[SHOWCASE] Weeekly broadens its artistic spectrum in new EP 'ColoRise'

As all Weeekly members officially reach adulthood, the girl group’s new EP “ColoRise” aims to show that the girl group will no longer limit themselves to the upbeat “teen” concept that the group had been best known for.

Girl group Weeekly performs ″Vroom Vroom,″ the lead track for the group's fifth EP ″ColoRise,″ during a press showcase on Wednesday at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in Yongsan District, central Seoul. [CHO YONG-JUN]

As all Weeekly members officially reach adulthood, the girl group’s new EP “ColoRise” aims to show that the girl group will no longer limit themselves to the upbeat “teen” concept that the group had been best known for.

“After I graduate [from high school] this year, every Weeekly member will become an adult in 2024,” Zoa, the youngest member of the group, born in 2005, said during a press showcase on Wednesday at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in Yongsan District, central Seoul, ahead of the release of “ColoRise” the same day.

“So instead of limiting ourselves to Weeekly’s existing teen concept, we want to show that we grew up, just like what we are doing with our latest album ‘ColoRise,'” she added.

Girl group Weeekly poses for cameras during a press showcase on Wednesday at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in Yongsan District, central Seoul, ahead of the release of “ColoRise” the same day. [CHO YONG-JUN]

“ColoRise” comes more than one and a half years after the release of “Play Game: Awake,” which was Weeekly’s last physical album release. But that downtime was well spent, according to the members.

“It is true that [not having a comeback for a long time] made us feel helpless,” Monday said. “But we turned that feeling [of helplessness] into desperation and greed to increase the quality of the album as we prepared for ‘ColoRise.’ We can say that the album was delayed so that we could prepare more thoroughly for it.”

“Instead of going for the same concept, we wanted to really show that we’ve moved a step further for our fans who have been waiting for Weeekly for such a long time; I hope people welcome the new Weeekly,” Soojin said.

“'ColorRise’ is a combination of the words color and rise, which refers to our ambition to paint the music industry with Weeekly’s wide range of colors and for us to fly high,” Soeun explained.

The EP has six tracks: “Odyssey,” “Backwards,” “Sweet Dream,” “A+,” “Ruby-Duby-Du” and the lead track, “Vroom Vroom,” a retro-inspired pop and disco score — which is a departure from both Weeekly’s well-known high teen concept and the girl crush concept it showed in “Ven para" (2022).

Girl group Weeekly performs ″Vroom Vroom,″ the lead track for the group's fifth EP ″ColoRise,″ during a press showcase on Wednesday at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in Yongsan District, central Seoul. [CHO YONG-JUN]

“'Vroom Vroom’ is a song that talks about all our dreams coming true. It signifies Weeekly igniting its group activites once again,” Soojin said.

“[As the title implies], we all believe that ‘Vroom Vroom’ can be a really good driving song; if you go out for a late night autumn drive and play the song, I think you’ll enjoy it 200 percent,” Soeun added.

“ColoRise” also includes two unit tracks, a first for the group. “Sweet Dream,” an R&B score featuring a bouncy hip-hop beat, is sung by Monday, Zoa, Soojin and Soeun, while “A+” is sung by Weeekly’s two members who were born in 2004: Jihan and Jaehee.

“The two unit tracks fit the respective members’ colors very well, and I think you’ll be able to really see what each member is good at,” Zoa said.

“'A+’ is a high teen upbeat score that features the refreshing voices of Jaehee and myself,” Jihan said. “We also have a popping choreography for the song!”

Members added that Weeekly plans to showcase even more exciting colors of the group in the future.

“I think Weeekly is like a palette; just like how a palette is filled with a variety of colors, we think that we can express a wide range of colors with our diverse personalities and charms,” Jaehee said. “So we wish to go for a variety of concepts, like the colors in a palette. I also want to try out different subunit compositions in the future.”

Girl group Weeekly poses for the camera during a press showcase on Wednesday at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in Yongsan District, central Seoul, ahead of the release of “ColoRise,” the same day. [IST ENTERTAINMENT]

Weeekly members remained humble about their goals.

“I think it’s safe to say that Weeekly grew up if the different colors we put in our tracks manage to reach to the general public,” Zoa said. “I think [good] results will follow if we try hard enough on stage. Since ‘Vroom Vroom’ has an addictive chorus, I just hope people can get hooked on it.”

“Actually, I hope to hear ‘Vroom Vroom’ on the streets, as that indicates that people are enjoying the song,” Monday said.

“I really want to host a fan meet with Daileee,” Jaehee said. Daileee is Weeekly’s official fandom name. “We are at our fourth year [since debuting], but we have yet to hold one. We want to spend exciting times with our fans!”

To find out more about Weeekly, visit Celeb Confirmed!

Girl group Weeekly poses for the camera during a press showcase on Wednesday at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in Yongsan District, central Seoul, ahead of the release of “ColoRise” the same day. [IST ENTERTAINMENT]

Girl group Weeekly poses for the camera during a press showcase on Wednesday at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in Yongsan District, central Seoul, ahead of the release of “ColoRise” the same day. [IST ENTERTAINMENT]

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]