BlingOne Peru shines on debut as first chapter of World K-pop Center's global project

The all-Peruvian K-pop girl group debuted on June 26, the first subunit of the World K-pop Center's BlingOne project featuring single-nationality groups from all around the world.

Girl group BlingOne Peru, a subunit of global K-pop project group BlingOne. From left: Abigail, Kenny and Rubi. [WORLD K-POP CENTER]

K-pop acts without a single Korean member is nothing new in the industry. There's girl group Black Swan, with all five members from a country other than Korea. There's also boy band EXP Edition, with all members from the United States, as well as all-Japanese girl groups PoshGirls and NiziU.

There are also bands like VCHA, JYP's newest girl group that has only one ethnically Korean member in the sextet. HYBE's soon-to-debut girl group Katseye also has only one member who holds a Korean passport among its six members.

Another K-pop girl group debuted with a showcase held at the World K-pop Center in Jung District, central Seoul on Wednesday, and this time, the members were all Peruvian. BlingOne Peru consisting of Rubi, Kenny and Abigail is the first all-Peruvian K-pop girl group.

“I am so happy and grateful,” Kenny said in Spanish, which was translated into Korean by an official from the Peruvian Embassy. “This is not just an opportunity for us, but an opportunity for Peru as well.”

“We did face a lot of cultural differences,” said Rubi. “As for Korean, we are learning as we go. We take a Korean class at the World K-pop Center.”

This all-Peruvian girl group is making its debut not through any of the major entertainment agencies that have been making global K-pop group attempts, but through the World K-pop Center, an education institute for the genre established in 2020.

Girl group BlingOne Peru. [WORLD K-POP CENTER]

“It was not easy to come this far," said Abigail.

During the showcase, the girls performed only the first verse of its new single, "Kiss & Call," which was released on Thursday.

The song's lyrics, written in Korean and English, depict the playful flirting of a budding romance. BlingOne Peru's simple but grounded choreography accentuated the catchy chorus, with the members' vocals bouncing in playful intonation over a popping, heavy bass beat.

According to the World K-pop Center, BlingOne Peru was formed through an audition program, “Click the Star,” which was held last year. The current members had to compete with 5,000 other contestants in Peru to come to Korea and debut as a group.

The group is the World K-pop Center's first creation, and the center isn't stopping here.

BlingOne Peru poses for the cameras with Peruvian ambassador Paul Fernando Duclos Parodi at its debut showcase on June 26. [WORLD K-POP CENTER]

According to Lee In-soo, the operations team leader of the World K-pop Center, BlingOne Peru is a subunit of a larger K-pop act, BlingOne.

“The idea is to create 32 girl groups from 32 countries, each with one nationality only,” said Lee, pointing out that this strategy is helpful to develop fandoms and receive support from the government of each country.

To witness the debut of BlingOne Peru, Paul Fernando Duclos Parodi, the Peruvian ambassador to Korea, attended the event on Wednesday.

“It is particularly gratifying for the Embassy of Peru to share this special moment when Kenny, Abigail and Rubi will present their first original song, ‘Kiss & Call,’ after a six-month preparation process in Seoul,” said the ambassador. “I would like to express my best wishes for the success of BlingOne Peru and its members, as a deserved result of their passion and musical skills.”

BlingOne Peru behind the stage before its live performance for its debut showcase June 26.

“Instead of countries that are already heavily involved in K-pop, we are looking to create groups in countries that may come across as rather far away [to Koreans],” said the center's Lee. “Later, when there are enough girl groups that are formed by our auditions, we will hold a world tour.”

There are currently two more seasons of “Click the Star” underway; one in China and the other in Mongolia. The seasons started in March and May, respectively, looking for members to create all-Chinese and all-Mongolian K-pop acts.

While the group has a Korea-based schedule planned for the foreseeable future, it will eventually return to Peru according to Lee.

“Most of the girl group’s activities will be based in Peru from now on,” said Lee. “It is still K-pop, so we decided to hold the debut event in Korea first.”

Concept photos for the group's new single ″Kiss & Call″ [WORLD K-POP CENTER]

The BlingOne project is set to release a documentary in Peru portraying the hardships that the members had to endure to become a K-pop group. The documentary is set to air in either July or August, according to Lee.

“They have TV appearances and shows scheduled in Peru," said Lee.

In Korea, the girls attended a shooting for an episode of the live music show “K Pop Up Chart Show" on ENA, which will air on July 12.

“BlingOne means to ‘shine together as one',” said Lee, pointing out that the World K-pop Center's BlingOne project is something more than K-pop promotion.

"It's about building bridges across international boundaries," he said.

To find out more about BlingOne Peru, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]