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| Members of K-pop girl group MAMAMOO pose during a press event at YES24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of RBW |
By Dong Sun-hwa
Over the past eight years, K-pop act MAMAMOO has actively carved out its presence in the music scene, putting out 11 EPs and numerous hits like "Decalcomanie" (2016) and "Egotistic" (2018). The vocally talented quartet has already pulled off a range of musical genres and concepts, but its members ― who dropped their 12th mini-album, "MIC ON," on Tuesday ― believe they still have so much more to show.
"We recently celebrated the eighth anniversary of our debut, but all of us think we still have a lot more music and performances that we can display as a group," leader Solar said during a press event held at YES24 Live Hall in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, Tuesday. "We all have a desire to keep revealing our unexplored aspects."
Wheein elaborated, "We are all on the same page. We always try to take on a new challenge, knowing how rewarding it is. This time, for 'MIC ON,' we attempted to include the tracks highlighting our brightness and bubbliness because our fans seem to love seeing these sides of us."
Leading the EP is "1LLELLA," a groovy song incorporating the elements of reggae music, in which MAMAMOO members sing about the thrill they feel on a starry night. "1LLELLA" can be translated into "smash" or "get up" in Korean.
"It is an addictive tune that can lift people's mood," Moonbyul explained.
"1LLELLA" has already found success on multiple music streaming charts at home and abroad. On Korean platform Bugs, "1LLELLA" has retained the No. 1 spot on its real-time chart as of Wednesday morning.
"MIC ON" also offers "1, 2, 3 Eoi!" and "L.I.E.C." Solar and Moonbyul took part in writing the lyrics of "1, 2, 3 Eoi!"
"We always chant '1, 2, 3 Eoi!' before starting our performance on stage," Hwasa said. "The song also includes some playful lyrics that only our fans would be able to understand, so they would find it quite interesting."
"L.I.E.C" is a funky nu-disco pop track with a classic '70s disco sound, which imparts a message of encouragement through its lyrics.
"It may sound pretty familiar to a lot of people, as it has the sound similar to that of MAMAMOO's 2015 release, 'Um Oh Ah Yeh,'" Moonbyul said.
According to MAMAMOO, its fresh EP ― which came out about one year after the release of its 11th mini-album, "I SAY MAMAMOO : THE BEST" ― is made up of tracks that best show who they are.
"It is a bit embarrassing to say this, but I think MAMAMOO has its own genre," Solar said. "It is hard to describe what kind of music we have been doing, but I believe we have done something of our own by exhibiting our different charms such as bubbliness, seriousness and powerfulness."
Although all four members are busy pursuing solo careers, they will not put a hold on their group activities. Instead, they will soon kick off their first-ever world tour.
"We were initially planning to have a world tour in 2019 after rolling out our third full-length album, 'Reality in BLACK,' but could not do so due to the COVID-19 pandemic," Hwasa revealed.
Solar added, "But we are soon going to embark on our first world tour. Maybe we will have something to show for the upcoming Halloween, too."
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