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Rookie idol group ‘Highteen’ claims to be fans’ dreamcatchers

November 23, 2016

SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Yonhap) — South Korean girl group “Highteen,” a rookie quartet of teens, is on a mission. Becoming a girl group is a dream come true, but in the process of reaching the debut stage, the girls have become enchanted with the presence of their audience, who they love to make smile.

Fresh out of oven, Hye-ju, Hye-bin, Eun-jin and Se-ah beam in the music video of their dance-pop song “Boom Boom Clap,” the title song of their debut EP “Teen Magic” released on Oct. 14.

From L: Hye-bin, Hye-ju, Eun-jin and Se-ah of South Korean girl group “Highteen” pose during their interview with Yonhap News Agency in the company’s headquarters in central Seoul on Nov. 23, 2016.

“Our music video is all about our wish to become our listeners’ dreamcatchers,” says Eun-jin, 18, in an interview with Yonhap News Agency in its Seoul headquarters on Monday evening.

“A dreamcatcher is a protective charm that filters out bad dreams and only leaves the good ones,” the singer added cheerfully, alluding to a fantastical folk tale from Native Americans half a globe away.

The music video of “Boom Boom Clap” shows the four girls sing, hop around and have fun in a fantasy world where there are no homework assignments or practice schedules. The girls eventually wake up from the happy dream, then realize that they are still wearing the same outfits as in the dream. The ending scene shows that the song blew away their worries and pressure, leaving only happy memories, according to Highteen.

“I think the greatest distinction of Highteen from other girl groups is our high-spirited, energetic vibe,” said 17-year-old Se-ah, the group’s youngest.

Hye-ju (L) and Eun-jin of South Korean girl group “Highteen” pose during their interview with Yonhap News Agency in the company’s headquarters in central Seoul on Nov. 23, 2016.

“Boom Boom Clap” was composed and written by Yoon Yeo-hoon, the chief executive of Highteen’s management, Wings Entertainment.

The song has climbed to 37th in the local music chart and showed up in mainstream music shows by terrestrial television broadcasters, such as KBS’ “Music Bank.”

Also in the seven-track debut EP are “Grow Up,” “Marionette” and “I Like,” in addition to tropical remix and other versions of “Boom Boom Clap.” All the songs were composed by entertainment chief Yoon.

“Grow Up” is a sweet song about a teen’s secret crush. “Marionette” is a sassy, daring song about a girl who teases her boyfriend.

“I Like” is a special song for both the singers and Yoon. The songwriter-turned-CEO originally wrote the song for K-pop trio Hans Band, an all-girl band that launched in 1998. At the time, the song was not chosen as the lead single of the first-generation girl group.

Time has flown by since then, as Highteen’s Eun-jin was born in 1998. Even so, Yoon re-arranged the song and enlisted it in “Teen Magic,” believing in the song’s message and quality. He hoped to see the song presented with a sense of pure, teenage emotions.

Se-ah of South Korean girl group “Highteen”

The members of Highteen have quite different memories about their debut stage.

“Although I haven’t lived so many years — I was sort of dumbfounded to see my lifelong dream (of a debut) just come and go in less than three minutes,” said Eun-jin. With a playful giggle, the lively girl acknowledged making a few mistakes out of extreme nervousness.

Se-ah, 17, somehow found herself a tangle of emotions many times regardless of her desires, constantly flipping between peaceful, panicked, and ecstatic.

“I was so happy and proud when we were in the waiting room,” she recalled. “But when it was time to put on a wearable microphone, I suddenly became nervous and shaky to death. It’s funny how all those scary feelings vanished when I mounted the stage — I don’t remember a thing that I did on that stage.”

In the end Hye-bin, 18, turned out to be the ultimate champion of mental calm.

“I was as happy as a kid, all the way. I was happy in the waiting room, on the stage, and off the stage,” she said playfully, arousing a round of laughter from her bandmates.

Hye-ju, on the other hand, missed her elder sister very much as she stood on her debut stage. It was her sister who first dreamed of becoming a girl group singer.

“Her school grades were high, so my parents persuaded her to concentrate on studying instead. I think my parents regret that decision now, to see my sister still grieving her lost dream which affects her academics as well.”

Hye-bin of South Korean girl group “Highteen”

Being a teenage girl group is tough, especially in South Korea, where parents’ academic expectations for their children are high.

Four days before the interview, Highteen’s Eun-jin and 17-year-old Hye-ju took their national college entrance exam.

Pursuing academic grades and a career has been tough. The two girls did not expect a miracle from the outcome, but bet more heavily on their professional career as K-pop artists.

After all, excitement was one of the happy assets of being a girl group.

On the day of Highteen’s EP release, the music was broadcast at their schools, thanks to their classmates and teachers who supported their dreams.

Eun-jin said, “I was in computer science class when the school broadcaster turned on my song, and I blankly thought ‘This song sounds so familiar. I must have heard it somewhere, lots of times.’ My friends shouted ‘Oh my god, you’re song’s out!’ I was so embarrassed and moved.”

Se-ah’s classmates went even further, dancing the song’s moves in front of their celerity friend. It was “incredibly cute,” Se-ah added.

Hye-ju of South Korean girl group “Highteen”

But there were moments of tears and frustration as well.

The girls emphasized that the key element of achieving a girl group is “trying not to stress oneself out.”

“Of course it’s great to excel in skills, but one shouldn’t feel way to stressed out or feel inferior, because stress can be a tremendous distraction,” Hye-ju said to prospective girl group trainees.

She continued, “I’ve spent many years as a trainee, so I can tell that there are moments of crisis where people can’t realize whether they’re getting better or not. That’s when they must tell themselves, ‘I’m doing great, all I need is to keep up the good practice.’”

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