roll. It features a chromatic melody that captures listeners’ ears with powerful beats, as well as cheerleader-like chanting vocals.
To Us is a letter that group leader Chorong wrote to her fellow members. With acoustic guitar sounds, the lyrics express her heartfelt gratitude towards the girls for the memorable events together and her wish for a harmonious relationship in the future.
The acoustic pop number Ding Dong showcases Apink’s resonating vocals that tell of a shy girl’s feelings in the presence of her boyfriend.
Catch Me is the group’s version of its Japanese single, Brand New Day.
The Wave, released to commemorate Apink’s fifth-year anniversary, is a medium tempo pop track with a sophisticated melody and a tinge of modern rock thrown in.
The lyrics, written by Cho-rong, is a heartfelt message for fans who have supported the group all these years.
“Although all the songs are wonderfully-made, we feel more strongly towards Only One because it really does show our growth,” adds Cho-rong.
FAN SERVICE
Apink hopes Pink Revolution will be remembered as a well-made album with fans rediscovering the band’s musical potential.
This is a comeback album after a year-long hiatus which inspired the girls to think of their fans as they recorded the new songs.
“We just couldn’t wait to get the music out to them,” Bomi says.
Apink performed in Malaysia last year in September as one of the music acts for MTV World Stage 2015.
“We met our Malaysian fans then. I can’t believe it’s been that long already,” Eunji says.
“We can’t wait to see them again. We hope it’ll happen very soon. Look out for us!”