'We don't want to tarnish GFriend's reputation': VIVIZ

From left, SinB, Eunha and Umji of K-pop trio VIVIZ pose during an online press event, Wednesday. Courtesy of Big Planet Made (BPM)

By Dong Sun-hwa

Six years was not long enough for members of K-pop act GFriend to fully display what they have, whether it was their musical talent or personal magnetism. Thus, the three members ― SinB, Eunha and Umji ― decided to reform as a trio named VIVIZ, after GFriend's contract with its management company Source Music terminated last year. And VIVIZ ― a short form of “VIVId dayZ” ― made its much-anticipated debut Wednesday, dropping its first EP, “Prism Beam.”

“As we did not want to tarnish GFriend's reputation, we poured a lot of effort into making VIVIZ's new EP,” Umji said during an online press conference that took place a few hours before the release of “Prism Beam.” “Other GFriend members cheered us on, saying they have no worries about us. Although three of us have been part of GFfriend for many years since its debut in 2015, we still have a lot of new things to showcase. Through 'Prism Beam,' we will exhibit our different colors and charms.”

The new EP is fronted by the lead single, “BOP BOP!” a hybrid pop dance track fusing Latin and disco rhythms. It also offers six more tunes including, “Fiesta,” “Tweet Tweet” and “Lemonade.”

Asked how VIVIZ's music is distinctive from that of GFriend, Eunha said it is more “bouncy.”

“GFriend's songs were mostly sentimental and they often struck a chord with people,” she said. “But VIVIZ's music will allow people to shake their body to the rhythm as it is more bubbly and bouncy.”

VIVIZ's new musical journey got off to a smooth start, with its new songs going strong on major music charts in Korea. Upon its release, “BOP BOP!” reigned atop Bug's real-time chart and nabbed the top spots on other platforms such as Melon and Genie.

“This was our first time to perform as a trio, so in the beginning, we spent much time thinking about which direction to go in,” SinB said. “We could not decide on our lead track for a while, but after listening to 'BOP BOP!' we immediately knew that it was the very song we had been waiting for.”

She added, “Since we were about to make our 'second debut,' we were quite pressured. Nevertheless, we tried to get this over with our passion.”

GFriend, comprised of Sowon, Yerin, Eunha, Yuju, SinB and Umji, burst onto the K-pop scene with the EP, "Season of Glass” and rolled out a series of hits including, "Me gustas tu (2015)" and "Apple" (2020). After ending their contracts with their agency Source Music ― which was acquired by K-pop titan BTS's record label HYBE in 2019 ― SinB, Eunha and Umji joined Big Planet Made (BPM), a new management company representing Soyou of now-disbanded K-pop girl group Sistar, among others. Yuju inked a contract with Konnect Entertainment, an agency established by K-pop star Kang Daniel, while Sowon and Yerin began pursuing acting careers.

“Since it is rare for singers to make a second debut, we want to set a good precedent,” Eunha said.