After Mnet, a South Korean television music channel, faced numerous scandals regarding them rigging the end results of their competitive reality show, many Korean and international fans of K-pop were hesitant about their newest competitive reality show— Girls Planet 999.
Why is Girls Planet 999 special?
Girls Planet 999 brought something new to the table. Previous competition series by Mnet featured only Korean artists (with an exception of their series Produce 48 that featured promising Japanese idols and trainees). This time, Chinese idols-in-training were invited to participate.
At the end of the show, the name of their group was announced: Kep1er, a nod to the planet concept the show had kept throughout the episodes. Ultimately, 9 contestants debuted— leader Choi Yujin, Sakamoto Mashiro, Shen Xiaoting, Kim Chaehyun, Kim Dayeon, Ezaki Hikaru, Huening Bahiyyih, Seo Youngeun, and Kang Yeseo.
Finally Debuting
After having their first release pushed back until January 3, 2022, due to COVID, the group released their first mini album, First Impact.
The mini album includes 3 new songs: their promotional song, “WA DA DA”, “See The Light”, and “MVSK”. The other songs in this mini album are rerecordings of songs made for the reality show: “Shine”, “Another Dream”, and “O.O.O” (Over&Over&Over).
The Songs of Kep1er
“WA DA DA” allows for the girls to show a new side of themselves to the public— both as performers, and as a concept. The song is sassy and hard-hitting for most of the song, but then switched to a more cutesy sound in the second half of the chorus. Ultimately, this second half feels like a disruption to the tone that the rest of the song has set.
Even with this less than stellar approach to a chorus, the song is catchy and the dance is memorable. It does what all K-pop debuts should do: set a tone for what to expect from the group. It is obvious that the group excels in dance, and can showcase both cute and sassy concepts.
“See The Light” showcases the members vocals, paired with a techno production that pairs well with the ad libs and high notes. It is a fairly short song— just under 2 minutes— but it gives the mini-album an interesting touch with a lighter approach to their mix of girl-crush and cute.
“MVSK” is subjectively the most addicting track in Kep1er’s debut. The blend of all the members’ voices feels professional, even though this is the group’s first release. The song features a pause from all instrumentals at one point, making the song stand out from other songs one would expect in a debut.
The performances accompanying this song show off just how well the song suits all the members— even those who have stuck to cuter concepts. As the group continues to release new music, it’s in their best interest to continue along the path they’ve set with “MVSK” or show off their cuter side, which all the members excel at doing.
Kep1er’s debut ultimately did not live up to the past expectations that other Mnet groups have set in their debuts. Nonetheless, this mini album has showcased the aspects of Kep1er that fans fell in love with. There is only one way to go from here for Kep1er: up.
