Sunmi Makes a Weird and Wonderful Comeback with New Single “BLUE!”

Photo: Sunmi Official X

"What would you do if your boyfriend became a cockroach?" asks Sunmi in the opening sequence of the music video to her latest single, "BLUE!." For some, this might be a strange music video concept but for Sunmi (and those of us familiar with her music) this is the latest in weird and wonderful ideas that have been brought to life through her work, with their being no bounds to Sunmi’s creative mind. 

With hit singles like "Gashina," "Noir," "pporappippam," "LALALAY," Sunmi has always had striking concepts and distinctive sounds when it came to her songs and their music videos. Released on August 26, Sunmi’s latest single "BLUE!" continues this pattern, taking elements from different rock genres to create a romantic and melodic indie-rock song that shares a meaningful concept and affectionate lyrics towards a significant other, accompanied by a music video that depicts Sunmi's boyfriend as a cockroach. Not in an insulting sense of the word but a cockroach whom Sunmi adores and wants to "love like there's no tomorrow,"* with her love interest dressed up in the insect costume for the entirety of the video, while Sunmi sports a rockstar glow, reunited with a bass guitar and flaunting a new and fierce, short, blonde hair cut.

Whilst an eccentric music video concept, both the video and the song offer feelings of warmth and comfort with Sunmi’s dulcet vocals and breathy tones beautifully guiding the track into a softer yet darker mood, with a similar audio vibe to her 2024 single, "Balloon in Love." In “BLUE!,” Sunmi sings from a place of unconditional love with lyrics such as “With you here by my side / You're my sky, shining light of my life” and “I'll spend my blue days with you / Until the end, can you hold my hand?” as the visuals show Sunmi and her boyfriend all loved up and engaged in normal everyday couples activities, despite him being a cockroach, of course. The song and the video perfectly compliment one another with them being soft and gentle to the eyes and ears, complete with an intriguing storyline and Sunmi's beautiful voice.

With a new album rumoured to be on the way, "BLUE!" marks the start of a new comeback era for Sunmi; one that I am excited for, with high expectations for more quirky and endearing concepts and music to follow. 

*lyrics from Genius and music video captions

Edited by Bryn Claybourne