AFTER SCHOOL Forms a Drumline for “BANG!”

Inspired by the 2002 movie Drumline, AFTER SCHOOL brought show-style marching bands to the K-Pop world with their single “BANG!”

Throughout their career, AFTER SCHOOL was a girl group that was always evolving and bringing a fresh, sometimes risqué, new concept. After showing a vulnerable side of themselves with “Because of You,” the eight members came back with the glamorous and showstopping “BANG!” on March 25, 2010. The single marked a lot of firsts for the group at the time, including the debut of their newest member Lizzy and a team-up with music producer Kim Taehyun, who’d also worked with artists like U-KISS and Lee Hyori. 

Production for “BANG!” were underway as early as September 2009, before the group had even started working on the November release of “Because of You.” The song’s marching band theme was the brainchild of AFTER SCHOOL’s leader Kahi, who said she’d waited four years to bring the idea to life. She spearheaded scouting for drumming teachers across South Korea, meeting with local high school drumlines and professional marching bands. The members took drumming lessons three times a week on top of practicing in the car, dorms, and recording studio to the point of bruising their hands.

The director of Pledis Entertainment at the time decided to delay the release of “BANG!,” but AFTER SCHOOL continued practicing while preparing and promoting “Because of You.” As the release date for “BANG!” got closer, the members went to a four day training camp to perfect the choreography and spent two sleepless days recording the music video. Despite their hard work, the video has since been taken down from the official 1theK and Pledis Entertainment YouTube accounts and has only been re-uploaded by fanbases. 

The music video for “BANG!” is simple but flashy, matching the confident lyrics of the song that boasts of the girls’ versatility and mastery of the crowd when they perform. In the video uploaded by the fanbase AfterSchoolCraze, the eight members flaunt their model figures in sparkling majorette outfits, accentuating their curves in shorts and mini skirts. They strut down a red runway and deliver sharp choreography that incorporates moves from step dancing and cheerleading. During the song’s bridge, the music video slows down to show a more girlish side of the members, who are all dressed in white and sitting in a field. 

AFTER SCHOOL made a powerful live comeback on Music Bank the day after “BANG!” was released. They showed the fruits of their labor by opening with “Let’s Do It,” a minute-and-half-long drumline performance in perfect sync, which they’d practiced for more than five months. The members then transitioned into “BANG!” and turned the stage into a college pep rally. They catered to screaming fans while dressed in blue majorette uniforms and surrounded by drapery with the “AS” emblem and life-sized nutcrackers. AFTER SCHOOL performed “BANG!” only once before weekly music shows went on pause to respect victims of the Cheonan Navy warship sinking. Unfortunately, like the music video, the first comeback performance isn’t available from the KBS World account, but MBC uploaded a remastered version of the group’s comeback on the Music Core stage.

AFTER SCHOOL topped the MelOn Weekly Charts with their single and hit No. 2 across other Korean music sites like Soribada, Mnet, Bugs, and the Gaon Weekly Singles Chart. Despite the amount of work poured into producing “BANG!” and the song doing well among the public, AFTER SCHOOL was never awarded for the single. Regardless, the song remains legendary among K-Pop fans and other idols, with recent Pledis Entertainment groups like SEVENTEEN and Weki Meki doing covers.

Five members of AFTER SCHOOL reunited in June 2021 to treat fans to a special performance of “BANG!” on the MMTG YouTube series K-Pop Songs that Deserve Another Comeback. JungAh was pregnant during the filming while Kahi and Bekah had to fly from abroad and quarantine just to join the show. The video quickly racked up more than six million views on YouTube, but more than that, it was an emotional moment for the members who performed together for the first time in six years. 

Edited by Aleena Faisal