Kiss of Life on 'Sticky' video's mysterious ending: 'There is meaning to it'

K-pop girl group Kiss of Life reflects on their breakout year, celebrating award wins and fan engagement while teasing future releases and plans for their upcoming world tour.

Girl group Kiss of Life poses for the camera during a FanTalk 2 video interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily and Celeb Confirmed. [CHO YONG-JUN]

Kiss of Life boldly said the group planned to “blow it up,” in a FanTalk interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily shortly after the girl group’s debut in 2023. While the four members — Julie, Natty, Belle and Haneul — didn’t recall why they had made such a claim just a year ago, they still confidently back their rookie claims.

“Why did we say that we were going to ‘blow it up’?” Natty said in a recent FanTalk 2 chat with the Korea JoongAng Daily and Celeb Confirmed. “But we actually did it. Now that we think about it, we blew it up.”

Kiss of Life did have an amazing first year — the group’s debut EP, “Kiss of Life,” grabbed the attention of many K-pop fans, featuring a solo track from each of the four members. The quartet’s subsequent releases, “Bad News” (2023) and “Midas Touch” improved on the debut album's sales and streaming scores, and the group’s end-of-year award showings also proved to many that they were capable live performers. Kiss of Life naturally took home many awards in 2023 and 2024 including Rookie of the Year, and earned its first and second music show wins with most recent digital single, “Sticky."

“I think the first step has just begun,” Belle said. “Now that we blew up once, we are going to blow up again and again, like TNT.”

“We will be writing legends,” Natty added.

Girl group Kiss of Life during a FanTalk 2 video interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily and Celeb Confirmed. [CHO YONG-JUN]

In its second appearance on FanTalk after a year, Kiss of Life had a chance to answer questions from its fandom, Kissy. Belle, asked about her happiest moment since the group's 2023 debut, mentioned her experience shooting the music video for “Sticky” while youngest member Haneul said she'd been happy “every day.”

The members also agreed that they feel happy when they perform in front of the fans, with Julie choosing the group’s recent fan concert as a memorable moment.

“The end-of-year award ceremony gave me a sense of delight and made me feel that we are one as a group,” Natty said.

“Whenever we perform in front of our fans, Kissy, that’s when we feel worthwhile,” Belle said.

Girl group Kiss of Life during a FanTalk 2 video interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily and Celeb Confirmed. [CHO YONG-JUN]

Kissy also asked Kiss of Life about the “Sticky” music video's mysterious ending wherein Natty, dressed in camo pants with a cap as she appeared in her solo music video “Sugarcoat,” approaches the scene and looks at the four members of Kiss of Life. Fans have speculated as to whether the scene hints at an upcoming release.

“We can’t say too much, but there is meaning to it, and I’m sure it’s a big spoiler for something that’s coming up,” Julie said. “It’s a secret!”

When asked about the production of “Te Quiero,” a B-side track that she helped write, Belle recalled being “excited, yet worried” in the days leading up to its release.

“I wrote the song with Frankie in one day, in one sound session, with the goal to create a passionate song,” Belle said. Frankie Day is a singer-songwriter who took part in the production of Enhypen’s “Lucifer,” girl group Tri.Be’s “Run” and NMIXX’s “Run For Roses.” Belle said her aim was to “create a Latin-inspired song reminiscent of Camila Cabello.”

Girl group Kiss of Life during a FanTalk 2 video interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily and Celeb Confirmed. [CHO YONG-JUN]

Kiss of Life was, in closing, asked about its plans for the second year of its career.

“We have so many goals,” Julie said excitedly. “World tour — we will be meeting Kissy all around the world.”

Kiss of Life will kick off its first world tour, “Kiss Road,” on Oct. 26 and 27 at the Olympic Hall in southern Seoul followed by dates in 18 cities across the United States and Canada through December, with more stops still to be announced.

Natty and Julie said that Kiss of Life also hopes to perform at the Coachella music festival, where many top K-pop bands have performed over the years.

Girl group Kiss of Life during a FanTalk 2 video interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily and Celeb Confirmed. [CHO YONG-JUN]

The group did not give many details about the tour, but the four members do know exactly what Kissy wants to see.

“This is too obvious — Kissy would like to see a unit stage with Julie and Natty,” Belle said. “There have been a lot of Julie-Natty moments, and I think fans enjoy their ‘hot’ performances.”

“I also want to see a combination of the two lead vocals, Natty and Belle, performing an R&B song,” Julie added. “I want to rap while Belle sings. Haneul and Natty can sing together. We would like to show all possible combinations!”

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