who writes gfriend songs?
GFRIEND would like to introduce you to a different side of themselves. When they debuted as a K-pop group five years ago, the six girls—SINB, EUNHA, SOWON, YERIN, YUJU, and UMJI—were in their teens. Now they're in their 20s, with a new EP, 回: Song of the Sirens, that explores one of the deepest self-reflective themes any musician can tackle: the choice not made, and the conflict many people face—follow what you want, or what the world expects you to want?
It's the search for true self, made impeccably catchy amid GFRIEND's symbolism-filled, thought-provoking lyrics and high-energy, sonically-pleasing melodies. It's also the most hands-on GFRIEND has ever been in the music process, with EUNHA, YUJU, and UMJI writing lyrics and composing music for the tracks. "GFRIEND’s story has been naturally and very genuinely weaved into the album," UMJI tells ELLE.com. "We’ve participated in the overall creative process and extensively discussed amongst ourselves and with our staff about the record. In that sense, this EP is about what everyone is going through or may already have gone through."
回: Song of the Sirens continues GFRIEND's legacy of success, with their previous EPs regularly making the top 10 of Billboard's World Albums charts the week of release. (Their fourth mini album, The Awakening, secured the #5 spot in 2017; their 2019 EP Fever Season got the #10 spot last July.) Millions of fans watch every music video, and their latest, for new single "Apple," got over 12 million views in just two days, a testament to their beloved BUDDY fan base and impact in music.
Like so many other artists, GFRIEND's touring plans are on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. But that hasn't stopped the group from creating new work and releasing it to the world. The girls open up to ELLE.com about what their new EP's theme taught them about themselves, their favorite choreography, and how they're spending their time in quarantine. You'll also find exclusive selfies taken for ELLE by the group.
EUNHA: Revealing a different side of ourselves, including the participation in composing and writing some tracks through this album, makes me nervous and excited at the same time. We want to add more colors to our palette and show people our confidence and growth in music and performances, because we feel that we have really grown.
SOWON: Our title track "Apple" is an addictive song that combines retro elements, portraying a moment in which a girl is swayed by temptation. In the lyrics, the apple is used as a metaphor to symbolize temptation, whereas the "witch" is used to convey the confidence that comes with being honest in one’s desires.
YUJU: "Eye of the Storm" is based on my personal story that I recorded in a diary I’ve been keeping for three four years. The song depicts the moments I spent alone focusing on myself and holding on to my identity.
EUNHA: "Room of Mirrors" is a medium-tempo ballad that delivers whirling emotions through sentimental vocals. You might see from this song that our voices have matured!
UMJI: "Tarot Cards" is a track that wishes for to make a difficult decision on behalf of oneself. Dynamic sounds and energetic vocals combined with additional pop elements evoke familiar yet fresh vibes at the same time.
YERIN: "Crème Brûlée" uses dessert as a metaphor to express the sweet scent of temptation encapsulated inside a solid and hard shell. The song’s highly addictive chorus will capture your ear as it blends with GFRIEND’s delicate yet refreshing, bouncy vocals!
SINB: The album’s last track, "Stairs in the North," was created while contemplating GFRIEND’s past, present and future, and the highs and lows of life.
SOWON: That GFRIEND is able to successfully pull off a new concept. It would be great if people could do our dance moves and hum a few lines of our song. We have some highlight moves in our choreography that are easy to follow, so why not try doing dance covers?
SOWON: Even though I’m the oldest, I’ve learned a lot about being considerate of others’ feelings and understanding each other’s differences.
UMJI: Putting myself in someone else’s shoes is really important in building relationships. I believe caring for and respecting each other are essential qualities of genuine friendship.
EUNHA: A good relationship starts from a good person. Friendship can be naturally built with someone with whom you can connect. I’m so happy I met these girls!
UMJI: I’ve always been interested in songwriting and worked on it whenever I had time, but this is my first time participating in an album’s creative process. It wasn’t easy, but I had a lot of fun. Some of my ideas were chosen, and some were not, and I learned a lot. It was amazing to see that each one of us could come up with different feelings from the same track. It was an unforgettable experience that allowed me to exchange a lot of things with YUJU and EUNHA.
YUJU: I took part in writing the lyrics of "Apple," "Eye of the Storm" and "Tarot Cards." As it was my first time, I put a lot of thought and effort it. I would start working on melodies and lyrics at noon, and all of a sudden it would be 10 p.m. I didn’t know I was able to focus on something this deeply.
EUNHA: Although I’ve always wanted to learn songwriting, this is my first time partaking in the song’s production. Thanks to everyone who helped me out. I’m really happy my melodies and lyrics ended up in the song—it motivated me to keep learning to write music.
YUJU: "Eye of the Storm" is a theme I had kept in my diary, so the creative process came naturally. The original title in my diary was "Eye of the Storm’s Time," but it was later finalized as “Eye of the Storm.” I didn’t know where to start at first, but I had a lot of fun working on it. I wrote this diary when I was in a very busy period of life, feeling lost in time and also pressured. That feeling is what inspired the song.
SINB: The last track of the album "Stairs in the North" is based on my personal story. Before we started working on the album, we had some time to talk with our staff. Not only did we discuss music, but we also had a casual conversation about various topics, including our thoughts about the past, present, and future of GFRIEND. The song was mainly inspired by the ups and downs of our lives.
SINB: In our title track "Apple" there’s a part in the chorus where we all stand in line and walk forward confidently. That’s the most outstanding part of the choreography. There’s a lot to pick from the previous albums, but personally I really liked EUNHA’s part in “Time for the Moon Night” where the lyrics go, "after today and the moment I’ve waited." We all gather in a circle and raise our hands and heads. The emotions were well-reflected by a very simple movement.
YUJU: In this album, I really like the chorus part when we all walk confidently. From previous albums, I'd say the windmill dance of our members from "Me Gustas Tu" is fascinating.
YERIN: The part where we all hold our hands and walk during the bridge of "Apple" is my favorite moment from this album. I also like the vaulting choreography from "Me Gustas Tu." It’s quite scary when you do it, but it’s double the happiness when you succeed.
SOWON: I feel more responsible and really hope many more people will be able to get to know this amazing culture through us!
UMJI: I’m really honored and grateful to be a part of this movement. It gives me a stronger sense of responsibility because the impact is not limited to music, but stretched out to culture and language.
SOWON: Rather than choosing one specific artist, I think it would be interesting to do a genre crossover with rap.
UMJI: I’d love to collaborate with an artist whose voice matches well with mine.
EUNHA: There are many songs I like regardless of genre, so any collaboration opportunities would be great.
SINB: Any project of its kind would be an honor, but I'd love to collaborate with female solo artists or my peers!
YUJU: There are so many amazing artists out there, so it’s very difficult to choose just one! I think doing a song with rappers would be interesting.
YERIN: I’d love to collaborate with my friends Joy from Red Velvet and Hayoung from Apink!
SOWON: I’d say “Time for the Moon Night.” Its distinct storyline could resonate deeply with the listeners.
UMJI: I think “Water Flower” is the song to listen to on a hot summer day. I’m pretty sure everyone will get pumped up by this song.
EUNHA: Listen to our new song “Apple” and show us your moves!
SINB: I’d recommend “Time for the Moon Night.” At times, I close my eyes to listen to the song and feel like I’ve become the protagonist of it. I wish everyone else could feel that too.
YUJU: “Rainbow” was just so refreshing from the moment I first listened to the demo. I take pride in this song as it has a unique vibe like no other.
YERIN: I’d recommend “Rough” since it reminds me of myself from past memories.
UMJI: A lot has happened this year, but I spent meaningful time preparing for the new album. In times of hardships, I overcome it by telling myself that it all shall pass.
EUNHA: I had some time on my hands while preparing for our new album, so I watched movies and TV dramas. When I come across a difficult situation, I try not to overthink the problem and just get over it.
SINB: It would’ve been quite busy if everything had gone according to the plan. But as you can assume, we spent a lot of time at home due to COVID-19. I think it was a time well spent as I worked on our new EP with our members and watched movies as well. In face of hardships, I tend to spend time alone and ask myself questions about the situation I’m trying to overcome.
SOWON: Of course I’d like to visit all of them, but I have fond memories of Los Angeles, so I’d like to go again.
UMJI: Anywhere is fine! I’d like to meet a lot of fans in various places.
EUNHA: I’ve experienced the U.S. through lots of movies, even though I’ve actually visited the country only a few times. I’d like to go to the places I’ve seen in films and perform there!
SINB: I want to go wherever our BUDDYs are!
YUJU: New York City! It has a peculiar charm that I can’t put into words.
YERIN: I can’t decide. I’d like to go wherever we are invited!
SOWON: I prefer simple and clean styles, perhaps, "ggu-ann-ggu?"
UMJI: I personally like to match outfits I can easily wear and take off, such as cardigans or hoodies. I also like clothes that reveal my neckline.
EUNHA: I usually go for something comfortable and loose, such as oversized t-shirts, wide pants, long skirts, or dresses.
SINB: I’m pretty good at mixing and matching basic items. There are times when I’d go for a more hipster look, and I’d wear oversized shirts with jeans or track pants.
YUJU: I like clothes that are cozy and stylish. I can’t start my day pleasantly if I dress up too plainly. I often put on a pair of earrings or a necklace to highlight my look.
YERIN: I usually wear dresses but I don’t want to look overdressed. For accessories, I wear ones that have a few bold details, and for shoes, I often wear sneakers.
UMJI: We want to keep bringing great, amazing stories. Please stay tuned for our updates!
GFRIEND's 回: Song of the Sirens is available to stream now on Spotify and Apple Music.
When GFriend hit the K-pop scene in 2015, they cast a spell on listeners with the nostalgia-tinged single “Glass Bead,” its music video showcasing the girl group’s determination with their athletic choreography as well as a palpable friendship as mischievous schoolmates. Six years later, the scenes have changed but GFriend is still about reaching new goals and riding high alongside one another.
Upon announcing their latest album 回:Walpurgis Night in late October, the six-member act kicked the anticipation into high gear by first sharing the tracklist of the 11-song LP that revealed increased creative endeavors for them. Not only did three of the members have writing credits on the new single “Mago,” but every GFriend member wrote on at least one of the album’s tracks. For the first time ever, the group would also split into pairs to record album cuts, allowing listeners to hear new sides of them as singers, performers and lyricists in duo forms.
GFriend then unveiled the record’s visual inspirations with three extensive photoshoots to represent both their hard work and playfulness: their ‘My Way’ photos portrayed a concept of sophisticated and hard-working businesswomen, the ‘My Room’ shoot let each member shine in a setting that speaks to her personality, and the final ‘My Girls’ looks delivered a soft-and-sweet GFriend spending time together with a fresh pastel mood.
Finally on November 9, the music came led by the ‘80s-disco mashup “Mago” that saw GFriend play to their strengths with nostalgic sounds but deliver a fresh sonic take on what listeners might expect from the sextet. The full 回:Walpurgis Night album follows suit with the light funk-grunge of “Love Spell” and glistening disco throbber “Three of Cups” acting as perfect follow-ups to “Mago.” By track number four, the LP has evolved into the technicolor dance track “GRWN” where GFriend tells the listener to “Get ready with me...I want to show you my changed image,” acting as the perfect segue for the three unit tracks. Yerin and SinB dip into a feel-good R&B groove for “Secret Diary,” as Sowon and Umji conquer a sultry, powerful electro-pop for “Better Me,” while “Night Drive” brings a dreamy, snappy, lo-fi to let Eunha and Yuju’s harmonies shine.
GFriend has evolved from the “Glass Bead” girls we originally met them as, but the core elements that made them beloved, breakout K-pop underdogs remain more than intact. Walpurgis Night is the third and final chapter in the group’s series of 回 albums (回 is the Sino-Korean word meaning “to spin”) with the group now at a place where they can comfortably experiment and grow what GFriend represents musically and conceptually.
SinB describes their growth of the last six years as a “step-by-step fashion, as if we’re climbing up the stairs” but no doubt that this new album represents an important leap forward with increased creative presence and new ways of sharing themselves both as a team and as individuals. Read on for more from GFriend on the meaning behind the album, their creative process, experiences recording in pairs and more.
Jeff Benjamin: Congratulations on your new album, GFriend! How are you feeling now that 回:Walpurgis Night is out?
Sowon: We worked day and night to come up with a quality studio album. We did our best to deliver great music to our fans as soon as we could.
Yerin: With this album, we’re releasing unit tracks for the first time since our debut, so it was such a busy period for us, having participated in brainstorming concepts and practicing for our performances. Prior to releasing the album, we used our spare time preparing for the online concert where we showed the stages of our new unit tracks and decorated the stage with a special Halloween concept; it all made for an unforgettable memory with our fans.
Jeff Benjamin: You've been so active in 2020 with three album releases despite the difficulties of this year. Can you reflect on anything that's had to change about your processes?
GFriend: With extensive changes of the situations, the fact that we’re not able to meet our Buddys in real life affected us the most, but we got to meet them through our first online concert this year. Despite the virtual format of it, we were so thankful that our Buddys prepared an event just for us—that was the most memorable and thankful moment on that day. Throughout the course of releasing three albums this year, we’ve matured, further expanding our musical spectrum. We’ve worked with a variety of music genres, and we still believe that we’re experimenting through a series of different attempts. Eunha, Yuju and Umji participated in the creative process of “Mago” and the rest of us participated in the unit tracks as well. As individuals, we’ve become more versatile in musicality as we became more interested in the song-making process.
Jeff Benjamin: Yes, Eunha, Yuju and Umji all wrote on “Mago” alongside the likes of “Hitman” Bang and FRANTS! Can you tell us about contributing when there are so many big names involved?
Eunha: Songwriting is an area that I’ve been longing to try. I hoped to start learning and practicing from the beginning, but I somehow started on it right away as an opportunity was given to me from the previous album . I had shortcomings, but I was able to learn a lot and make it happen thanks to so much help I received from people around me, especially from producers such as FRANTS and Ju Hwan-noh as they gave me pieces of advice and words of encouragement throughout the process.
Yuju: I always hoped to write songs even before the debut. In the early years, I once wrote lyrics for a song that wasn’t confirmed to be released. I believe these efforts led me to a great opportunity to participate in the song-making process. It was an honor to have worked with such professional producers.
Umji: In the beginning, I was a bit nervous to work with such experienced and prominent producers. However, I did my best to try various things and focused on expressing my thoughts and feelings. It was a new experience for me to actually witness a song being completed based on my ideas.
Jeff Benjamin:Can you introduce “Mago” a bit more and tell us what it means for those who don't know?
GFriend: The word “mago” means magician in Spanish or also refers to a goddess. We wanted to declare ourselves as witches unbothered by what other people say or think, expressing our honest desires and confident attitudes in a fancy, splendid festival.
Jeff Benjamin: "Mago" has a strong vintage sound similar to past GFriend songs, but I hear new elements of disco and '80s synth-pop. What type of music is GFriend looking to showcase this time?
Eunha: “Mago” is a disco-genre song in which we translated to a 1980’s disco style into 2020 GFriend style. The song interpreted one’s honest desire and confident attitude as a “festival of the witches.” The catchy chorus part is the highlight of the fun and exciting disco song. Yuju, Umji, and I participated in writing the lyrics, it’s a really fun and exciting song.
Jeff Benjamin: The music video is equally impressive. Were there any memorable moments behind-the-scenes of the music video?
Sowon: There was a scene where I took off my jacket walking into a club. Around 30 dancers all had to look at me. Because there were so many people looking at me all at once, I felt embarrassed and blushed. I even asked them to just “pretend” to be looking at me. It was the most memorable moment because of the struggle I had to go through. It was quite different from performing in front of many fans.
Yuju: I did pole dancing and wore some stunning outfits. I practiced a lot before shooting the music video. It was a meaningful challenge just by being able to show my pole-dancing skills.
Jeff Benjamin: Looking more broadly, Walpurgis Night is like a springtime Halloween which connects well with the “witch” concept first teased in “Apple.” Can you explain this new album’s title a bit more?
GFriend: As you mentioned, Walpurgis Night is a festival similar to Halloween that is held annually in Germany and in Northern European countries or regions. It’s also known as the festival of the witches, which celebrates a new beginning upon welcoming spring, clearing away the remnants of winter with campfires and fireworks. We believe it perfectly matches the messages we want to deliver with our new album.
Jeff Benjamin: I was also very struck by the concept photos. Can you describe the meanings behind the three very different looks?
GFriend: The ‘My Way’ concept shows us in business professional attires that emphasize the career woman look with black suits. It boasts predominantly urban mood along with strong and trendy vibes. In ‘My Room’ concept, we reveal our desires candidly, expressing the charms of each member in our own spaces and allowing us to show our true selves. Lastly, ‘My Girls’ concept expresses our friendship and solidarity in a joyful way, including the cute and cheerful sides of GFriend. Through these different concepts, we revealed our desires as career women who value both work and friendship. At the same time, we tried to express the confident “modern witch” and the good relationships we have as friends.
This album also sees you working in units for the first time. I'd like to ask each member to share something new or unique she learned from working with the other member in these units.
Is the 回 series now complete after the release of 回:Walpurgis Night? Can you share any hints about what's next for GFriend?
Umji: 回:Walpurgis Night is the last album of the 回 series that combines GFriend’s narrative of growth. While 回:Labyrinth expressed the mixed emotions a girl faces at her moment of choice, 回:Song of the Sirens captured the girl’s state of mind as she was swayed by the “unchosen” option she discarded. It finally leads to a realization of what the girl truly wants, becoming confident and honest with her desires.
SinB: I think we’ve tried a variety of different concepts for the last six years in a step-by-step fashion as if we’re climbing up the stairs. It felt like we were trying on outfits that fit us each time. Throughout the period of six years, we learned and matured a lot, and we wish to become GFriend that keeps advancing.
