If you didn’t know the production team Black Eyed Pilseung by name, chances are that you’ve at least heard one of the many hit songs they’ve produced for other artists. To name a few, the duo is credited for producing Chungha’s “Gotta Go (벌써 12시),” SISTAR’s “Touch My Body,” TWICE’s “Fancy,” and more recent hits, Apink’s “Dumhdurum” and Refund Sisters’ “Don’t Touch Me.” 

In 2017, they formed High-Up Entertainment and now three years later, in 2020, they announced the debut of their first-ever girl group. Due to the reputation their producers have with the success of girl group songs in particular, STAYC has garnered much anticipation for their single album release.

Introducing STAYC (스테이씨)

STAYC is comprised of Sumin (leader, vocalist, rapper, & oldest), Sieun (main vocalist), Isa (lead vocalist), Seeun (vocalist), Yoon (lead vocalist), and J (vocalist, rapper, & maknae), making the final lineup a six-member group. 

Despite their young ages, which range from 2001 to 2004, some of the members—Sumin, Seeun, and Sieun—already have an impressive background in the industry. Sumin is a former Play M Entertainment trainee who appeared in Huh Gak‘s “The Last Night” music video and VICTON‘s reality show, Me & 7 Men. Seeun is a former Plan A Entertainment trainee who was a pre-debut member of Play M Girls (now known as Weeekly)—she was also a child actress. 

Sieun probably has the most extensive background and many fans originally came to know of STAYC because they knew Sieun from her roles in K-Dramas. Formerly a JYP Entertainment trainee and actress, Sieun has acted in many dramas such as Mystic Pop-up Bar, Just Between Lovers, Still 17 (which she won “Best Young Actress” for in 2018), and she even had a role in the movie Today’s Love. Aside from dramas, she has appeared on many TV shows: Happy Together, Law of the Jungle K, Kids Are Life’s Blessing, and King of Masked Singer, to name a few. It’s also worth mentioning that working in the entertainment industry runs in the family as she is the daughter of veteran Korean singer and former actor Park Namjung. 

Star To A Young Culture

The groups’ debut album, Star To A Young Culture, is a two-track single with “So Bad” serving as the title track and “Like This” as its B-side. As previously mentioned, both tracks are produced by Black Eyed Pilseung. 

“So Bad” follows the current retro trend in K-Pop with the electronic elements and synth arpeggios, but it still manages to stand out because of the hip-hop beat that comes in during the chorus—a nice touch. The song doesn’t immediately start with vocals, instead it begins with Sumin rapping and that’s refreshing to hear. J’s raps are also refreshing to hear for the same reason—both of their tones bring balance to the song in contrast to the song especially since the vocals are mostly in a high register. For a debut, it’s a catchy song that’s easy to jam to and the talent they manage to showcase in the track is very impressive, but the production . . . could have been better if you compare it to other songs the duo has produced. 

“Like This” is reminiscent of old pop songs you would hear on the radio—it’s a completely predictable synth beat with booming bass beats thrown in on beat drops and during the raps. The vocal effects take away from the raw talent and it’s a little distracting at times because they really didn’t need them at all. The melody is repetitive and a little boring to listen to after the first or second time, but the vocals are once again amazing. Isa has a very unique vocal tone that’s easy on the ears and the combination of back-and-forth rapping from Sumin and J is smooth and enjoyable. Sieun, Seeun, and Yoon are all very good vocalists with different tones as well—they just work so well together for a group sound and the line distribution was perfect for their individual ranges. The amount of talent they have for their age is wild. They really managed to showcase amazing vocal, dance, and rap abilities from the get-go and it’ll definitely be interesting to see what they come out with next. 

Check out STAYC’s debut song below!