'Santa Monica/Universe': Korean-Japanese group NIK makes debut with mini-album
K-pop rookie boy group NIK, which consists of 11 members from Korea and Japan, made its debut on September 27 with mini-album 'Santa Monica/Universe'. The members were selected from a joint audition programme called 'G-Egg'. The group originally consisted of 11 members but after the departure of the Korean member Sihyuk, who left the group on Mach 26, it was reduced to 10 members. But in April, Taehoon joined the group making the total number of members back to 11. The group consists of idols who were members from other groups or trainees from other agencies or participated in other survival shows like Produce 101. The current lineup of the group consists of six South Koreans - Gunmin, Hyeonsu, Park Ha, Ko Gun, Yunsol, and Taehoon, and five Japanese - Ryuta, Fumiya, Taichi, Hinata, and Ryo.
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NIK = New Inspire and Kindle
The new group could be called a J-pop act as well as a K-pop group; the origin of the group's name is an acronym for the English words "New", "Inspire" and "Kindle". The words together mean something that has never existed before, that inspires people's hearts, and that burns emotions. With their debut, the group also announced their fandom name -- 'NIK Island' -- while their fans will be called 'Nikee'. On September 27, NIK released a showcase to commemorate the release of 'Santa Monica/Universe.'
Among the members of the group, Parl Ha was a contestant on 'Produce 101 Season 2' and 'Mix Nine' while Hyeonsu appeared on 'Produce X 101'. Park Ha, who has already experienced a domestic audition program, talked about the show 'G-Egg', saying, "I trained differently from the Korean audition program. It was a little different from my trainee life." Hyeonsu also talked about the audition program saying, "I heard that character was the most important thing. I also went to a Japanese temple to meditate."
NIK makes their debut
The Korean-Japanese group made their debut on September 27 at 6 pm KST (5 am ET) with the album releasing on various music platforms including Spotify, MelOn as well as Apple Music. NIK's debut album 'Santa Monica/Universe' contains two tracks, the title song 'Santa Monica' and the b-side song 'Universe'.
The title track of the mini-album, 'Santa Monica', is a song where you can enjoy NIK's energetic voice and rap along with a bright, exciting, and addictive melody. The lyrics express the heart of a man who has a cute yet bold imagination that he wants to go on a honeymoon with ‘Monica’. The b-side track 'Universe' is a song with an exquisite harmony of hip-hop beats with EDM elements, synth sounds, and brass. For their debut showcase, members of the group wore dark wear, showing a sophisticated performance filled with charisma.
NIK releases the music video for 'Santa Monica'
After training for a long time, members of NIK were very excited to make their debut. With the pandemic going on, travel restrictions caused the members of the group to halt their activities and delayed their debut. The leader of the group Gunmin said, "There were many things before the debut showcase. After a long wait, we were finally able to perform on stage. This place is even more meaningful.” Member Fumiya added, “It was nice to be able to perform together, and I am very much looking forward to what kind of stage we will perform in the future.”
Watch the music video here:
The group will start their full-fledged activities through music shows in the future. Gunmin said, "There are a lot of idol groups with outstanding skills these days, but I think we have to work hard to surpass them. Our strength seems to be our will to change even one thing for the better." Ryo, a Japanese member of the group, said, “We met at the same time and the preparation period was long, so I think stickiness is a weapon. Our diverse personalities are also our charm.”
NIK chose BTS as their role model, saying with strong determination, “It’s our dream to do a dome performance in Korea and Japan.” When the members were asked about their dreams, Fumiya said, "It's my dream to make every member's dream come true," while member Gun said, "It's my dream to win first place on a music show and hold a concert."