Lightsum subunit to release cover version of BTOB's 'Beautiful Pain' as first single

Girl group Lightsum members Sangah, Chowon and Juhyeon will release their first digital single as a subunit at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Cube Entertainment said.

Lightsum members Sangah, Chowon and Juhyeon pose in an image released by Cube Entertainment on Jan. 15. From left: Sangah, Chowon and Juhyeon. [CUBE ENTERTAINMENT]

Girl group Lightsum members Sangah, Chowon and Juhyeon will release their first digital single as a subunit at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Cube Entertainment said.

The single, titled “Beautiful Pain,” reinterprets boy band BTOB’s 2018 hit of the same name with a simpler acoustic guitar–led arrangement.

“We paid close attention to our vocal performance so that our remake wouldn’t feel lacking to BTOB, and we tried to express it in our own Lightsum style,” Chowon said in a written interview released by the agency.

The release marks the three members’ first official subunit project. They previously performed a cover of “Golden” from the soundtrack of the Netflix series “KPop Demon Hunters” (2025).

The subunit is not identified by a separate name.

“I think this subunit will let us show more of our individual colors that we couldn’t highlight as a full group, and it will help expand Lightsum’s musical identity,” Juhyeon said.

They are also set to perform “Beautiful Pain” live for the first time on Mnet’s “M Countdown” (2004-) at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Lightsum debuted in 2021 with its first single “Vanilla.” It has eight members: Sangah, Chowon, Nayoung, Hina, Juhyeon, Yujeong, Huiyeon and Jian.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]