Sunny Hill Opens a “Midnight Circus”
Experimental co-ed group Sunny Hill invited fans to see a new side of themselves in the mysterious “Midnight Circus.”
Sunny Hill made a bold return to the music scene after a two year hiatus with the single “Midnight Circus” on June 2, 2011. Kota and Misung were unveiled as two new members and helped embody Sunny Hill’s dark and edgy new concept. The trio turned quintet was primarily known for ballad songs since their debut in 2007, but during their two year break they honed their songwriting skills and self-composed, produced, and wrote their new album.
While simultaneously working on new music, Sunny Hill also made two label changes, which finally landed them at Kakao M (Loen Entertainment), a company that was home to chart-toppers Brown Eyed Girls and IU at the time. After joining the label, Sunny Hill teamed up with hit-making producers Lee Minsoo and Kim Eana for “Midnight Circus,” a team who’d previously worked on Brown Eyed Girls’ “Abracadabra” and IU’s “Good Day.” In the acid-jazz track, Sunny Hill also put their newly developed musical skills on display by playing some of the live instruments used in “Midnight Circus.”
Director Hwang Sooah tells the haunting story of “Midnight Circus” in a music video that opens on an elderly man playing the accordion and reveals Sunny Hill on circus grounds, tucked into the woods. Hwang became known for directing many of IU’s music videos, and lent his cinematography skills to Sunny Hill. In “Midnight Circus,” he illustrates the sadness and confinement of performers, hidden behind the “smoke and mirrors” of entertainment.
The four female singers, Kota, Misung, Bitna, and Jubi, turn into circus performers themselves, restrained and made to perform by puppet strings under someone’s control. Janghyun on the other hand is the ringleader, constantly whispering in their ear that “the show must go on.” In between cuts of Janghyun taunting the circus artists with fire and whips, the female members are joined on stage by dancers dressed like dolls and perform a puppet-like choreography. The video comes to an eerie end when Janghyun cuts the ropes holding up the performers and the entire circus comes crashing down.
Sunny Hill kicked off music show promotions by debuting the single on Music Bank on June 3, 2011. Unfortunately their first stage has been taken offline, but MBC uploaded a remastered version of their performance from Music Core! The members take the audience beyond the music show stage to their “Carnival Elysion,” a place that shares the name of a paradise in Greek mythology that housed spirits of the gods as well as the name of a Greek rock band. They perform on a set completely transformed into a circus alongside their doll-like dancers.
“Midnight Circus” debuted at No. 49 on the Gaon Digital Song Chart, but it jumped 38 spots and peaked at No. 11 the week after. The song stayed in Gaon’s top 20 for two more weeks while also growing in popularity among international fans. In an interview with Kuki News, the group said they could feel the change between the audience not knowing who they were to now recognizing them as Sunny Hill.
After gaining traction, Sunny Hill’s follow up singles like “Pray,” “The Grasshopper Song,” and "Is The White Horse Coming?" continued to chart even higher on the Gaon charts and began popping up on the Korean Billboard Hot 100. In later years, the group went through more member changes, with Janghyun stepping away to focus on producing as well as Misung and Jubi leaving and being replaced with two new members. These days, Sunny Hill consists of Bitna and Kota, who still treat fans to new music and occasionally perform old favorites.
Edited by Rashelle B.