In early February, KiiiKiii’s social accounts hit the ON button with the force of a thousand WTFs. They featured the work of South Korean and international artists who produced glittery fake nails, baked goods cut open to reveal colourful dyes spelling out the band’s name and a giant gemstone, micro-carving into pencils, a pink-haired mannequin wearing a cap bedazzled with “Not KiiiKiii”, jam jars full of crystals and sparkly goo and a label bearing the title UNCUT GEM, the name given to their debut EP. It was the eschewing of K-pop’s high gloss and cute pastel Y2K nostalgia for lo-fi, point n’ shoot chaos, a slam dunk run of unpredictable creative direction that swiftly went viral.
KiiiKiii – JIYU, SUI, KYA, LEESOL, and HAUM – are admittedly surprised by the reaction even as they loudly champion their favourite over a video call from Seoul: “The one where he shouted “I love KiiiKiii”,” says LEESOL, referencing longtime Instagram star Mohawk Bob, who sprays messages and designs on his gravity-defying hair. “That was the best video, I love it!”
Within a week of their socials going live, they dropped “I DO ME”, an effervescent sliver of rhythmic pop with its message of staying true to one’s self, and a wholesome cottagecore video shot against New Zealand’s cinematic vistas. Surfacing alongside it was one question – what happened to the glorious weirdness seemingly promised by all that pre-release art?
Enter their second release, “DEBUT SONG”. If weird was what you wanted, then weird was what you got. KiiiKiii shot its video in London, where, says the group’s leader, JIYU, much of the indoor footage was entirely unscripted. The track, meanwhile, chewed up the rule book, interpolating “Happy Birthday”, switching pace and genre on a whim, and utilising chiptune and a flute in ways most human brains aren’t meant to fully comprehend.
“Our goal is to make music that can’t be defined by one style or framework and instead makes listeners curious about what exactly KiiiKiii’s style is,” says SUI as her bandmates nod in agreement. LEESOL describes the group’s sound as “unique”. “It’s diverse,” adds JIYU.
Polished but restless and inquisitive, UNCUT GEM’s six tracks trace a course from crystalline hyperpop (“BTG”) to 80s new wave (“GROUNDWORK”), and into glitchy jazz (“THERE THEY GO”). No two tracks have been cut from the same cloth, and KiiiKiii’s members – who are aged between 14 and 19 – like it that way. “We just want to share with the world that our music is always free-spirited and happy,” says HAUM.
Here, we speak to KiiiKiii about what keeps them motivated, their journey to stardom, and their message to the fandom.
When you first heard the ‘DEBUT SONG’ demo, what were your thoughts?
LEESOL: It’s crazy.
JIYU: But in a positive way!
KYA: On the way home from practice one day, we received the audio file and we were so excited to listen to it. We were really surprised when we first listened to it, but we also thought that this was something that only KiiiKiii could try.
SUI: I thought ‘DEBUT SONG’ was so fun and fresh. It was cute to be congratulating ourselves on our own debut with the lyrics ‘Congrats on your debut’.
‘Free-spirited’ is a term frequently associated with the group: How do each of you interpret it as a foundational part of KiiiKiii?
JIYU: Free-spirited means just us. My real self. It could include lightness and darkness, bad points and good points. But all of those things [create] free-spirited moments.
HAUM: When I think of ‘free-spirited’, the first thought that comes to mind is the absence of a set framework. I’m not usually always free-spirited, so when I’m with our group I work hard to be more carefree and not fixed in what I do.
What was it like walking on to your first South Korean music show stage to perform your debut single ‘I DO ME’?
LEESOL: We decided to show our performance in the best condition, so [our approach was] let’s enjoy the stage and show what we practised.
HAUM: We were very nervous!
Were you always wanting to be performers or was there something else that initially interested you?
JIYU: I didn’t always dream of becoming a singer so sometimes the fact that I’ve debuted still feels like a dream to me. I started dreaming of becoming a singer when I was cast by Starship when I was 15. I think that it was a good decision to become a singer every time I get on stage or when I see that I’ve been a source of healing and strength for someone.
LEESOL: When I was a student, I watched performances of senior artists during my break time. I felt so much energy from that and dreamt of becoming an idol since then because I also wanted to become a source of strength and comfort to someone.
SUI: I watched a lot of concert videos when I was younger and felt certain that I wanted to become a singer too. I was determined to make my dream come true and after training, I was able to become part of KiiiKiii.
HAUM: I did ballet for a long time and naturally wanted to try out other styles of dance, too. As I learned more about dance and vocals, I dreamt of becoming a singer.
KYA: I dreamt of doing something that could make someone smile, feel comforted and feel more strength. I thought the best way to accomplish this was to be on stage and after trying and experiencing different things, I chose to do Korean dance and consistently performed. I eventually dreamt of becoming a singer after I went to a concert and saw how the artist has fun with the crowd and everyone enjoys the performance together.
On KiiiKiii’s website, there are letters to yourselves expressing relief over never giving up on your goals. At what point during training were you thinking, ‘This is so much harder than I thought, how do I do this?’
SUI: The most difficult part was always having to improve and win the battle with myself. I know that the things I learned through the training process became stepping stones for my growth, but I also felt pressure to show how much I improved at each evaluation.
HAUM: I think the hardest part about that period was having to see the friends I trained with have to leave and I would think to myself that I had to work even harder for them.
KYA: It was when I felt like my improvement was too slow. Sometimes I couldn’t see my own progress. Everyone has a plateau period where you can’t make huge progress every day, but for a trainee whose tomorrow feels uncertain, that was one of the hardest moments to go through.
When you hit obstacles like that, how do you stay motivated?
KYA: I think our members always said “What else can we do? We just have to do it!” whenever we went through tough times. We can’t run from the situation we’re given and we can’t choose to just not do it because it’s too hard so we all supported and encouraged each other.
Who gives the best advice?
LEESOL: Our JIYU. She’s a good leader of KiiiKiii!
What makes her a good leader?
LEESOL: KiiiKiii is a team that’s always cheerful and full of laughter but JIYU makes sure that we take practice seriously and she’s good at creating an atmosphere for us to focus. After practice, she shows her funny side and is a cute leader who makes the team’s mood very bright!
SUI: I think JIYU is a very detailed leader, she takes each member’s perspective into consideration and sets an example for all of us. We always see how thoughtful and considerate she is, so, in turn, we all become more considerate of each other.
On ‘한 개뿐인 (ONE OFF)’ you talk about growing, saying ‘We lose as much as we gain’; what is something you’ve developed through this training process?
LEESOL: Belief in ourselves.
JIYU: Even when I struggled when practicing and felt so down because I didn’t see any improvement, I believed that all the days of working hard would eventually become an important foundation for me. I’ve become a person who can persevere and overcome things even when there are no immediate results!
SUI: As a trainee, there’s times where things don’t happen the way you want them to. I think I’ve gained a mindset that always tries to stay positive and optimistic no matter what.
HAUM: I’m usually a person who always thinks a lot so I have a lot of worries about this and that. I realized that no matter what comes up, it’s important to just try it out first. I’m glad that I’ve become a person who never gives up easily.
KYA: Before I became a trainee, I didn’t really like my voice. I used to get teased and I felt upset that my voice wasn’t thinner, softer and high-pitched. I saw it as one of my flaws so I used to try to speak in a higher voice on purpose. However, once I started doing music, I realised that my voice is actually a big strength. I felt like this was my calling when I heard someone say that I was born with a vocal tone that no one else can create. Music gave me the ability to turn what I thought was a weakness into my strength.
There are a lot of references to jam [yes, the sugary, fruity stuff] in your concept photos and design – can you explain its connection to the group and the EP?
LEESOL: Jam has three meanings for us.
JIYU: Eating jam [laughs].
KYA: ‘Jam’ in Korean is like ‘fun’.
JIYU: It’s a shortened word for fun [재미 means fun, when shortened it’s 잼].
LEESOL: So when something’s not fun, we say 노잼 [no jam] and when something is fun we can say 유잼 [yu jam, “yu” in this case means it exists so “yu jam” = it is fun]. And it also sounds like “gem” [젬] in Korean, like the name of our EP, UNCUT GEM.
Music gave me the ability to turn what I thought was a weakness into my strength
If you were gems, which would you be?
KYA: My name means ‘diamond of sky’, so maybe I would be a diamond.
LEESOL: If our start is as uncut gems then as our journey passes and our skills get better, then I’d like to become a diamond, too.
HAUM: I’d want to be an emerald because green is my favorite colour.
How would you describe the group’s internal dynamic?
KYA: We’re friends.
LEESOL: We’re mates, like classmates. We have the best vibes.
What’s dorm life like for KiiiKiii?
HAUM: Neat but not [laughs].
LEESOL: Loud.
SUI: When we’re done for the day, we always gather in the living room and talk. For me, this is one of the simple joys of my daily life.
KYA: I was actually very worried when I first moved into our dorm because all of us are so young but we already had to be independent. I was surprised and very thankful because living with my members turned out to be great. We always eat together at the dining table and chat on the couch, so dorm life has been really fun so far.
On ‘GROUNDWORK’ you sing ‘All we drink is boost potions and level up on funky slippers’. What exactly are funky slippers?
JIYU: Do you know the three line slippers? It’s the most common slipper in Korea and they’re cheap. They’re our funky slippers.
LEESOL: They’re called the Sam-Sun [삼선] slipper. It’s inexpensive but we’re able to make them look cool in our own way.
The other lyric on that track which caught my attention was ‘There is no role model […] We can’t do this without the jokes’.
JIYU: We had individual interviews with a writer of the ‘GROUNDWORK’ lyrics, and they asked me who is your role model, and I said, ‘I don’t have a specific one’, which became that part.
LEESOL: And the lyrics “장난 없인 못해” [‘Can’t do this without the jokes’]…
SUI: That’s my part!
LEESOL: Our team name is KiiiKiii and it sounds like laughing [ㅋㅋㅋㅋ/kkkk] so it means that KiiiKiii is not perfect without jokes, they’re essential.
K-pop communities frequently talk about wanting the industry to be ‘fun’ again, citing a group like Orange Caramel as a key example. Will KiiiKiii be the one to inject that back into K-pop?
JIYU: The main point is that we hope people can question the world with us but instead of focusing on finding the correct answer for things, we want to enjoy the process and provoke even more questions. Our music is all about trying to figure out our own answers in this unpredictable world and spreading fun while doing so.
Would you like fans to be a little confused by the group but also love that about you?
JIYU: That’s KiiiKiii [laughs].
What message would you like to pass on to fans, particularly ones of your own age?
HAUM: Love yourselves.
JIYU: Just enjoy yourselves.
KYA: Just do it.
LEESOL: And find a true thing that you want to do.
SUI: Let’s all trust and believe in ourselves and move forward proactively, just like the lyrics of ‘I DO ME’! KiiiKiii will always sing with sincerity so that we can give you positive energy and confidence.
