Here are some of the girl groups with the most unique and memorable concepts during their comeback eras.
Orange Caramel Catallena
Catallena is a song by the popular girl group sub-unit of AFTER SCHOOL, Orange Caramel, from their album of the same name, which was released on March 12, 2014. It was included in their third Korean single album with the other two songs and was quite popular in its era. The song’s inspiration was taken from the Punjabi wedding folk song Jutti Meri Jandiye, and the chant was inserted in its chorus as a special feature.
The song Catallena is about a female who is very gifted and sometimes full of herself, yet people are envious of her. For their music video, they used a sushi bar as an interpretation of the value of the sushi. Among all types of sushi, the most expensive menu, based on the music video, is the octopus (maybe because Koreans like to eat fresh octopus), while the other sushi was not as pricey. At the end of the video, the octopus sushi was left behind, while the other sushi was eaten by all of the customers at the bar. The message was that although octopus sushi was the most valuable sushi, not all people can afford to enjoy it. Related to the song’s meaning, the song expresses boys’ and girls’ amazement at a particular girl, however, it seems no one could handle her very well.
For Orange Caramel performance outfits, the concept for their outfits was food, which is related to the music video, as well. Their dresses and accessories are not only limited to the sushi restaurant concept, there are coffee and sweets, Korean food, hamburgers, and other types of food represented. Make sure you are currently not fasting or hungry before watching their music video or music show performance videos.
Orange Caramel Shanghai Romance
Before Catallena, Orange Caramel was already popular for several other songs. One of their iconic songs was Shanghai Romance. The song was released on October 12, 2011, as the second single in Korea along with their album with the same name. The song was written by Cho Young Soo and Super Junior’s Hee-chul.
Shanghai Romance is a song about the love story of a girl who is far away from her boy in Shanghai, and misses him crazily. The concept is mostly in Chinese for music video and performance outfits. Also, the lyrics of the song use several Chinese names and words, such as the Yangtze River and the phrase for I love you, which is wo ai ni.
Dreamcatcher You and I
Dreamcatcher is a girl group from Happyface Entertainment that gained public attention for their dark fantasy concept. The group has used continuous story concepts from the time of their debut until now. You and I was released on May 10, 2018, in Korea, as part of the album Escape The Era, which consists of a total six songs.
You and I is a song about someone persuading their partner to trust them, even if it’s only in a dream. Among all their songs, You and I gained the most public attention for Dami’s magic trick during the performance, and also their brave performance with dark concepts on the stage.
F(X) Red Light
Although the girl group F(X) is already inactive due to various circumstances, most of their concepts were unique. Among all the group’s songs, Red Light has the strongest and boldest concept. The song was released in Korea on July 3, 2014, as part of an album with the same name, which was released on July 7, 2014. It was the last album with F(X) with its full formation of five members, before Sulli left the group the next year.
Red Light is a song about an alert for everyone to be always aware and self-conscious in any conditions and surroundings while waiting for the green light. The music video and stage performance outfits were showing a mysterious, bold, and strong concept with an army theme, cowboy theme, and any other strong theme which would match with the song.
Red Velvet Peek-A-Boo
Following F(X), Red Velvet also had many unique concepts, as they are from the same agency, SM Entertainment. Among all their songs, Peek-A-Boo is a mysterious and creepy concept which is perfect for Halloween. The song was released on November 17, 2017, from the album Perfect Velvet.
Peek-A-Boo is a song about a girl who is clingy to her partner. In the music video, all of the Red Velvet members were showing two different characters, which is playful yet unreal. Here is a video explanation about the music video.
MAMAMOO Hip
MAMAMOO always had their own vibe and styles for every one of the songs they released. Hip was released in Korea on November 14, 2019, from the album Reality in Black. The song is really popular due to its relation to MAMAMOO’s fashion stereotypes in the public’s eyes.
Hip is a song encouraging everyone to have confidence with every outfit and style preference they like. Before the song was released, the MAMAMOO members received a lot of criticism and comments from the public for their outfits being too revealing and brave for use outside of stage performances. However, MAMAMOO shared their opinions through this song, saying that they would stick with their preferences and style without getting bothered with any hate comments they were receiving.
Sunny Hill The Grasshoppers Song
The Grasshoppers Song is a song by the group Sunny Hill, with the formation of Mi-sung, Jubi, Seung-ah, Kota, and Jang-hyun, and which released on January 12, 2012. The song is about an ant, from a grasshopper’s perspective. The grasshopper is telling the ant to feel relaxed and ease toward living, while also reminding him to pursue his own happiness rather than always focus on working for a living.
Sunny Hill Midnight Circus
Before The Grasshoppers Song, Sunny Hill also had several other unique songs. One of them is Midnight Circus. Midnight Circus was released on June 2, 2011, through their album with the same name. For the music video, they used a unique concept as interpreted about the reality of living in a circus. As for the lyrics, Sunny Hill also shared the story about how the circus performers feel about their lives, with a deep message to only trust yourself rather than relying on other people.
Sunny Hill Prince and Princess Charming
Prince and Princess Charming is a song by Sunny Hill which was released as a single on April 19, 2012. Prince and Princess Charming, is also known as Is White Horse Coming?, for its title. The song itself actually questions people’s life when they are searching for a partner, as “Has seeking after specifications improved your quality of life in any way?“
