The group Kepler (Kep1er) explained why they renewed their contract.

Kepler, formed through Mnet‘s ‘Girls Planet 999: Girls’ War’ in 2021, is the first Mnet project group to successfully renew their contract and will continue activities as a seven-member group. Mashiro and Kang Ye-seo ended their team activities with the regular album [Kep1going On] released in June. About five months later, on November 1, Kepler will make a new start as a seven-member group.

Why did the seven members Choi Yu-jin, Xiaoting, Kim Chae-hyun, Kim Da-yeon, Hikaru, Huening Bahie, and Seo Young-eun renew their contracts?

In an interview to commemorate the release of their 6th mini-album [TIPI-TAP], Choi Yu-jin said, “We are a team that has come together with different colors. I think we will be able to show you new sides of ourselves in the future. I wanted to continue my activities,” and “I renewed my contract because I wanted to show something not only as a team but also as an individual. I want to show various sides of myself,” he said.

Xiaoting also hinted at the direction, saying, “This is the first time a project group has renewed their contract. I can’t tell you the specific terms of the renewal, but in my case, I renewed my contract because I wanted to perform and be active outside of Japan.”

“We talked a lot until the seven of us gathered. We became stronger as we shared our thoughts with each other. Through that process, we were able to have the confidence and desire to become an even better group, both internally and musically. When two members left, the remaining members also had a lot of concerns. We were anxious, wondering, ‘Will you continue to love us?’ We thought, ‘What kind of faith should we show?’ and wanted to show, ‘This is a group of people who love the stage so much.’ You can’t hide the eyes and expressions that love the stage, right? I also wanted to expand my field of activity.” (Kim Chae-hyun)

“We often say things like, ‘Thank you,’ ‘I miss you,’ ‘I’m sorry.’ “I think we can become close because we express ourselves well to each other.” (Kim Chae-hyun)

“I’m the type that feels awkward and shy when giving compliments, but after following the members, I’ve become someone who knows how to express myself.” (Choi Yu-jin)

“Seo Young-eun and I are the only ones with the MBTI score of ‘I (introvert) in the team. Before we became close, I thought the members were really noisy. (Laughs) But even though I’m an introvert, I’m bright and noisy, so it’s okay.” (Xiao Ting)

“Aside from my Kepler schedule, I tend to value my alone time. I always spend energy with the members. That’s how comfortable the members are. In fact, the members are considerate of me because they know my personality. This is our teamwork.” (Seo Young-eun)

The 6th mini album [TIPI-TAP] is a word that expresses the east, west, south, and north origami and the sound of footsteps, and contains the process of Kepler, who has become stronger as a 7-member group, finding absolute love.

Choi Yu-jin said, “We prepared hard for our first album as a 7-member group. Whether there are 9 or 7, we are the same Kepler. We will show you our growth”, and Kim Chae-hyun said, “I‘m happy to be able to be with our members who treat the stage with sincerity and are happy on stage. I thought a lot about how I can show you our growth”.

Huening Bahia said, “I wanted to meet fans without a long hiatus. Kim Da-yeon expressed her confidence in the new album, saying, “It is a highly complete album,” and “We wanted to approach it in a fresh way without losing our Kepler’s color as much as you’ve waited for it.”


The album contains a total of five tracks, including the title track ‘TIPI-TAP’, as well as the other tracks ‘sync-love’, ‘Drip’, ‘Bitter Taste’, and ‘Heart Surf’. Member Seo Young-eun participated in writing the lyrics for ‘Drip’ and ‘Heart Surf’, further elaborating the team’s musical color.

‘Tip Tap’ is a song that combines a fast-paced DnB rhythm with hyper-pop vocals, and the hook is a unique attempt to hybridize the South African Gqom rhythm. It is a song that shows Kepler’s bold energy of running anywhere to find love.

Regarding this, Choi Yu-jin said, ”South African rhythm, it was a genre that we were trying for the first time, so it was hard to digest. Since we didn‘t know much about it, it was hard to get the feel of it. However, as we kept practicing, it became our color. The chorus is very addictive. If you watch it with the choreography, it will have another charm,“ and Huening Bahia explained, ”It’s a genre that‘s used a lot overseas. It’s a genre that we chose when we reorganized as a 7-member group in order to have a wider musical spectrum. I think it suits us well.“

The amount of parts increased little by little when two members left. Kim Chae-hyun said, ”Each member‘s amount of parts increased little by little. That’s why we needed to study and think more individually. This will be an opportunity to see the new charms of the members, and I hope it will lead to Kepler‘s own appeal,“ she said. ”As the main vocalist, I try to look at the overall picture when monitoring. The members’ expressiveness and technical aspects have improved a lot. In this album, there were parts that I felt were better than the demo,“ she expressed satisfaction.

Kim Chae-hyun also said, ”It‘s completely different from the genre we’ve done before. Not only that, I think Kepler is a group that can digest everything that‘s cool, cute, and energetic,“ emphasizing that they have tried various musical challenges with the new album.

”Except for the name Kepler, we want to aim for a ‘new start’. The songs and the stage are all a new beginning. So wouldn’t it be boring if they were the same as before? We challenged ourselves with various, different genres.” (Xiao Ting)

“I think our debut song, ‘WA DA DA (Wadada)’ is our representative song. We’ve been able to continue our activities until now because of ‘Wadada.’ At the same time, I want to have a song that surpasses ‘Wadada.’ I hope many people enjoy our other songs like ‘Wadada.’” (Kim Da Yeon)

Lastly, Kim Chae Hyun said, “We’re lucky to be with these 7 members. The lucky seven. If I were to describe this album in one word, I would say ‘luck.’” She added, “I hope we become a group that the public knows. Also, we’ve never held a solo concert in Korea before, so I think we’ll be able to meet Korean fans in the near future,” about the meaning and hopes of this activity.

“I hope we have numerical results. I want to be #1 on domestic music charts and music shows.” (Kim Da-yeon)

“I also want to be on overseas music charts. If possible, I hope we can enter Billboard so that more people can know our songs.” (Huening Bahia)

Kep1er’s 6th mini album [TIPI-TAP] will be released on November 1st at 1 PM.

Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com reporter jhj@donga.com