Mystic Story, a subsidiary label of K-pop powerhouse S.M. Entertainment, finally revealed its first girl group, Billlie, on Wednesday.

The six-piece act -- comprising four South Korean members, Moon Sua, Suhyeon, Haram and Siyoon, and two members from Japan, Tsuki and Haruna -- have landed in the K-pop scene with their first EP “The Billage of Perception : Chapter One.”

Ahead of their album release, the group conducted a debut showcase in Seoul, which was live-streamed as a pandemic precaution.

Their name combines the English name Billie with an extra “l.” They said the regular name Billie reflected their “B-sides” -- the inner-self that everyone has inside them. They hope to empathize with people by expressing their “B-sides,” while adding a twist -- like the extra letter -- to create some thing special.

“We want to make music that could warmly touch people‘s hearts,” Moon Sua said. Moon is the younger sister of Astro member Moonbin.

Leading their EP is “Ring X Ring,” which tells a mysterious story surrounding a fictional village. According to the members, the song marks the start to an upcoming story universe, expressing a dilemma on whether to accept the given situation or to take a daring step to make a change.

The group garnered much attention ahead of their debut as the first girl group assembled at the hands of South Korea’s star singer-songwriter and producer Yoon Jong-shin. The members originally belonged to the pre-debut group called Mystic Rookies, which consists of versatile artists nurtured through the label’s “Mystic Incubation Camp” training system.

According to member Si-yoon, Yoon had advised them to “never forget the mind and the passion we hold right now as we start and to keep on trying hard and to enjoy every stage.”

Billlie’s debut also comes with high anticipations as their title song “Ring X Ring” is backed by some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry, including lyricist Kim Eana, composer Lee Min-su and music video director Hwang Su-ah. While the three artists all have their own extensive careers, they have together created numerous K-pop hits, including IU’s “Good Day” and “The Red Shoes” and Brown Eyed Girls’ “Abracadabra” and “Candy Man.”

Proudly presenting themselves as a group strong in dance and performance, Billlie also caught the public eye with their collaboration with star choreographer Lia Kim, who leads One Million Dance Studio.

Kim, who has created dances for some of the most popular K-pop musicians, including Twice, Mamamoo, BoA and Sunmi, contributed to the choreography of “Ring X Ring.”

Their six-track album also includes “Flipp!ng a Coin,” “Flowerld,” “The Eleventh Day,” “Everybody’s Got a $ECRET” and “The Rumor,” which will illustrate the versatile talents of each of the members, the group said.

The girls voiced some daring ambitions they had with their debut. Haruna hoped to win the rookie of the year at music awards with their debut EP, while Tsuki wanted nicknames such “an all-rounder group” and “chart-topper” to follow their name.

Meanwhile, the K-pop scene is seeing a flush of new girl groups recently, including StayC, Purple Kiss, Tri.Be and bugAboo, not to mention those set to debut, such as Starship Entertainment’s IVE, also set for launch in December.

Asked how they differentiate themselves from other rookie groups, Haram answered, “Strong teamwork. The synergy of six distinctive members will be special.”

Suhyeon piped in, “You cannot miss our performances. We’ve released several performance videos ahead of our debut, so please look forward to what we have to show with our title song.”


By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)