Turbo and 280 km/h Speed
On September 6, 1995, one of the greatest Korean dance groups debuted with the album 280 km/h Speed. Turbo, composed of original members Kim Jungnam and Kim Jongkook, rose to popularity rapidly, becoming Korea’s premier K-Dance group and one of the founding groups of the first generation of K-Pop. Their first track was “나 어릴적 꿈 (My Childhood Dream),” and they followed that with “검은 고양이 네로 (Black Cat Nero).” Unfortunately, the official music video uploads for these tracks are not on YouTube; however, you can find unofficial uploads for both, and yes, they are as campy and ‘90s as you’re imagining.
Turbo performed on music shows to promote 280 km/h Speed, performing “나 어릴적 꿈 (My Childhood Dream),” “검은 고양이 네로 (Black Cat Nero),” and “선택 (Choice).” Member Jungnam was in charge of choreographing their early hits, with Jongkook focusing on vocals and being the face of the group. One of the highlights of the early music show days is the emphasis on the actual performance rather than intricate stage designs. Yes, there are plenty of cheesy stage lights, but they don’t take away or distract from the performance. Perhaps the only distracting thing about early ‘90s Turbo would be the pants.
While Gaon didn’t exist in the 1990s, both of the title tracks would chart 20 years later. As mentioned in the Artist Highlight for their 2015 track “AGAIN(다시),” both “나 어릴적 꿈 (My Childhood Dream)” and “검은 고양이 네로 (Black Cat Nero)” appeared on the Gaon Weekly Digital Chart, debuting at No. 15 and No. 94 respectively. Unfortunately, “검은 고양이 네로 (Black Cat Nero)” dropped from the chart after that first week, but “나 어릴적 꿈 (My Childhood Dream)” stayed on the chart for six weeks, the longest of the tracks featured on Reboot: The Best.
While “나 어릴적 꿈 (My Childhood Dream)” seems to be the fan-favorite track, it’s not their most covered track (though B.O.Y did cover it on Immortal Songs 2) — that honor belongs to “검은 고양이 네로 (Black Cat Nero),” which has been covered by GFRIEND, TWICE, and, most famously, by fourth generation boy group ATEEZ, who performed the song on Immortal Songs 2 for their first win on the program and then later for their 2020 special Halloween video. They even released an album version of the track, along with a cover of “White Love” and “바다 보러 갈래?,” their collaboration track with Jongkook.