South Korean pop group, Loossemble, have been steadily climbing up the charts with their hit song TTYL.
Made up of former Loona members HyunJin, YeoJin, ViVi, GoWon, and HyeJu, the quintet has just released their third mini-album, TTYL, and are currently going on their second U.S. tour, with the third stop being in Boston, on October 11th.
The name ‘LOOSSEMBLE’ is a portmanteau of ‘LOONA’ and ‘Assemble,’ in hopes that one day all twelve members of Loona will be able to ‘assemble’ once again.
But wait, who is Loona?
History:
Loona made their debut on August 20th, 2018, with the song, “Hi High”. They were together for about four years, releasing 2 albums, a bunch of EPs and a handful of singles.
Everything was looking up for Loona until out of nowhere, on November 25, 2022 Loona were hit with a world shaking announcement; member Chuu had been removed from the group by Loona’s management agency, due to accusations of being abusive towards staff.
This was quickly proven to be a lie with absolutely no substance.
Soon after, the other 11 members of Loona sued their agency to terminate their contracts. During the court case, the Loona members revealed to the courts the years of mental and physical abuse, not being paid, and lies that the Loona members endured.
Some members won their cases sooner than others but finally, on June 20, 2023, all members announced that they had won their court case and were free from BlockBerry creative. Due to the legal fees and compensation, BlockBerry Creative had to pay the Loona members, the agency quickly went bankrupt.
Fans were eager to see how Loona would continue, would they reunite as 12 under a new company? Would they just disband?
By August 2023 there was a definitive answer. Chuu and Yves would become solo singers, and two new groups would be formed, ARTMS and Loossemble.
Solo Songs:
While in Loona, each member had been given a solo song to coincide with their joining the group (more info on the Loossemble members’ solo songs in Member Profiles). Each solo was meticulously selected to show off the charms and talents of each member.
But enough about Loona, now onto Loossemble.
Discography:
Debut album: Loossemble
Loossemble made their debut with their self-titled album, Loossemble.
The title track, “Sensitive,” is a fun pop song about not conforming to societal standards and being yourself. The song got very mixed reviews among Loossemble fans, but many still defended it just because it was Loossemble’s debut song.
Unsurprisingly, Loossemble wanted to reference Loona, and their fans adding, the line “환히 날 이끈 orbit” (the orbit that led me brightly).
This line is a ‘thank you’ to fans of Loona, called Orbit, for allowing Loossemble to get to where they are today.
“Colouring” is the next song in the album, an alternative R&B song that delves into how frustrating it can be to pursue a romantic relationship with someone who can’t be direct with their feelings. “Colouring” was a fan favorite for its calm and relaxed vibe and lyrics that many found relatable.
“Newtopia” is another song that fans loved. “Newtopia” is a hyperpop-inspired song with lyrics about overcoming challenges in life and building something new despite any difficulties.
Many fans found this song funny as it is very clearly supposed to be shade at Loossemble’s former agency, BlockBerry Creative.
This song also makes reference to Loona’s Christmas song, “The Carol,” which many found a little strange as this album was released in September.
First comeback album: One Of A Kind
Loossemble released their second album, One Of A Kind, on April 15th, 2024. The album consists of 8 songs and is only 23 minutes long.
The moment the album was released fans ran to Twitter/X to promote Loosemble and have new non-fans listen to their title track Girls’ Night.
“Loossemble is a South Korean girl group formed by CTDENM. The group consists of five members: Hyunjin, Yeojin, Vivi, Gowon, and Hyeju. They made their first comeback with the song “Girls’ Night” on April 15th.” – @v4ldens on Twitter/X.
Fans replied to Tweets from everything from other K-Pop groups to stories about former president Donald Trump with this same speech, attached with a clip of Girls’ Night’s final chorus.
One Of A Kind’s title track, Girls’ Night was extremely popular among fans, quickly passing Sensitive in streams on Spotify. Girls’ Night is a super fun pop song with a punchy bass and flow. The song became so popular that the official Strawberry Shortcake TikTok account posted about Loossemble.
Following is Moonlight, a complete mood shift from Girls’ Night. Moonlight is another alternative R&B song somewhat similar to Colouring off of Loossemble’s debut album. The chorus has a very interesting vocal effect, distorting the members’ vocals that help to differentiate Moonlight from the rest of Loossemble’s discography.
The last up is “Truman Show.” Inspired by the super-popular movie of the same name, Truman Show tells the story of a relationship between two people who are falling out of love. The simple melodies and angelic bridge keep the listener in a trance, perfectly replicating the vibe of the original film.
First EP: TTYL
After the success of One Of A Kind and “Girls’ Night” Loossemble quickly came back with a new EP just a few months later.
Loossemble’s first EP and third release titled TTYL consists of 6 songs and is the group’s most successful and highest-rated album so far.
The album’s title track of the same is a hyperpop anthem with a catchy chorus and a fun bouncy instrumental. The contrast of the rough vocal chops throughout the song with the steady and flowy instrumentation allows for a really interesting sound not experimented with in K-Pop.
With fun and ridiculous lyrics like “You baddie, rizz me tonight” and “Maybe I will be your fangirl” the song quickly became a fan favorite.
TTYL is a song that tells the story of a person who wants their crush to pursue a relationship.
The song has been rising the charts in South Korea, reaching #15 on South Korea’s Circle Album Chart, selling 32,705 copies in just two weeks. Up against K-Pop giants like Aespa and Key, this is no small feat.
Another fan favorite from TTYL is Hocus Pocus, a super fun and upbeat new-age jazz-inspired track that tells the story of a relationship that didn’t last a very long time.
Instead of the pessimistic sad song most artists would make, Loossemble tells the other perspective, even if a relationship is short, it can still be enjoyable and the memories will persist even if the relationship doesn’t.
HyunJin is Loossemble’s leader and main vocalist; she was also the second member of Loona to debut. HyunJin made her solo debut with the song “Around You.”. “Around You” is a vocal heavy ballad with sad lyrics. The song tells the story of a person who starts crushing on someone who doesn’t like them back. Her impressive vocal tone and powerful delivery are well shown in the songs “Colouring” and “Sensitive.”
Fun fact: HyunJin said that if she wasn’t in a K-Pop group she would be a robber.
YeoJin was the third member of Loona to debut; her solo song is called “Kiss Later,” a somewhat ridiculous yet educational pop song about making sure consent is given before a kiss is initiated. In Loossemble, YeoJin is the group’s performance center. YeoJin is also the youngest member of Loossemble and Loona as a whole.
Fun fact: YeoJin was supposed to be in Loona’s first subunit, Loona ⅓, instead of ViVi, but YeoJin was only 14 and failing middle school so her parents didn’t allow her to continue with Loona until her grades were better.
ViVi is Loossemble’s (and Loona’s) only non-Korean member. ViVi is from Hong Kong and moved to South Korea around 2016 to join Loona. Before joining Loona, ViVi worked as a model all over mainland China and Hong Kong. ViVi debuted as the fifth member of Loona with the song “Everyday I Love You (Feat HaSeul),” a fun, upbeat, yet somewhat sad pop song about being too scared to admit to your crush that you like them. In Loossemble, ViVi is the group’s visual center and lead dancer.
(Not so) fun fact: ViVi was promised by Loona’s agency that they would pay for ViVi’s Korean lessons. This however was a lie; ViVi was taught Korean by Loona’s leader, HaSeul. The two communicated using English, despite neither of them being completely fluent.
GoWon is Loona’s eleventh member and her solo song was titled One & Only, a fun pop/rap song that perfectly shows off GoWon’s doll-like looks and “crunchy” voice (as referred to in the music video description of Loona’s song, love4eva). GoWon is Loossemble’s main rapper, proving her skills in Loossemble’s cover of f(x)’s song “Rum Pum Pum Pum” and her solo song “One & Only.”
Fun fact: GoWon was a huge fan of Loona before joining the group. She auditioned at Loona’s agency just for fun and was shocked when she was accepted as a trainee, and then even more shocked when she was told she would be Loona’s 11th member.
Credit: @Loossemble_twt on X/Twitter – Photo posted April 11th, 2024
Last but certainly not least, HyeJu is Loona’s twelfth and final member. HyeJu’s original stage name was Olivia Hye but she absolutely despised that name so once she joined Loossemble she made the decision to change her stage name to HyeJu. HyeJu is Loossemble’s main dancer but she is still an exceptional vocalist, singing the high note in TTYL. HyeJu’s solo track is called “Egoist (Feat JinSoul),” a powerful EDM song with choreography that shows off HyeJu’s breathtaking dance abilities.
Fun fact: HyeJu only trained for one day before she started filming for her solo debut. Most K-pop idols train for two to four years. She currently holds the record for the least amount of time as a trainee.
