Cosmic Girls feeling confident despite absence of 3 Chinese members

SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) — Three years since their official debut, Cosmic Girls, the biggest K-pop girl band, with 13 Korean and Chinese members, have a lot to celebrate this year.

Several Korean members including Bona have landed a role in TV drama series and variety show programs while two Chinese members — Xuanyi and Meiqi — became the top two winners of a Chinese talent recruit reality show.

The Chinese victory, however, has affected the lineup of the girl band, as the two Chinese members have made a separate debut in China in new Chinese girl band Rocket Girls.

Without them — and without the other Chinese member, Cheng Xiao, who has taken a leave of absence — Cosmic Girls will release a new album Wednesday as a ten-member band comprising only Korean members.

“We are sad (about their absence). The members were so cheerful, and we miss them,” band leader Exy said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Monday ahead of the planned release of the new album, “WJ Please?” — which is intended to be read “Would you please?”

“Would you” sounds similar to the Korean word for “cosmos” — “uju.”

Still, Cosmic Girls, also known as WJSN, the initials of their four-syllable Korean name, is “more confident than ever,” according to their leader.

“The Chinese members are making the name of Cosmic Girls known in China and we are doing our share of work in South Korea,” she noted.

This photo of Cosmic Girls’ Korean members was provided by Starship Entertainment. (Yonhap)

“We had to work harder as we were under pressure to fill up the void of the (missing) three members,” member Eunseo said. “As the quantity of training increased, we gained more confidence.”

The youngest member, Yeoreum, was the one who was hit the hardest, as the departure of her Chinese roommates left her alone in the room she had shared with them. “I miss them so much,” Yeoreum noted.

The new album, “WJ Please?” is an extension of its February extended player, “Dream Your Dream,” which explored the theme of a school for witchcraft.

Divided into three groups, the first freshman group of Yeoreum, Dayoung and Yeonjung takes the role of instilling a dream in the magic school-themed epic of the new album. The sophomore group of Exy, Soobin and Eunseo collects dreams while the senior group of Seola, Bona, Luda and Dawon makes the dream come true.

The album’s lead track, “Save Me, Save You,” is a dreamy synth-pop number laced with piano melodies. Its lyrical message promotes embracing love.

The other five tracks include “Hurry Up” and “You & I,” sung by all 13 members. Team leader Exy helped in the production of all the tracks.

“I feel grateful and responsible for the chance that I have had,” Exy noted.

With the upcoming release of the new album, Cosmic Girls seeks to take No. 1 on a local K-pop TV competition program. They went up as far as the finalists for the top spot, with their February song, “Dreams Come True,” when they were nominated for a weekly No. 1 song on SBS MTV’s “The Show.”

“As we failed to take the No. 1 spot at that time, our fans erupted into crying. We were very sorry. This time, we want to take the top spot for our fans,” Dayoung noted.

The young members voiced their wishes to have chances to reach out to their overseas fans and host the group’s solo concert this year.

This photo of Cosmic Girls members was provided by Starship Entertainment. (Yonhap)