Forget the bright and sparkly STAYC from “Bubble” (2023) or the cute, teenage look from “Teddy Bear” (2023). STAYC's members want people to know that they can be sensual, sophisticated, strong and sexy with the band's new single "S."

STAYC’s new single “S” comes three months after its digital single “Over U, Goodbye” (2024) and eight months since it released its first full-length album “Metamorphic” last July.


With “S,” STAYC took a steep turn from the so-called “teen-fresh” concept it had been pushing with its bubbly youthful look shown through songs such as “Bubble,” “Teddy Bear” and “ASAP” (2021) to a darker, rebellious mood that no one would have expected from the band.

“All of the members are grown-ups now and it’s been quite a few years since we debuted, so we wanted to show something completely different from the things we’ve shown in the past,” said Sieun. “We all agreed that this was the time, and so this concept was made. We started preparing for this from December last year."

“We’re shedding our old skin, like caterpillars do before they become butterflies,” Sumin said. “We’re 100 percent satisfied with the new music, and we’re enjoying ourselves very much.”

The members of STAYC sat down for an interview with reporters earlier this month, during which the members showed off their iconic, positive energy but highlighted their newer, maturer poise that they wanted to emphasize with lead track “Bebe.”

“'Bebe’ is a metaphor of the things that people expect from us and want to see us as,” Sieun said. “So we wanted to say that we’re not the ‘Bebe’ people want us to be, and that we’ll show people who we really are. We want to show that STAYC can be mature and challenging, not just bright and bubbly all the time.”

“We believe that we are very honest,” Sumin said. “Similar to the song, I think that a major charm of STAYC is that there is something that people expect from us but we can be honest and love our true selves.”

Having debuted in 2020, STAYC is now becoming one of the senior K-pop girl groups compared to the new names pouring into the industry each year.

Signed to a relatively new agency called High Up Entertainment, STAYC had endured the first few years out of the spotlight until its track “Teddy Bear” hit a home run in 2023. The girl group also tried losing its cuteness for its first full-length album “Metamorphic,” but the release didn’t quite hit the spot.

“I try to think that whatever happens, I will have grown after it’s all over,” said Isa when asked what members tell themselves to get through hard times. “I talk to the members a lot. We comfort each other or give advice. In any case, I feel better when they tell me it’s going to be fine.”

“I used to talk about my worries and concerns, but one of my friends asked me, ‘Is there anything you can change by worrying?’” Yoon said. “That really hit me hard. I realized that there’s no point worrying about the things I can’t change, so I’ve been focusing on the things I want to do and I can do.”

The members aren’t worried about all the competition from the market, either.

“Seeing the videos from other newly debuted groups got me thinking about a lot of things,” Sieun said. “One of them was how we had become the senior group already. They reminded me of us when we debuted, but they made me realize that there can be similar concepts but never the exact same one in K-pop. I saw how different everyone is, and I want to support them all.”

STAYC is set to begin its second tour “Stay Tuned” with two concerts at the Olympic Hall in southern Seoul on April 12 and 13. Dates of the other stops have not been revealed yet.

The group will perform more songs from the full-length album, as well as other "special stages," according to the members.

“Before our first tour, we were just worried whether there would be fans outside of Korea,” Yoon said. “We weren’t even sure whether we could tour. But now that it’s our second tour, we want to perform in more cities and really enjoy ourselves. We’ll show the fans a wide a variety of STAYC and our music.”

“We were focused on not disappointing the people that come to the concert during the first tour,” Sieun said. “All we wanted was for them to feel like they were not wasting their money. But now, I really miss the fans. I hope we all get to enjoy performing on the stage and feel happy along with the fans.”

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]