Diving into the Debut of GPP, SM Entertainment’s First Japanese Girl Group

GPP, the first girl group under SM ENTERTAINMENT JAPAN, released their debut single album Bring it Back on January 14. After decades of success with SM Entertainment’s K-Pop artists promoting in Japan, this debut represents the company’s latest move in music market localization. Rinka, Honoka, Anami, Momoka, Mika, Mia, Sara, and Luna look to break barriers, and Bring it Back comes with the strength to match that goal in mind. Its three tracks deliver the group’s dream to reach unprecedented heights.

“Bring it Back”

One glance at the “Bring it Back” concept photos already shows the group’s fierce look. As the letter “G” in their name stands for Genkai toppa (限界突破), or “breaking through limits,” it’s clear they’re here to make some waves. The group released “Bring it Back” on December 15, and held their debut showcase the same day. “Bring it Back” tells of pushing past pain to achieve greater heights like taunting opponents for a second round of a fight. The pounding EDM, dubstep, hip-hop and DnB instrumental maintains lots of energy until the very end.*

Unfortunately, the music video makes it hard to get a full look at the group and their performance. While GPP surely put in large amounts of effort into the choreography, overuse of quick in-and-out zooms make the experience feel nauseating at times. The official performance video comes without this issue, but it feels like a misstep for the music video (which most people will watch first) to come out like that. The music video does not capture any significant connection to the group other than a brief shot of a paper airplane, which represents the “paper plane” portion of their name.

“Buzz Down” and “Motivation”

The dubstep influence seen in “Bring it Back” makes itself more prevalent in “Buzz Down.” The song brings a similarly powerful punch as the title track. “Motivation,” on the other hand, goes in a completely contrasting direction. With lyrics co-written by Honoka, “Motivation” closes the single album with a less busy song.

GPP’s first single album gives a small but impressionable look at the concept they want to deliver. The group is busy with multiple events, including performances at SMTOWN’s Fukuoka concerts on January 31 and February 1. Check out their documentary, GPP Fly, which has been airing on BS Fuji since November, to learn more about them. Fans outside of Japan can also access episodes through GPP’s YouTube channel. The documentary includes personal interviews and a look at their training process, split between South Korea and Japan.