9Muses returns as 4-member act

9Muses / Courtesy of Star Empire Entertainment

By Kim Jae-heun

K-pop girl band 9Muses by Star Empire Entertainment returns as a four-member act, releasing a new mini-album “Muses Diary Part.2: Identity” two years after the group’s previous album “Lost.”

Originally formed with nine members, the girl group had five members when it lost Sungah last year, who hopes to focus on her individual activities as a DJ.

“Sungah wanted to study music and pursue her DJ career for a while and we thought it would be hard for her to join our return this time,” band member Hyemi said during a press conference at YES24 MUV Hall in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Monday.

Hyemi is the group’s only remaining original member.

“I also had a hard time deciding whether to continue in this band or not as my contract term was coming to an end,” Hyemi said. “However, I spent all my adult life with 9Muses and I could not imagine myself leaving the group. I wanted to prove 9Muses is not dead and we are still alive.”

For this reason, 9Muses had a long talk to define their identity with the latest album, following up the previous concept of “Muses Diary.”

The latest album “Muses Diary Part.2: Identity” consists of six tracks including the first single, “Remember.” Music producer group NUPLAY wrote the lyrics for an EDM tune mixing a retro feeling and modern sound to finish the unique dance genre.

“We tried to show our signature characteristics of confidence and maturity through girl crush music. This is what we’ve been doing and what we are good at. Ladies in their 20s can empathize with the lyrics of our new songs,” Keumjo said.