[Grace Kao] Love is in the stars with K-pop’s n.SSign

I first noticed fifth-generation K-pop group n.SSign on Music Bank when they performed “Love, Love, Love, Love, Love” in April 2024. It’s bright and irresistible. How can anyone make 5 types of finger/hand hearts in 3 seconds? Later, they won the weekly award on Music Bank for “Love Potion.” This song uses an orchestral hit and a rhythm reminiscent of New Jack Swing. I was happy to see a win by a nearly rookie group from a small company. They looked genuinely shocked. They cried.

Recently, I spent two hours in person with all seven members of the group. I enjoyed this conversation not only because they told me about themselves, but they wanted feedback.

The members of n.SSign are: Kazuta, Doha, Sungyun, Robin, Hanjun, Laurence and Huiwon. Leader Kazuta is from Japan. Robin is Korean Australian and Laurence is from Taiwan. The other four members are from Korea. The group name stands for “net of star sign,” and the fandom is called Cosmo.

Robin was born and raised in Australia, so English is his first language. After attending a trainee audition with his friends, Robin was the only person chosen. Felix of Stray Kids is an alumnus of his high school and serves as an inspiration. On his experience, Robin said, “Since I made it (through the audition), I thought I should do this properly and listen to more music.” An early favorite K-pop song of his was “Crown” by Tomorrow X Together.

Doha shared, “My mother is a traditional Korean music (gugak) artist, I watched her perform and teach, and spent my childhood immersed in that world. I loved the stage.” He was a vocalist in a band in middle school. Doha is learning to write his own songs so he can “blend gugak and K-pop so I can perform on stage with my mother.”

Hanjun was born and raised in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, and started dancing at church. He served as a dance club leader in school and focused on street dance, especially locking. He asked his parents to allow him one month to audition to be a trainee. He succeeded, and he told me that he especially liked EXO and Wanna One.

Laurence hails from Taiwan and speaks Mandarin, Korean and some English. Like many non-Korean trainees and idols, he learned Korean after moving to Korea. He loves Taylor Swift, but he also listens to a lot of K-pop and named Tomorrow X Together and aespa as his favorites. The first K-pop song he heard was Super Junior’s “Sorry Sorry.” His eyes lit up when describing n.SSign’s fan meeting in Taiwan, where he could speak at greater length to fans and see his family.

Huiwon began by saying, “My story is long.” I teased that, at 21, he was too young to have any long stories! He is the extrovert of the group. When he was one of eleven students chosen in his middle school class to perform Wanna One’s “Energetic,” he was in charge of the choreography, and the work made him “feel alive.” He wrote a one-page letter to his mother begging for permission to audition, saying, “This was the first time I truly wanted something.” He is unique in that he has never been a trainee — he auditioned directly for the audition show. He loves J-Hope of BTS.

Sungyun was motivated to become an idol due to his family’s financial difficulties. He was 16, and he wanted to help but felt helpless. He believed he had no special talents except those that are conducive to being an idol. The rest of the members considered him the visual of the group. His favorite artists when he was young were Maxwell, Boyz II Men and BTOB.

Leader Kazuta is from Okinawa, Japan. He speaks Japanese and Korean and said that when he was young, he only focused on basketball. Still, he loved to sing. Like many n.SSign members, he liked BTS, but they were all Korean. Only when he learned about Yuta from NCT 127, did he believe that a Japanese man could be an idol. He came to Korea alone and spent 6-7 hours daily studying Korean. “I cried a lot,” he said.

n.SSign told me that they enjoyed their bright songs. All agreed that the hardest part of being an idol was the lack of sleep and not being able to see family. They shared that when they are given a new song, they have to learn the entire song without knowing which lines will be theirs.

They asked me a lot of questions. They wanted to know about American audiences, especially those at K-pop shows, as they were preparing for their first US fan meeting in Los Angeles on June 21. What would US fans expect of them? I shared my observations of concerts I’ve attended and gave them honest feedback.

The members reminded me so much of my best Yale students — they already had a strong body of work but knew they could learn more. I’m excited to see them perform in person someday. Maybe next time they can show me how to make those five hearts with my clumsy fingers.

Grace Kao

Grace Kao is an IBM professor of sociology and professor of ethnicity, race and migration at Yale University. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. — Ed.