EVERY year, the Korean music industry welcomes dozens of new K-pop groups. While many do go on to make their debuts, only a few stay on and make their mark. TRI.BE is among the few rookie groups who have successfully made a great impression this year.
Despite only debuting this February, the seven-member girl group have already amassed a strong following. Their debut single, Doom Doom Ta, skyrocketed to the charts and clocked over 8 million views on YouTube. The quartet has also had three successful releases in just nine months.
The public’s adoration with TRI.BE may have something to do with TRI.BE being the first quadrilingual group in K-pop history. Consisting of seven members, Songsun, Kelly, Jinha, Hyunbin, Jia, Soeun and MiRe, TRI.BE is the first group to consist of members from three different countries – Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
Apart from that, TRI.BE is also the first signed musical act under Universal Music Korea. In our recent conversation with the group, the girls shared about their growth since their debut and the journey of making their first mini-album, Veni Vidi Vici.
How have grown since your debut?
Kelly: “When I look back at the debut stage with Doom Doom Ta, I think everyone was very flustered. We did not know what we were doing and what was happening. So, I feel like we are now more comfortable on stage and know what is going to happen.”
MiRe: “I think also TRI.BE in general became more mature, whether it is our professionality, stage performances, our voice or visuals.”
Soeun: “When you are on music stage, you need to locate which camera is on during the show. Since there were multiple cameras on stage, I could not locate where the cameras were during Doom Doom Ta. But now, I can predict which camera will turn on.”
What would say is your biggest achievement in the latest album?
Songsun: “I think the biggest achievement for me was the growth in our fans. The increase in the number of listeners who became our fans.”
Soeun: “Since there were various vocal tracks, I personally think the biggest achievement is that we managed to showcase our different abilities as artistes. Not only are we good at performances, but we can also actually sing, rap and dance well. So, I am happy that we could showcase our different sets of skills.”
Did you learn anything about yourself during the making of the album?
Songsun: “The biggest thing I took away from this release is the various ways I can convey my message to the listeners. There are various emotional tracks in the album. So, I was able to learn to express the different feelings I have and my truth to the fans.”
Soeun: “Through recording this album, I learned how precious my members are. We had to prepare five new tracks in a short period of time. So, it would be a lie if I said I was not nervous or felt like giving up in the middle. But every time I felt like giving up, my members were there to pick me up. So, I was able to feel the bond with my members.”
Could you elaborate on the meanings of some of the songs off the album?
Hyunbin: “Would You Run is basically a moombahton (electronic dance) genre song that has a very unique bass riff and catchy melody. And it explains our determination to run and explore the new universe with our fans.”
Jinha: “Lobo (the second sidetrack) means ‘wolf’ in Spanish and so the song is basically about how we are like a pack of wolves. And we are not afraid when we are together.”
Soeun: “As you know, there are units (small subgroups of the main group) on the album. And the track -18 is performed by a performance unit that consists of MiRe, Hyunbin and myself. The reason why the song is called -18 is that all of us are under 18 years old. And the song talks about the things that we would like to do when we turn 18. So, it is a very cute take on growing up.”
Jia: “The fourth sidetrack, Got Your Back is basically about us having our fans back. We are behind them every single time. And this track is a unit song for the vocal unit of the group which consists of Kelly, Songsun, Jinha, and myself.”
Kelly: “The fifth track, True speaks for itself. It is a fan song because it is dedicated to the fans.”
What are you most excited to do and achieve as K-pop stars in the future?
MiRe: “I think one of our goals, in general, is to do concerts. We really want to be on stage in front of our fans. So, we hope to go on a world tour and go outside to meet our international fans as well.”
Jia: “While our fans have expressed their connection with our music, we hope to continue to become this K-pop girl group that is always there for our fans. We hope that our music will continue to comfort our fans when they listen to it.”
Members Profile
SongSun
Leader, Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer
DOB: 22 March 1997
Nationality: Korean
Fun facts:
She is the cousin of Yuri from SNSD.
She can play piano.
She likes writing lyrics, recording songs, lying in her bed & making Lego.
She participated as a co-composer on their new song, Got Your Back.
JinHa
Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer
DOB: 21 Nov 2003
Nationality: Korean
Fun facts:
She trained for 1.5 years.
She can learn lyrics very fast.
She wanted to study psychology & become a counsellor when she was a child.
Kelly
Sub-Vocalist
DOB: 16 Jan 2002
Nationality: Taiwanese
Fun facts:
She was a participant on the reality show Youth With You 2.
She was born in Taipei, Taiwan.
She lived in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
She can speak Korean, English & Chinese.
She can play the violin & piano.
She came to Korea when she was 16.
HyunBin
Main Rapper, Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist
DOB: 26 May 2004
Nationality: Korean
Fun facts:
She trained for 3 years.
She likes cooking.
She is the only member of the group who has single eyelids.
Jia
Sub-Vocalist
DOB: 30 July 2005
Nationality: Taiwanese
Fun facts:
She trained for 1.5 years.
She was a model pre-debut.
She plays the piano.
SoEun
Sub-Vocalist
DOB: 10 Dec 2005
Nationality: Korean
Fun facts:
She trained for 1.5 years.
She is the best gamer in the group.
MiRe
Main Dancer, Sub-Vocalist
DOB: 26 Mar 2006
Nationality: Japanese
Fun facts:
She is the Maknae (youngest) in the group.
She was born in Tokyo, Japan.
She can speak Korean & Japanese.
