[SHOWCASE] ONF is feeling the 'Love Effect' after finishing military services

Being the fan of a K-pop boy band almost always comes with inevitable, temporary farewells as the members leave to fulfill their military duties for around a year and a half. Boy band ONF was the first K-pop band to tackle that issue straight on.

Boy band ONF performs its new song ″Love Effect″ on Wednesday at a press showcase held at Shinhan pLay Square in western Seoul for its seventh EP of the same title. The album marks the band's first new album since all five members began their military duties in December 2021 and finished last June. [NEWS1]

Being the fan of a K-pop boy band almost always comes with inevitable, temporary farewells as the members, one by one, leave to fulfill their military duties for around a year and a half.

Boy band ONF, pronounced "on and off," was the first K-pop band to tackle that issue straight on by having all members start their duties in the same month — December 2021. The move seems to have paid off, with the group having made its much-welcomed comeback on Wednesday with its seventh EP, “Love Effect.”

The band consists of Japanese member U and Korean members Hyojin, E-Tion, J-Us, Wyatt and MK.

“The album is all about how much we missed everything — the fans, the stage and our music — during the long time we’ve been away,” Wyatt told reporters in a press showcase held at Shinhan pLay Square in western Seoul on Wednesday.

“This album is filled with all our passion and aspirations, so we hope people understand all the different stories that are included in the compilation.”

Boy band ONF performing its new song ″Love Effect″ on Wednesday at a press showcase held at Shinhan pLay Square in western Seoul [NEWS1]

“Love Effect” is a five-track EP that sings of the diverse emotions related to the idea of love. Four tracks — “Be Here Now,” “Dam Dam Di Ram,” “Arrival” and “Wind Effect” — accompany the title track.

The title track “Love Effect” is a continuation of the refreshing and positive vibe that the band has been known for, namely through its hit dance track “Beautiful Beautiful” (2021), but the EP includes diverse genres to flaunt the band's versatility, including the hip-hop track “Dam Dam Di Ram” and ballad “Wind Effect."

“Completing our military services has allowed our perspective of the world to expand, along with the range of our emotions,” E-Tion said. “I think all of that has been included in our music and will become a differentiating point from our past albums.”

The latest album comes is the first new music since all five Korean members of the group completed their military services last June. The five Korean members began their military services after releasing their sixth EP “Goosebumps” in December 2021.

Boy band ONF performing its new song ″Love Effect″ on Wednesday at a press showcase held at Shinhan pLay Square in western Seoul [NEWS1]

The members had prepared a special album “Storage of ONF” to drop during their time in the military, as a gift to their fans waiting for them.

“We did face some worries after we enlisted — what if people, our fans, forgot about us during the long time we had to spend away?” J-Us said. “But we received letters from fans and supporting messages, as well as from the other members. We leaned on each other and held on.”

ONF debuted in 2017 as a seven-member band with the EP “On/Off.” The group’s youngest member, Laun, left the group in 2019 for personal reasons.

The band began making music based on the concept of finding one's identity, moving back and forth from the past to the future, but has been leaning toward more approachable and easy-listening songs in recent years with positive themes.

Boy band ONF performs its new song ″Love Effect″ on Wednesday at a press showcase held at Shinhan pLay Square in western Seoul for its seventh EP of the same title. The album marks the band's first new album since all five members began their military duties in December 2021 and finished last June. [NEWS1]

“Our choice to start our military duties all at once came from our endeavors to keep our positivity as a group,” MK said. “And even after we finished, we always start our practice sessions with the goal of keeping that positivity. We hope that our energy comes across to the people who listen to our songs.”

Having been faced with the pandemic and the military hiatus, ONF aims to reach farther and deeper than ever.

“We don’t have any grand plans yet, but we’ll start by taking part in TV music programs and then expand with other opportunities to meet with fans,” Wyatt said. “We’ll try our best to hold either concerts or events overseas.”

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]