Lapillus celebrates 1st anniversary with 'Who's Next'

Rookie girl group brims with confidence, overflows with self-love on new album

Lapillus holds a press showcase event for its second EP, "Girl's Round Part. 2," in Seoul on Wednesday. (MLD Entertainment)

Fully loaded with lively energy and frenzied vibes, Lapillus returned with its second EP, "Girl's Round Part. 2," on Wednesday. This EP marks the band's comeback after nine months.

Sporting fresh new visuals and beats, the members -- Chanty, Shana, Yue, Bessie, Seowon and Haeun -- held a press conference on Wednesday afternoon to launch the comeback.

"We feel like we're debuting again," the band's leader, Shana, said, adding, "We've worked hard to showcase ourselves to global K-pop fans. ... We'll bring our cheerful energy to the stage so please look forward to it."

The new release came a day after the budding girl group's first anniversary on Tuesday.

The band's youngest member, Haeun, said, "We're happy to be back with our first anniversary. We've had a nine-month hiatus, and we're proud to finally show what we have prepared."

The new album continues the themes of the group's previous one, first EP "Girl's Round Part. 1," which came out in September.

Bessie, the group's main vocalist, said, "In the first part, we showed our will to find our own colors. With this one, we want to share confidence and encouragement to listeners with the messages, 'We are perfect the way we are,' and 'We should love ourselves.'"

"Who's Next" is a powerful dance anthem that overflows with the girls' charisma and confidence. Lapillus performed the song, along with two other new songs, "Paper" and "Marionette," during Wednesday's event.

"When we first heard 'Who's Next,' it sounded like a vigorous and straightforward song, and even without the choreography, I felt the song was packed with strong self-love and pride," Bessie said.

Seowon added about the song, "It conveys our aspiration to become a next-generation frontier girl group. The direct and daring lyrics resonate with our bold spirit."

The bandmates also display their upgraded talents with "Who's Next."

"It was the most difficult to vocalize among our title songs. We hope to show the unique colors of each of the members this time," Bessie added.

The album also includes "Marionette," "Ulala," "Paper," the "Who's Next" English version and the "Who's Next" instrumental version.

As their goal with the new album, Seowon hoped for a No. 1 and for their reputation to rise. "We want to make Lapillus' name known to more people. Also, we'd like to win on a TV music show and make it into Melon's charts."

MLD Entertainment's multinational girl group threw its hat into the ring on June 20, 2022, with its debut single, "Hit Ya."

The band made a buzz in the K-pop scene with its diverse member composition, consisting of Filipino Argentinian member Chanty, Japanese member Shana, Chinese American member Yue and three South Koreans, Bessie, Seowon and Haeun.

Before ending the event, the six girls thanked their fans for supporting them for the past year.

"It was a big dream for me to become a K-pop idol singer. I'm happy for our first anniversary," Chanty said, to which Yue chimed in, "I can't believe it has already been one year. I'm grateful to our fans for their love and we want to stay with them for many more years."

By Choi Ji-won(jwc@heraldcorp.com)