Following a successful run on Queendom, the LOONA girls (sans member Chuu) have been making their way across the United States on their first-ever international tour. LOONA celebrated their fifth anniversary on August 20 and attended KCON in LA just this last weekend. To celebrate this milestone, let’s look back at the iconic LOONA sub-unit debuts that started it all.

“Love&Live” - LOONA ⅓

In March of 2017,  LOONA ⅓ made their official debut as the first of three sub-units meant to reveal each “girl of the month” expected to be a part of the forthcoming 12-member girl group. This unit features the first cohort of members: Heejin, Hyunjin, Haesul, and Vivi. Although listed as an official member of ⅓, member Yeojin does not appear in the lineup. The mini-album, Love & Live, features five tracks, including the lead single of the same name. 

Of the three units, LOONA ⅓ represents the innocence of first love, with soft and elegant sensibilities to their sound. “Love&Live” expresses the nerves of a young person experiencing their first crush, and the accompanying music video is full of wholesome shots of the girls dancing on school grounds and participating in team sports. The track highlights the girls' fresh and refined vocals, each high note resonating with the consistent synths throughout. 

Despite Vivi’s iconic role as an android in this video, “Love&Live” remains one of the more normal entries in LOONA’s collection, as ⅓ is meant to depict the most practical and earthly of their concepts. 

“Girl Front” - LOONA/ODD EYE CIRCLE

LOONA/ODD EYE CIRCLE, featuring members Kim Lip, Jinsoul, and Choerry, were the next unit to be revealed in the project with their iconic title, “Girl Front.” While staying true to the eccentric LOONA sound, ODD EYE CIRCLE’s track raises the tempo from a slow-paced, hesitant affection to girls ready to run head-first into love. The track fits nicely alongside the singles previously released for each respective member, “Eclipse,” “Singing in the Rain,” and “Love Cherry Motion.”

Dressed in sneakers and cut-off shorts, the three race through the desert and the streets of Los Angeles, searching for the object of their attraction. The bright and upbeat atmosphere of the video distracts from LOONA’s underlying concepts, while also inserting random mysterious clips that allude to the girls being not of this earth. 

“love4eva (feat. Grimes)” - LOONA/yyxy

The final LOONA sub-unit to close the “girl of the month” saga came in the form of creepy-cute 

LOONA/yyxy and title track, “love4eva (feat. Grimes).” The track was produced by well-known dance and electronic artist Grimes, who even provided the unforgettable opening lyrics, “Hello! Finally introducing, LOONA!” 

Grimes ties together LOONA’s specific sound with their own personal style, especially in the borderline industrial-noise breakdown for the dance break.

As if descending down a steep incline, yyxy turns the previous sub-unit concepts on their heads. They reflect less on romantic love and attraction than their predecessors, and more on the internal tribulations of youth. Rather than seeking out the object of their affections, the girls of yyxy must first learn to love themselves.    

The music video for “love4eva (feat. Grimes)” depicts members Yves, Chuu, Gowon, and Olivia Hye on their journey to enter a new dimension. Olivia Hye, the “antagonist” of the video, ultimately ends up sabotaging these plans out of anger, if the haunting final scene of her standing in the darkened practice room alone is enough to go by. 

Edited by Omani