“A rose blossoming between high-rises / Please be alive / Thrive and grow, don’t snap.” These are the opening lyrics (translated from Korean) to “Rose Blossom,” the song that launched K-pop girl group H1-KEY from nugu to star status in Korea in 2023. Seoi, the 24-year-old leader of the four-member group, thinks it was this image of a rose blossoming in the midst of a concrete cityscape that really resonated with Korean listeners. “If you think about Korean people, they’re really known for working hard,” Seoi tells Paste, via a translator and over Zoom from Seoul. “You see buildings lit up, even during nights, because people are working up until very late,” continues Seoi, thoughtfully. “They’re just trying to continue living their lives.” (At 52 hours, Korea has one of the longest standard working weeks in the world.)
“Rose Blossom” didn’t find a huge audience in Korea right away. Released in January 2023 as part of a mini-album of the same name, the mid-tempo pop track failed to place first at any of the music shows and it took over a month for it to snag the #1 spot on Hanteo’s real-time physical album chart. The eventual success, which came from a group outside of the four big companies that dominate the idol industry in Korea—YG, SM, JYP, and HYBE—was called a “miracle” by domestic press. “When we were actually promoting our song on music shows, I did not really feel that [popularity] at all,” Yel, the group’s 19-year-old singer and rapper, says. It was only when she went to stay with her parents after the promotional period that it hit. “I could hear our song being played on the streets and in grocery stores,” Yel recalls. “That was the moment that I felt, ‘Wow, this song has become known.’”
“A rose blossoming between high-rises / Please be alive / Thrive and grow, don’t snap.” These are the opening lyrics (translated from Korean) to “Rose Blossom,” the song that launched K-pop girl group H1-KEY from nugu to star status in Korea in 2023. Seoi, the 24-year-old leader of the four-member group, thinks it was this image of a rose blossoming in the midst of a concrete cityscape that really resonated with Korean listeners. “If you think about Korean people, they’re really known for working hard,” Seoi tells Paste, via a translator and over Zoom from Seoul. “You see buildings lit up, even during nights, because people are working up until very late,” continues Seoi, thoughtfully. “They’re just trying to continue living their lives.” (At 52 hours, Korea has one of the longest standard working weeks in the world.)
“Rose Blossom” didn’t find a huge audience in Korea right away. Released in January 2023 as part of a mini-album of the same name, the mid-tempo pop track failed to place first at any of the music shows and it took over a month for it to snag the #1 spot on Hanteo’s real-time physical album chart. The eventual success, which came from a group outside of the four big companies that dominate the idol industry in Korea—YG, SM, JYP, and HYBE—was called a “miracle” by domestic press. “When we were actually promoting our song on music shows, I did not really feel that [popularity] at all,” Yel, the group’s 19-year-old singer and rapper, says. It was only when she went to stay with her parents after the promotional period that it hit. “I could hear our song being played on the streets and in grocery stores,” Yel recalls. “That was the moment that I felt, ‘Wow, this song has become known.’”
H1-KEYnote #2
— H1-KEY (@H1KEY_official) February 27, 2024
[기뻐 (Deeper)]
H1-KEY(하이키) 기뻐 (Deeper)
Official Live Clip
▶ https://t.co/BJ0EnAYywf
STREAM NOW!
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Who Are H1-Key?
H1-KEY (하이키; read as High-key) is a four-member girl group formed by GLG and Sony Music. They made their debut on January 5, 2022 with the single album “Athletic Girl”.
Pre-debut
On November 18, 2021, Naver News revealed that Grandline Group (GLG), the newly-established K-pop sub-label of Grandline Entertainment (GRDL), would be debuting a new girl group on January 5, 2022. The group name is inspired by the word “high-key”, and aims for a confident and healthy beauty. Later on November 20, 2021, the group announced their official SNS accounts.
On November 23, 2021, Yel was officially announced as the group’s first member via a choreography video. On November 26, 2021, Seoi was introduced as the group’s second member. Three days later, on November 29, Riina, a former Produce 48 contestant and WM Ggumnamu member, was revealed as the third member. On November 30, Sitala was introduced as the group’s fourth member.
2022: Debut with “Athletic Girl”, Sitala’s departure, “Run” with addition of Hwiseo
On December 21, 2021, via the group’s SNS it announced with a promotion schedule that they will make their debut with the first single album titled, “Athletic Girl”, which was released on January 5, 2022.
On May 25, GLG announced Sitala had departed from the group due to personal reasons.
On June 7, a teaser posted on the group’s official SNS for their first comeback to be released on July 6, with a new member. Later on June 9, a promotion schedule posted and revealed the title of their first maxi single album, “Run”. On June 14, Hwiseo introduced as a new member of the group with teaser photos for their first maxi single.
2023: Rose Blossom, Seoul Dreaming
On December 7, 2022, a scheduler was released for their first mini album, Rose Blossom, set to be released on January 5, 2023.
In an interview released on March 13, the group revealed that they are currently recording songs for their upcoming album. vOn August 1, the group announced their comeback with second mini album, Seoul Dreaming, set to release on August 30. “Time to Shine” will be pre-released on August 23.
2024: “Thinkin’ About You”, “Deeper”
On January 11, 2024, a teaser was posted for their upcoming digital single “Thinkin’ About You”, set to be released on January 19.
On February 11, a concept poster was posted for their upcoming digital single “Deeper”, set to be released on February 15. However, on February 13, GLG announced that the release will be delayed to a later date. On February 20, the new date was revealed to be February 27.
On March 8, it was announced that H1-KEY was appointed as the honorary ambassador for the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities.
