Apink's new album 'PERCENT' anchored by charismatic flair

A teaser image of Apink's eighth mini-album “PERCENT” Courtesy of Plan A Entertainment

By Kwak Yeon-soo

K-pop girl group Apink released their eighth mini-album “PERCENT” on Monday fronted by a track titled “%%,” which reads “Uh Huh” in Korean.

Their latest record aims to further cement the group's strong, charismatic charms rather than clinging to their signature cute and innocent concept.

“The new album carries our aspiration to explore Apink's limitless possibilities,” group leader Park Cho-rong said during a press conference ahead of Apink's release of their new album, “PERCENT,” Sunday.

“Since our debut, we were concerned about how we could evolve our music over time. By the time 'I'm So Sick' was to be released, we all agreed that then was the right time to seek an image makeover.”

Apink's seventh mini-album “One & Six” and its lead track “I'm So Sick,” released in July last year, was a major deviation from the group's well-established “lovely” and “angelic” concept.

The album's main track “%%” is a bold, mystical song with addictive melodies and electronic sounds. In the song, the female sings that she is strong enough to deal with feelings of loneliness and would eventually find the right man, according to member Kim Nam-joo.

“We've started to wear a stronger, charismatic concept, and such a change can be witnessed in the lyrics of our songs,” Kim said. “The lyrics of our initial music represented an innocent girl's mind seeking love, but the lyrics evolved as the girl experienced love and breakup.”

Apart from the main track, the album has five other tracks, including the fifth track “Enough” whose lyrics were written by Park.

During the press conference, Apink members showed their desire to release more albums and greet fans more often this year. “This year, we want to release more albums and pursue individual careers,” member Son Na-eun said.

Member Jung Eun-ji expressed her desire to become a long-running girl group. “I am so happy that Apink reached its ninth year. My wish is that we release at least two albums each year,” she said.

Ahead of the album release, Apink premiered their new single at a two-day concert held over the weekend under the title “2019 PINK COLLECTION: RED & WHITE” at the Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Seoul.

The six-piece act debuted in 2011 with the mini-album “Seven Springs of Apink” and has several hits including “LUV,” “NoNoNo” and “Mr. Chu.”