Girl Group Gab: New EP From Weeekly
As a consumer of K-Pop my taste tends to fall in to two categories: BTS and girl groups. And the girl groups I gravitate toward are typically a) not from one of the Big 3 companies (YG, SM, and JYP) and b) come from the “fourth generation” of idol groups (typically defined as groups who debuted in 2018 or later). Weeekly, a six-member ensemble from IST Entertainment who debuted in 2020, fits this description exactly.
I first came to know the group from their charming and musically adept covers of IU’s “Strawberry Moon” and EXID’s “Call,” but their original material has been a bit hit-or-miss for me. Perhaps because the members were all quite young when the debuted (between ages 15 and 18), the label gave them an energetic “schoolgirl” concept in both stage performances and music. “Zig Zag,” the lead single from their second EP We Can, is the best execution of that concept, with its zippy distorted guitars and buoyant shouted refrain. A third EP in this vein, We Play, was led by “After School,” a bubblegum pop anthem about skateboarding with friends.
2022 was a difficult transitional year for Weeekly, it seems. One member, Jiyoon, started experiencing health difficulties and had to leave the industry. Unfortunately this isn’t unusual among girl groups; of the 38 still-active female K-Pop groups who debuted between 2018 and 2022, 50% have lost at least one member. Of that 50%, health concerns and “personal reasons” account for more than half of the departures. This is speculation on my part, but I would not be surprised if many of these young women find it impossible to be both as slim as is expected of idols and have the athletic stamina to sing and dance at such a high level. Idols like Jiyoon, with naturally round faces, may face even more pressure to lose “puppy fat,” and while this certainly also affects male idols — I think of the “fans” who called BTS’s Suga, historically the lightest member of the group, “fat” in 2021 after he started to gain muscle — it is more aesthetically acceptable for men to have muscular legs, for example. Women, on the other hand, face pressure to have girlishly delicate limbs, so-called “Girls Generation legs.”
Though only credited on a handful of b-side tracks, Jiyoon was the only songwriter in the group and frequently created vocal arrangements for their covers and live performances. She officially left shortly after the release of their 3-track single album Play Game: Awake, which saw the group try out a darker, more mature image. Its title track, “Ven Para,” is perhaps Weeekly’s weakest single, and following its lukewarm reception and Jiyoon’s departure, the group was relatively inactive from March of 2022 to October 2023. During this time, four members competed on survival show Queendom Puzzle in late summer 2023, while the remaining two appeared on virtual reality competition GIRL’S RE:VERSE in the spring.
They seemed to return to their youthful roots with their single “Good Day” in September 2023, but their October 2023 EP ColoRise sees them taking on a subtly different image that both retains continuity with their previous output and plays to their strengths — namely, their strong voices and musicianship. The title track, “Vroom Vroom,” is a gloriously funky mid-tempo earworm that sounds more like 1970s rock than K-Pop. It also sits in the lower end of most of the group’s vocal range, a real rarity in the genre, but one that makes live singing much more feasible. That’s not to say that the singing isn’t technically impressive; all six members are given material that allows them to shine. Even rapper Zoa’s breathier, less technically refined vocals are used to maximum effect in the opening lines, setting just the right mood to kick off slow build to the first chorus.
“Vroom Vroom” deserves a spot on any pop playlist, but what makes ColoRise exceptional are the equally excellent b-sides. “Odyssey” is a perfectly-calibrated introductory track, where the group sings that their “new stage unfolds/take a deep breath, there we go/turn the first page” accompanied by sweetly bubbling synths. After the drive-tempo “Vroom Vroom,” the EP settles into Weeekly’s strongest song to-date, the haunting “Backwards.” It’s a gorgeous track that finds lead vocalist Jihan whisper-singing over an unexpectedly visceral house bass in the stark chorus. Vocoder effects only add atmosphere and don’t obscure Weeekly’s skilled vocals in the slightest. If you listen to only one track from this EP, make it this one.
The remaining three songs on the EP are strong but not outstanding — “Sweet Dream” veers a little Blackpink noise pop for my taste, and “A+” sounds like a leftover from the group’s schoolgirl phase — but “Ruby-Duby-Du” is a satisfying ending to a no-skip mini album. If they keep following this track — and keep nurturing their musicianship and vocal chops — I’m hoping Weeekly will have as long and bright a future as their “older sister” labelmates Apink.
