Kep1er's Huening Bahiyyih thanks fans for birthday wishes, celebrates at KCON LA

“I’m celebrating my birthday in Los Angeles this year, and it's the birthday I'll celebrate on the stages of KCON LA with our fans," said the Kep1er member.

Kep1er's Huening Bahiyyih celebrated her 20th birthday on July 27. [CELEB CONFIRMED]

The surname Huening may be unfamiliar to many around the world, but it is definitely a familiar name to many K-pop listeners. Hueningkai is a member of boy band Tomorrow X Together, while Lea — whose real name is Lea Navvab Huening — is a model and YouTuber. Even their father, Nabil Huening, was a popular figure in China as an actor. The third child of the Huening family, Huening Bahiyyih of Kep1er fame, was born on July 27, 2004. Unlike her brother and sister, who were born in the United States, Huening Bahiyyih was born in Korea.

The Kep1er member recently won the Celeb Confirmed birthday poll in July.“I really never thought about winning the poll, and I thank all our fans who helped me rank No. 1 on the July birthday vote! I think it will be a memorable birthday,” Huening Bahiyyih said in a text message to Celeb Confirmed and the Korea JoongAng Daily.

“I’m celebrating my birthday in Los Angeles this year, and it's the birthday I'll celebrate on the stages of KCON LA with our fans. A birthday that I celebrate with our fans will remain a good memory.”

For her birthday wishes, Huening Bahiyyih hoped firstly to continue her career in a “healthy and brisk manner.” She also hoped to “meet as many Kep1ians as possible” and wished to travel with the Kep1er members.

Huening Bahiyyih, like her brother and sister, became a K-pop trainee, and her time to shine came in 2021 when she joined cable network Mnet’s girl group audition show “Girls Planet: 999.” A trainee of IST Entertainment, she grabbed the attention of many viewers of the show from its early episodes, with the official fancam video where she performed “Fiesta” (2020) surpassing 1 million views on YouTube only 17 hours after its release. This made it the first fancam from the show to achieve such a feat. With many fan comments praising her talent, including her stable vocals, the video reached 3.7 million views as of July 2024.

Huening Bahiyyih landed second place on the final episode, with 923,567 votes, and debuted as a member of girl group Kep1er on Oct. 22, 2021. The nine-member girl group — true to the number in the group's name — snatched many No. 1 titles from the start, with its debut EP “First Impact” clinching the best first week of release for a debut album at the time of its release. It also topped three music shows, including winning a “Music Bank” trophy — an impressive achievement for a debut girl group. Kep1er continued its success in Japan, releasing its first Japanese single, “Fly-Up,” in September 2022, followed by its concert tour “Fly-By” in three cities across Japan.

Kep1er dropped its first Korean full-length album “Kep1going On” on June 3, featuring eight new tracks and two Korean versions of the group’s previously released Japanese songs, “Grand Prix” and “Straight Line.”

“'Kep1going On' was our first full-length album released in Korea and I think it was fruitful. We promoted our lead track ‘Shooting Star’ and the B-side track ‘Problem,’ and we were able to meet a lot of Kep1ians, listen to their cheers and make a lot of meaningful moments,” Huening Bahiyyih said. Kep1lians are Kep1er’s fandom.

“We also received a music show trophy with ‘Shooting Star.’ All our members did a great job and I just want to tell them I love them,” she said.

“Kep1going On” marks a big milestone for the girl group, not just because it’s Kep1er’s first Korean full-length album but because it is the last Kep1er album released during the group’s planned two-and-a-half-year-long contract. Seven members, including Huening Bahiyyih, renewed their contracts and agreed to continue their activities as Kep1er, while members Mashiro and Yeseo decided not to. The girl group started its seven-member activities in July after its final concert in Japan.

“I can’t believe we have less than five months to go until 2025,” she said. “The first half of 2024, for me, was filled with times I spent with our members and Kep1ians through our Japanese and Korean first album promotions on top of our concert in Japan.”

Huening Bahiyyih also hinted that she still has more things to show before the year ends.

“I had the goal to go on a family vacation, which I’m glad to report that I will be achieving, but I also promised to practice my guitar skills so I can show them to our fans,” the member said. “But I think I’m still not ready, so I plan to diligently practice and perform a song before the end of this year!”

She also added that she wants to show some new sides of herself that she “hasn’t shown before."

“I know it’s my birthday, but I hope we all can celebrate the birthday together.”

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