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Gugudan hopes 'Chococo Factory' will help sweeten people's mood

  • Published : Nov 9, 2017 - 09:52
  • Updated : Nov 9, 2017 - 09:52

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(Yonhap)

Rising rookie girl group Gugudan said Wednesday that it hopes its first single album "Act. 3 Chococo Factory" would be able to convey "sweet pleasure" to as many people as possible.

The album, the third from the group, was released at 6 p.m. as the K-pop scene braces for a heated November chart race involving many big-name acts, including Super Junior, TWICE, Seventeen, EXID and Wanna One.

Gugudan said during a media showcase in Seoul to promote the album's release that it is burdened a lot to compete with big players to rank high on music charts but that its ultimate goal is more than performing well on the charts.

"It would be a lie if we say we didn't feel any anxiety," said Hana, a member of the girl group. "But I hope we would be able to convey 'sweetness' befitting the atmosphere of the November-December season with our own bubbly, lively and unique character."

Another member Mina agreed, saying, "Since many prominent seniors will be present in the chart race, we have a clearer aim -- to present 'sweet pleasure' -- than expecting much from our chart performance."

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(Yonhap)

Gugudan debuted in June 2016 with the EP album "Act. 1 The Little Mermaid" and its title track "Wonderland" and found success with "A Girl Like Me," the main lead track off its second EP "Act. 2 Narcissus" released in February. It launched its first sub-unit "Gugudan Ogu Ogu" in August with members Mina and Hyeyeon and had its first-ever overseas fan meeting in Singapore the following month.

Of the group's nine members, Sejeong made a successful acting debut on the KBS 2TV series "School 2017." Member Mina is appearing in "20th Century Boy and Girl," a new drama series that currently runs on the MBC TV channel as young Han Ye-seul.

Mina recently was cast as the female lead for a new tvN drama.

The group's new album continued on with the fairy tale theme from its previous two albums, inspired by the famous fairy tale "Little Mermaid" and the famed Caravaggio painting depicting Narcissus staring at his reflection.

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(Yonhap)

The new album was inspired by Tim Burton's 2005 fantasy comedy film "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" about the adventures of a young boy inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka.

"We reinterpreted the film with our own color by becoming Willy Wonka or employees of the chocolate factory," Sejeong said.

"Chococo," the title track off the album, is an amusing fast-beat song but is mysterious and attractive at the same time, she said, adding that the song has an easy melody and highly addictive refrain that goes with "Choco co co co."

Two other songs in the album are "Lucky," an ear-catching synth pop number combining rhythmical guitar sound and an exciting beat, and "Snowball," a ballad with a beautiful and lyrical melody.

"As the weather is getting colder these days, a small piece of chocolate can warm you up in such a time. I hope Gugudan can be such a being," she added. (Yonhap)


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